Clearing or gap year?

What do people think about the merits of going through clearing vs. taking a gap year?
I had a lot of bad stuff happen in the middle of my exams so I don't think I got into my firm (and I want to switch courses, so my insurance isn't looking like an option as it doesn't offer what I want to switch to)
Clearing sounds really stressful but also it would allow me to get on with my life! But at the same time I don't want to accidentally end up somewhere I hate or don't know. But then with a gap year I might get really demotivated and directionless? Lots to consider!
Has anyone else had this internal debate? I've been having it all summer. If I did a gap year I could retake as I know I'm capable of a lot more than what I (probably) got but then also I might off myself
Obviously I'll see tomorrow, but I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice or just wants to lament with me :-) I made a pros and cons list for both but they seemed to have an equal amount haha

What do people think about the merits of going through clearing vs. taking a gap year?
I had a lot of bad stuff happen in the middle of my exams so I don't think I got into my firm (and I want to switch courses, so my insurance isn't looking like an option as it doesn't offer what I want to switch to)
Clearing sounds really stressful but also it would allow me to get on with my life! But at the same time I don't want to accidentally end up somewhere I hate or don't know. But then with a gap year I might get really demotivated and directionless? Lots to consider!
Has anyone else had this internal debate? I've been having it all summer. If I did a gap year I could retake as I know I'm capable of a lot more than what I (probably) got but then also I might off myself
Obviously I'll see tomorrow, but I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice or just wants to lament with me :-) I made a pros and cons list for both but they seemed to have an equal amount haha

I'd personally go for gap year with counselling. I'd rather you get the grades you should have gotten and applied to unis that you actually wanted to go to as opposed to pick up whatever's left over.
In terms of direction, I think you would be spending most of your time revising and improving your grades. If you make this your focus, I think you would get further ahead.
Just to throw a spanner in the works, a pro and con list works well if all the factors in the list are equally weighted. If they are not equally weighted, your decision will be skewed regardless e.g. you might have 10 pros and 20 cons, but if at least 3 of the pros are worth 5x one of the cons, you would end up with more pros than cons.

Makes sense! I revised so so so much and was predicted 3A*s but my mum suddenly got hospitalised in the middle of my exams :’-)
I think I will do that and this was really helpful just seeing it all laid out. I’m getting more mental health help now and I consistently got As and A*s over y12+13 so I think I can do a lot better if I give it another shot! (Obviously still hoping my coursework will lift me up to my firm grades somehow 😁)
Not that you care about Any of this really but thank you so much! And yeah there are some big pros/cons for both but they’re not all equal!
I ❤️ complaining on the student room

Makes sense! I revised so so so much and was predicted 3A*s but my mum suddenly got hospitalised in the middle of my exams :’-)
I think I will do that and this was really helpful just seeing it all laid out. I’m getting more mental health help now and I consistently got As and A*s over y12+13 so I think I can do a lot better if I give it another shot! (Obviously still hoping my coursework will lift me up to my firm grades somehow 😁)
Not that you care about Any of this really but thank you so much! And yeah there are some big pros/cons for both but they’re not all equal!
I ❤️ complaining on the student room

Morning @tbhcreature , I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing?
You're not complaining, don't worry, you're asking the right questions and speaking up on things that are on your mind, it's great to see! The Student Room is such a nice place for advice and support, we're all here to listen and help in anyway we can 🙂
It sounds like you're going for the gap year, are you planning on doing some travelling? 🙂 I'm so glad to hear you're getting mental health support as well, it's a really brave and important thing to do, I think the gap year will really help you flourish, and then when you come back to giving your exams another shot you'll do amazing!
Good luck with whatever you decide to do, you'll make the right decision.
Becky

I actually ended up getting 3A*s! Somehow!
I think I’m gonna go to my firm (St. Andrews) as it’s a 4 year course and I don’t want to take 5 years to finish uni 😅
Either that or decline my offer and apply somewhere else next year in England as I still want to switch course. Haven’t fully decided yet!