If you used Clearing in 2024, how did you find it?

Gap Year + Reapplying

Hey! I figured this would be the best place to ask such questions so here's my situation:

I got A*A*A ( Maths, Physics, FM as listed) and barely missed the A* in further and so ended up missing my firm (Imperial) since I was applying for the Mathematics course.

I was really gutted and my insurance didn't feel like the place where I wanted to be so I thought about it hard and took the decision to take a year out, reapply, do all the admission exams and resit Further Maths if needed.

Problem here is now choosing the universities which I want to apply for. I want to try Imperial again since they haven't said they'd straight up reject any reapplicants, however it really makes me wonder what my chances here actually are.

Same goes with UCL I thankfully meet their grade requirements BUT only on the condition I get a grade 2 in STEP which should be okay since I've got a while to prepare but it makes me wonder if they've ever made offers JUST on the condition of STEP.

Warwick have outright said to me and I quote "It would not benefit you to re-sit Further Maths with the aim of getting the missing A* so they won't take my resit, but I've seen a lot of stories from people in the last 1-2 years who ended up resitting and getting an offer here, so that's a bit contradictory and I don't know if I should even put it as a choice.

I'd like to give Cambridge a go but my chances for that seem really low given that I've seen a lot of comments about how they have a dislike for resits.

I'm going to put down Bath as a safe option since I meet their grade requirements and should be okay to get in for next year but I really am just confused on what my chances are in getting offers from the universities mentioned in this post, given that I also have a pretty solid personal statement which I'll be trying to improve even more on in the next few weeks ( It got me Offers from Imperial, UCL, Bath, Warwick and Oxford Interviews the first time around) but who knows how disadvantaged I'd be applying a second time with the current grades since for a lot of these unis an A* in Further is a must.

I also understand any concern with gap years and maths and how skills may wear off, but I've already found a few books past A Level curriculum to keep me busy and learning through the year and also preparing for STEP and TMUA is for sure going to keep me off from getting rusty.

Any advice on my situation would be great, I'm mostly really concerned about getting no offers applying a second time around.
Thanks in advance!

Reply 1

Babababababa

Have you checked out any clearing places for this year? Furthermore I'd recommend ditching Warwick, it's a **** place to be a uni student, and their admin staff are hopeless. I believe it's quite likely that you would get an offer from the top unis for Maths, however, I'd explore further into retaking further maths to demonstrate that you're keeping your maths up to date. Although this may also be a hindrance to whatever you plan to do during your gap year, as many unis like to see that you're working, volunteering, and or travelling since it appears that you have more depth as a person rather than being a Maths machine. I'd say right now you need to be choosing your path, studying for your entrance exams and perfecting your personal statement. Make sure you reach out to the admissions staff at the unis you want to apply to just to ask questions ect. I think you have a very good likelihood of getting into these top places.

Reply 2

Babababababa

Oh also not doing a resit wouldn't put you in a bad position as you already have achieved grades, unlike the rest of the applicants that have predicted (which is often inflated and the unis know that). You qualify for Oxbridge so I think you should go for it.

Reply 3

FaultsL

Original post by Babababababa

Yeah the issue here is that all of these top unis want an A* in Further which I just missed and they don’t look at resits with a good eye. That’s the worry I’ve got. Since I didn’t get the A* in further the first time around and plus for a Mathematics course I think a lot of these unis prioritise that .

Thanks for your response tho! Any help with this was largely appreciated!

Reply 4

Muttley79

Original post by FaultsL

Yeah the issue here is that all of these top unis want an A* in Further which I just missed and they don’t look at resits with a good eye. That’s the worry I’ve got. Since I didn’t get the A* in further the first time around and plus for a Mathematics course I think a lot of these unis prioritise that .
Thanks for your response tho! Any help with this was largely appreciated!