Should I retake A- Levels or do a foundation

Hi, I am in a crisis I don't know what to do?! So baisically I recently received my CIE A-Level results (Oct/Nov 2024) and got CCD in Maths, Chemistry, and Biology. My goal is to start university in September 2025, but I’m unsure whether I should retake my A-Levels or accept an offer for a foundation pathway in Optometry.

Here’s some background:

IGCSEs: A*AAAABB (ICT, Maths, Bio, Chem, English Language, Business, English Lit)

AS Levels: BCCD (Chem, Bio, Maths, English)

A2 Levels: CCD (Maths, Chem, Bio)

I’ve been offered a foundation year for Optometry, but I’m not entirely sure if Optometry is the right path for me. On the other hand, I’m considering retaking my A-Levels in the Oct/Nov 2025 session to improve my grades and keep my options open. However, I’m worried that if I don’t perform well again, I might miss out on university altogether.

Another question:
Does doing a foundation year affect future job prospects after completing university?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Should I take the foundation year and commit to Optometry, or retake my A-Levels to improve my grades and explore other options?

Reply 1

farshaddyy

Downside of foundation is one year of tuition and costs (which is no small deal). But upside is it won't affect future job prospects.

Don't do something if you don't know if its right for you. Easier said than done but doing a degree is a commitment and you'll be worse off if you rush the wrong decision. Speak to a careers advisor.

Reply 2

BCU Student Rep

Official Rep

Original post

by safes

Hi, I am in a crisis I don't know what to do?! So baisically I recently received my CIE A-Level results (Oct/Nov 2024) and got CCD in Maths, Chemistry, and Biology. My goal is to start university in September 2025, but I’m unsure whether I should retake my A-Levels or accept an offer for a foundation pathway in Optometry.
Here’s some background:
IGCSEs: A*AAAABB (ICT, Maths, Bio, Chem, English Language, Business, English Lit)
AS Levels: BCCD (Chem, Bio, Maths, English)
A2 Levels: CCD (Maths, Chem, Bio)
I’ve been offered a foundation year for Optometry, but I’m not entirely sure if Optometry is the right path for me. On the other hand, I’m considering retaking my A-Levels in the Oct/Nov 2025 session to improve my grades and keep my options open. However, I’m worried that if I don’t perform well again, I might miss out on university altogether.
Another question:
Does doing a foundation year affect future job prospects after completing university?
Has anyone been in a similar situation? Should I take the foundation year and commit to Optometry, or retake my A-Levels to improve my grades and explore other options?

Hi @safes,

Opting for foundation:
If you enjoy Optometry or think you could, the foundation year is a good route because it leads directly into a degree. A foundation year won’t negatively affect your job prospects—once you complete your degree, employers will focus on your final qualifications rather than how you got there. You’ll start university this year instead of delaying by a year for A-level resits. The main downside is that you’re not 100% sure Optometry is for you. If you’re unsure now, it’s worth researching career options and speaking to people in the field before committing.

Retaking A-Levels:
This gives you a chance to improve your grades and apply for a wider range of degrees. If you think you can significantly improve (e.g., to BBB or higher), this could open doors to other science/health-related courses. It keeps your options open if you’re unsure about Optometry. Some universities may prefer applicants with standard A-levels rather than a foundation year.
The risk is that resitting is mentally and emotionally challenging—if you don’t improve significantly, you may end up in a similar situation next year. You’d be delaying university by a year, so ask yourself: Do I have a clear goal that requires higher grades, or am I just retaking because I don’t know what else to do?

Hope this helps,
Danish
BCU Student Rep

Reply 3

Rose_Blyton

What do you think prevented you from achieving your grade the first time around?

Reply 4

safes

I feel like my enviroment wasn't the best because I was doing homeschool and there was building work going on at home (but that is not really an excuse). I think also my foundation was not the best in terms of my subjects for the long question papers I also wrote 11 exams alotgether some days I would wriite 2 a day so I think the pressure got to me. Yeh it is quite a lot of bad parts from my side I think.

Reply 5

sophieee789

Original post

by safes

Hi, I am in a crisis I don't know what to do?! So baisically I recently received my CIE A-Level results (Oct/Nov 2024) and got CCD in Maths, Chemistry, and Biology. My goal is to start university in September 2025, but I’m unsure whether I should retake my A-Levels or accept an offer for a foundation pathway in Optometry.
Here’s some background:
IGCSEs: A*AAAABB (ICT, Maths, Bio, Chem, English Language, Business, English Lit)
AS Levels: BCCD (Chem, Bio, Maths, English)
A2 Levels: CCD (Maths, Chem, Bio)
I’ve been offered a foundation year for Optometry, but I’m not entirely sure if Optometry is the right path for me. On the other hand, I’m considering retaking my A-Levels in the Oct/Nov 2025 session to improve my grades and keep my options open. However, I’m worried that if I don’t perform well again, I might miss out on university altogether.
Another question:
Does doing a foundation year affect future job prospects after completing university?
Has anyone been in a similar situation? Should I take the foundation year and commit to Optometry, or retake my A-Levels to improve my grades and explore other options?

Some really good advice here. A foundation shouldn't affect job prospects - the bigger problem is that you don't know what you want to do, and that doing one could be a waste of time and a lot of money.

It's up to you really, personally I did a foundation year in law and it wasted my money but I didn't want to do A-levels again so I just did that instead of going to a 'low-ranked uni' (not sure if it made much of a difference). If you do retake A-levels you'll have to make sure you work really hard to get grades above that. It is a risk of course because you could end up with the same grades. Could you possibly do a foundation in science in general at uni instead? Also there are some colleges which offer foundation year courses, could be cheaper than uni.

Reply 6

LancashireRep3

Official Rep

Original post

by safes

Hi, I am in a crisis I don't know what to do?! So baisically I recently received my CIE A-Level results (Oct/Nov 2024) and got CCD in Maths, Chemistry, and Biology. My goal is to start university in September 2025, but I’m unsure whether I should retake my A-Levels or accept an offer for a foundation pathway in Optometry.
Here’s some background:
IGCSEs: A*AAAABB (ICT, Maths, Bio, Chem, English Language, Business, English Lit)
AS Levels: BCCD (Chem, Bio, Maths, English)
A2 Levels: CCD (Maths, Chem, Bio)
I’ve been offered a foundation year for Optometry, but I’m not entirely sure if Optometry is the right path for me. On the other hand, I’m considering retaking my A-Levels in the Oct/Nov 2025 session to improve my grades and keep my options open. However, I’m worried that if I don’t perform well again, I might miss out on university altogether.
Another question:
Does doing a foundation year affect future job prospects after completing university?
Has anyone been in a similar situation? Should I take the foundation year and commit to Optometry, or retake my A-Levels to improve my grades and explore other options?

Hi there!

There are some great questions here and I think it's good that you are weighing up all of your options to make an informed decision.

In terms of a foundation year effecting your job prospects, I wouldn't worry about this! You will still finish with a BSc / BA and this isn't something that employers would even question. A foundation year also isn't a bad thing - it is there to help you get up to the academic standard and it shows you are determined to keep learning and improving!

I would mainly have a think about maybe trying to get some work experience to see whether optometry is for you. Going to open days and offer holder days and chatting to current students on the course may also be really beneficial for you. I would make sure that the foundation year is at the university you want as a full optometry degree will be a long time to be at a place you dislike! On the other hand, if you love the university and are pretty sure it Is what you want to do, I would say go for it!

I hope this advice helps !

-Rebecca. University of Central Lancashire Ambassador

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