I'm so scared for my A-level Mocks

Daisy._.7777

I got around BBB in my most recent mocks in Year 12. I've been really struggling with anxiety, I'm seeing the school counsellor, and its made it difficult to study consistently. I'm scared that even though I finally found better ways to manage my anxiety that its too late. My mocks are in three weeks. I wanted to apply for Oxford, but at this rate I don't think I'm likely to get AAA. Which is a shame because my teacher, who went to Oxford, genuinely believed I was capable. My second option is York which is ABB. Though that is much more achievable, I'm still frightened I won't get my predicted grades.

Should I resit Year 12 if I get poor predicted grades? Or should I just apply to uni with achieved grades after I've sat them? And, if I don't get the grades I need in Year 13, should I re-take my A-levels. I wouldn't want to go through clearing or settle for a university I'm not interested in, I'd much rather re-sit and go to university when I'm a little older.

Am I just being paranoid? I'm very scared for these mocks.

Reply 1

LJMUStudentReps

Official Rep

Hi lovely!

It is amazing that you have found better ways to match your anxiety and it is so lovely to hear how much belief your teachers have in you!

It sounds like you are an amazing student with a really intelligent mind!

My advice would be:

•

Sit your mocks and see what results you get and resit Y12 if your unhapy with them

•

Do your mocks, go to y13 and then do your actual a levels and then resit if you don't get the grades you want!

Based off my experience with anxiety and school i would say the quicker college is over the less anxiety you are gonna feel and you will do mocks in y13 so if your not feeling too great next year you can always resit!

Just do whatever feels best! But i have no doubt you will do amazing!

Good luck!
Katy,
LJMUStudentRep

Reply 2

University of York

Official Rep

Original post

by Daisy._.7777

I got around BBB in my most recent mocks in Year 12. I've been really struggling with anxiety, I'm seeing the school counsellor, and its made it difficult to study consistently. I'm scared that even though I finally found better ways to manage my anxiety that its too late. My mocks are in three weeks. I wanted to apply for Oxford, but at this rate I don't think I'm likely to get AAA. Which is a shame because my teacher, who went to Oxford, genuinely believed I was capable. My second option is York which is ABB. Though that is much more achievable, I'm still frightened I won't get my predicted grades.
Should I resit Year 12 if I get poor predicted grades? Or should I just apply to uni with achieved grades after I've sat them? And, if I don't get the grades I need in Year 13, should I re-take my A-levels. I wouldn't want to go through clearing or settle for a university I'm not interested in, I'd much rather re-sit and go to university when I'm a little older.
Am I just being paranoid? I'm very scared for these mocks.

Hey Daisy,

I just wanted to echo what Katy from LJMU has said. It sounds like you're an incredibly capable student, and it's great to hear that you're starting to find ways to better manage your anxiety - that in itself is no small achievement.

Three Bs in your most recent mocks sound like pretty solid grades to be achieving, especially with the things you've got going on. The other thing to remember is that you haven't learnt all the course content yet, and once you have, some exam questions might be easier as you have more knowledge, context and experience to back up your answers.

My advice about whether to resit or not to resit would be pretty similar to Katy's:

Sit your year 12 mocks and see how you do in them. If you don't quite meet your desired grades for applying to Oxford or other universities, speak with your teachers about what they advise you to do. Ask them if they'd be willing to alter your predicted grades to be closer to what you need for uni applications. It sounds like you're performing well, so your teachers might not base their grade predictions entirely on the results of your mock.Unless your teachers push you to resit year 12, I personally wouldn't do this, but I'm not you, so I can't make the decision for you.

I'd then do year 13, see how you do in your actual A levels, and if you don't get the grades you want, look into resitting year 13 and reapplying to university. You could always see what options are available in Clearing, and make your mind up from there.

I also wouldn't worry about going to university a year or two later than your peers. I had a gap year between finishing year 13 and starting uni to live with my dad in Australia, so I started uni at 19 instead of 18. Being a year older than the majority of my course mates and flatmates was probably a neutral or positive thing rather than a negative. I felt I had a bit more life experience, and for the most-part, people didn't even realise I was a year older, it truly didn't matter.

I hope this helps to reassure you a bit. If you've got any other questions, or want to know more about what it's like to study at York, feel free to add them to the thread. - Hannah 😀 ❤️

Reply 3

University of Bath

Official Rep

Original post

by Daisy._.7777

I got around BBB in my most recent mocks in Year 12. I've been really struggling with anxiety, I'm seeing the school counsellor, and its made it difficult to study consistently. I'm scared that even though I finally found better ways to manage my anxiety that its too late. My mocks are in three weeks. I wanted to apply for Oxford, but at this rate I don't think I'm likely to get AAA. Which is a shame because my teacher, who went to Oxford, genuinely believed I was capable. My second option is York which is ABB. Though that is much more achievable, I'm still frightened I won't get my predicted grades.
Should I resit Year 12 if I get poor predicted grades? Or should I just apply to uni with achieved grades after I've sat them? And, if I don't get the grades I need in Year 13, should I re-take my A-levels. I wouldn't want to go through clearing or settle for a university I'm not interested in, I'd much rather re-sit and go to university when I'm a little older.
Am I just being paranoid? I'm very scared for these mocks.

Hello there!

I hope everything is going well and you're managing the exam season okay. It sounds like you've had to overcome a lot and have achieved some great things academically in spite of your anxiety, so huge kudos for that. I am sure with your work ethic and clear talent as a student you'll go on to do some really great things!

I think you've already had some really good advice. I would suggest:

•

Please don't worry. Just do your best and make sure to work out where you need to improve for the real things.

•

I would head right into yr13 regardless of your yr12 grades, just do your best to improve on the areas you struggle with.

•

If you are not happy with your grades in yr13 and you don't get into the uni you want, then I would also advise to resit the subjects you need to improve. This was my plan too when I was yr13.

If you do end up needing to resit, this is absolutely fine and perfectly normal - maybe you can also take some time out for part time work so you can save a bit of money for uni when you get there 🙂 and don't worry at all about being a couple of years older than 18 - my closest friends at uni were 21 and 25 in first year as they'd taken gap years/time out too. Its very normal and is actually becoming a lot more common 🙂

I hope this helps and best of luck!

University of Bath

(edited 8 months ago)

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