Results day is just around the corner, and if you’re waiting to see how you’ve done, you’re probably more than a bit nervous. That’s completely understandable, A-level results day can determine the next three years of your life.
If you can’t think of anything besides your sweaty palms and heart palpitations, don’t worry. How you’re feeling is normal, and thankfully, there are ways to make results day more bearable. Take a look at our survival guide below.
Before Results Day:
Get to Grips with UCAS Track
UCAS Track is an online system that allows you to check the progress of your university applications. Check UCAS Track before you get your results, to avoid any confusion about what your results mean and fine tune the details of any provisional offers.
Gather Everything You Need
We recommend creating a results day ‘survival pack’, with all the relevant information you need to hand. According to The Telegraph, it is a good idea to have the following easily accessible:
- Your UCAS login details
- Contact details for your university choices
- Information from both the ‘clearing’ and ‘adjustment’ UCAS pages
- Details of conditional offers or clearing information for universities on your list
- Personal statement
- GCSE results
- A list of contingency courses, if you think you’ll go through the clearing process
Do Something Fun
The night before results day could leave you feeling like a ball of nerves, but for your sanity, you should push yourself to do something other than bite your nails. Make plans with friends, watch a movie, or spend time with family. All that matters is that you’re not thinking about tomorrow morning.
On Results Day
Choose a Time to Check Your Results
Though it’s tempting to get up at the crack of dawn and nervously refresh your results page, you’ll be much happier if you pick a time to check your results and stick to it. This is much easier if you’re going to your school or a university to pick up your results, so if you’re worried, consider asking to collect your results in person.
The Results are In.. What Next?
You’ve made your offer OR done better than expected
Well done! You’ve made your offer or may have even exceeded it! First of all, resist the urge to gloat all over social media. This is a sensitive time for everyone, and while you’ve made your offer, remember that not everyone else has. A quick Instagram story or Snapchat confirming that you’re going to the university of your choice is fine, but resist the urge to wax poetic about your 10 A* all over Facebook.
If you’ve made your offer, be sure to double-check that everything is in order on UCAS Track, but after that, you don’t really need to do anything. It might be a good idea to check your financials and sort any student accommodation. After that? It’s time to celebrate!
If you’ve exceeded your expectations, you may want to consider applying for a different programme. Apply through Adjustment, a programme that allows you to accept an offer from a more prestigious university, without the stress of losing your current university place.
You’ve missed your offer
If you haven’t gotten the results you need, the most important thing to remember is not to panic.
Get in touch with any universities who may have made you an offer and ask if they would be willing to accept you with your current results. This is most likely if your grades were very close to what you needed for university. Speak to an academic advisor about any exam appeals, but do this ASAP and realise that appeals are far more common in subjects like English and History, than in subjects such as Maths.
If you’ve missed the mark on your grades by a significant margin, now is the time to start looking at clearing courses. Clearing is where universities advertise the spaces they still have available. Clearing officially begins at 3:00 PM, but we recommend pulling out that handy contingency list, and ringing around. Be sure to keep a note of who you spoke to.
Once all is said and done, it’s time to relax and celebrate. No matter what happens on results day, your university experience is sure to be a fantastic one.
To see how students living at LIV Student relax and celebrate click here.
