'iya.
I'm sure many of you are very aware that the results days for GCSEs and A levels and whatever else are coming up in the UK; I thought I'd take this opportunity to share my experiences and hopefully ease a few nerves.
If you've read my first post then you'll know that I could only apply for one university after declining all five of my offers, so I had no insurance choice. As I had no institution to fall back on, I genuinely convinced myself I wouldn't have achieved the grades to get into Lancaster University and would be going through clearing. I spent hours of many nights during the run-up to results day researching different universities to contact if I didn't get into my firm choice. At this point I didn't care where I went to university, I just wanted to go.
For as long as I remember I've wanted to move away from home and explore different places. The last thing I wanted was to stay in my home city, purely because I've been bored of it for years - I want to visit more cities and do bigger things. However, I know a lot of people who feel the opposite to me and have stayed close to home, got full-time jobs or attend a nearby university and I totally understand that too. I know people want to be near their families and that people enjoy living in their home towns, but that's just not me. Everyone's different so don't let anyone pressure you into doing anything that you don't want to do. Some people want to move away from home and go to uni, some people want to stay at home whilst going to uni and some people want to get jobs or apprenticeships - it's totally your choice. If you're still unsure about if you want to go to university you can defer your place and have a gap year to make up your mind, or you could try it out and you always have the options of transferring universities or onto a different course or leaving all together. There are so many options and you can change your mind at any point. Don't do something that you know you'll hate to be 'safe' or to make anyone else happy, but also don't be afraid of the big wide world. I'm lucky enough to have a family who support whatever decisions I make (even if my dad is STILL trying to convince me to stay in Nottingham), so doing what I want is pretty easy but I know everyone's not in the same position. Have the confidence to do what your gut tells you so you don't regret doing something or more importantly, not doing something!
For as long as I remember I've wanted to move away from home and explore different places. The last thing I wanted was to stay in my home city, purely because I've been bored of it for years - I want to visit more cities and do bigger things. However, I know a lot of people who feel the opposite to me and have stayed close to home, got full-time jobs or attend a nearby university and I totally understand that too. I know people want to be near their families and that people enjoy living in their home towns, but that's just not me. Everyone's different so don't let anyone pressure you into doing anything that you don't want to do. Some people want to move away from home and go to uni, some people want to stay at home whilst going to uni and some people want to get jobs or apprenticeships - it's totally your choice. If you're still unsure about if you want to go to university you can defer your place and have a gap year to make up your mind, or you could try it out and you always have the options of transferring universities or onto a different course or leaving all together. There are so many options and you can change your mind at any point. Don't do something that you know you'll hate to be 'safe' or to make anyone else happy, but also don't be afraid of the big wide world. I'm lucky enough to have a family who support whatever decisions I make (even if my dad is STILL trying to convince me to stay in Nottingham), so doing what I want is pretty easy but I know everyone's not in the same position. Have the confidence to do what your gut tells you so you don't regret doing something or more importantly, not doing something!
...ANYWAY!
The morning of results day I got up extra early, had breakfast, got ready, woke my mum and told her I was leaving early to catch the bus with a friend to sixthform to pick up my results. So I left the house, walked round the corner and got into a parked car - yes, I lied to my mum - off I drove towards Derby to take my driving test...
I can't really remember how I felt the night before results day and the day of my driving test, but I don't remember being nervous. When I look back I think I felt prepared for both. I had a plan to go through clearing and I had been driving for over a year before I took my test so I was more than ready to drive for a short amount of time with a stranger. Most people probably think I'm crazy for arranging my driving test on results day but I think it actually distracted me from being nervous about one or the other. I wouldn't advise anyone else to arrange two stressful situations on one day, I'm incredibly laid back about these sorts of things unlike a lot of people. I would however advise you to prepare a plan if you feel like there is any chance that you wont get the grades you want. Doing this may kill your nerves a bit because if you already have a plan you wont go into the 'WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?!?!' stage. You'll already have it covered and under control. That certainly helped me anyway.
Back to my results day story: Before I knew it my driving test was over and done with, I passed first time with three minors (which I got when I pulled back into the test centre) and began calling my mum. She was out walking the dog when she answered and was expecting me to tell her my results. I simply said 'Mum, I have no idea what my results are but I passed my driving test!' you can imagine how confused and shocked she was. I called my dad afterwards and he told me he found out I had my driving test when he overheard me and my driving instructor talking about it the day before (damn it). Then eventually I checked my emails as my instructor drove me to sixthform and saw that I had a confirmed place at Lancaster University! When I got to sixthform one of my teachers actually hugged me and congratulated me before I had even opened my results, so I had a good idea that I did well in that subject! I actually achieved AAB plus a C in 'general studies' (and a fail in 'finance' - I couldn't be arsed to read the paper so made a pretty pattern with the multiple choice boxes and then didn't go to the retake because of a snow day - priorities!). I achieved the grades that Lancaster had asked for, which I was not expecting at all so I was over the moon.
Remember that if results day doesn't go the way you wanted it to, it really isn't the end of the world. Yes everybody wants to do well, but there is always still a way to get to where you want to be. You can't change what's already happened so try not to stress yourself out before you go to collect you results.
If you're worried about getting into university: remember that some universities let you in with lower grades than they originally ask for, clearing is available to get into a different institution and also if you do better than expected you can go through the 'adjustment' process to apply for another university that asked for higher than your predicted grades.
A lot of universities will actually email you before you collect your results so I would check your emails and UCAS in the morning. If you do hear that you've got a place at university, you probably wont mind what your grades are anymore!
Whatever the outcome, celebrate with your friends. Collecting your results also marks the end of a chapter of your life and you may not see the people you spent literally every day with very often anymore. So go out and have a damn good night together.
Remember that if results day doesn't go the way you wanted it to, it really isn't the end of the world. Yes everybody wants to do well, but there is always still a way to get to where you want to be. You can't change what's already happened so try not to stress yourself out before you go to collect you results.
If you're worried about getting into university: remember that some universities let you in with lower grades than they originally ask for, clearing is available to get into a different institution and also if you do better than expected you can go through the 'adjustment' process to apply for another university that asked for higher than your predicted grades.
A lot of universities will actually email you before you collect your results so I would check your emails and UCAS in the morning. If you do hear that you've got a place at university, you probably wont mind what your grades are anymore!
Whatever the outcome, celebrate with your friends. Collecting your results also marks the end of a chapter of your life and you may not see the people you spent literally every day with very often anymore. So go out and have a damn good night together.
Good luck to everyone collecting results soon, whether they're GCSEs, AS/A2 levels or anything else! Hope I've helped in some way.
TTFN
x
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