DD wants to repeat year 13 despite accepting an unconditional uni offer

[BigSandyBalls2015]

Ultimately it’s her decision, I get that, but would still appreciate views.

DD has accepted an unconditional offer. I was concerned that this may encourage her to work less at 6th form but it seems to have had the opposite effect. She’s on course to do well in two A level subjects but is struggling with a third.

I don’t think it matters that much as it’s nit the subject she’s stydying at uni but she’s concerned what potential employers will think when they see the results on her CV.

I’ve offered to pay for a tutor, she doesn’t want this. I’m worried it’s a case of cold feet, leaving the security of her school and taking this big next step. She disagrees.

Thoughts please.

The uni is generally a good indicator of what A level results were like. Does your DD think she could get to a better uni with another year of study?

Does she have friends moving on to uni next year? I think once the momentum of exams gets going she may find she wants to go. If not she can take a gap year and reapply with results in hand , retaking one if she still believes it is so important. Effectively offers she gets then are also unconditional.

Please encourage her to actually do her exams before making any decisions! She can apply for student finance now and still decide not to go after results day- and actually, even if she misses the student finance deadline, she can still apply right up until she actually starts uni, there just isn't a guarantee that the money will be in her account ready for the start of term.

Far better to accept the unconditional, do the exams, and then make decisions about retakes once she knows what results are, rather than making all these decisions before A levels themselves. It sounds more a case of not wanting to leave school than wanting to improve her career options later on. I would advise not making decisions now and waiting until August- if she has done badly in one subject school should be more receptive to her asking to repeat then anyway.

Ultimately it’s not her decision, it’s the school’s decision, and they are very likely to say no.

Great advice from Always. I would do this if my DD was in this situation - means all options are still open. My DD is also in Y13, and STILL waiting for response from one of her choices. We have had to do as much of finance forms etc. as possible so when she gets a decision she is in a position to act quickly. Wish they'd hurry up though!!

It would be a bonkers decision to re-take Year 13 on that basis. Employers won't care about A level results when it comes to graduate recruitment, they will be interested in what her degree class is. There may (or may not) be other reasons for your DD to hang back a year, but that isn't a sensible one.

I agree with Always. She may well be doing better than she thinks. I did an exam in a topic I disliked and hadn't prepared adequately for, but I didn't have a choice as it led to the qualification I wanted; ultimately, when it got to the exam I decided to treat it as a practice run and approached it in a much more relaxed manner than my other subjects. And, of course, I passed. If I'd decided to defer I would have wasted a year and lost out on a good job offer.

A level marks do matter now for graduate recruitment. I've been asked my highers ( scottish sort of equivalent ) for every graduate job I've applied to. My boss told me they were one of the reasons they took me on. Degree results don't filter enough anymore

Most graduate recruitment is done online now. They're only interested in degree class - literally, you can't proceed past the initial screen if you don't meet the degree class requirement, apparently. For most that's a 2.1. Her A level results won't mean a thing to employers when she has a degree and post-grad work experience. Why would it?

Right now, her A levels seem like they mean absolutely everything, and that's normal as a 6th former. It's like the baby milestones; as a new mother, weaning etc seem so essential, and then when you have older kids you can barely remember what you did, far less why you thought it mattered. After she's left university and is in her first job, A levels will feel like a different life. And the results will seem about as important as a past life, too.

@byteme1011, my second-hand info is almost a decade out of date (and my personal experience over 20 years ago, too!), so with degree inflation presumably things have changed.

OP, has your DD talked to any career advisors?

Has she discussed her reasons with you? Is there a uni or course she'd rather do than the unconditional she's accepted, but which needs higher grades than she's predicted?
What's her logic behind not wanting a tutor? She could focus on her weakest aspects of her third subject and pull the grade up. Even half a dozen sessions between now and her first exam could make a difference.

My sister did similar, but because her boyfriend at the time failed his A levels.
She deferred her uni place for a year and did another A level at a local college while working part time and saving some cash for uni.

Of course she broke up with said boyfriend immediately after they started uni anyway, but being a year older than her uni peers did her no harm (and there will be freshers of all ages on most degree courses anyway).
My sister actually met her husband because they were in the same halls - they’ve been married 20 years now, and might never have met if she’d gone to uni ‘on time’.

Agree with previous posters that it’s good to at least consider you DD plans for after uni - it might change, of course, but it’s not much effort to look up entry requirements for post graduate schemes or employers’ specifications for the kinds of roles she might be applying for.

She doesn’t have to make any decisions now though, and you’d be amazed at what’s currently on offer through clearing - far more prestigious courses than in previous years.

Last year my son was adamant that he wanted to go to his first choice uni, but he’s always been sketchy with exams (he’ll ace it on a good day, not even write his name on the paper on a bad day).
I refused to book any accommodation/make any arrangements based on his conditional offer, because I didn’t think he would get the grades (A,A,B). In the end, I was right, he got A,A,C, but the first choice uni offered him a place anyway, and he still managed to get everything arranged in time for the beginning of term.

This flying by the seat of one’s pants approach probably won’t suit everyone, but it was fine - so don’t panic too much, decisions can still be made after the exam results come in.

My son just had to get his GCSE and A level certs to send with his Masters application (currrently 3rd and final year of degree) so it does depend on what she wants to do.

If she doesn't feel ready for uni, does she have to stay at school full time to redo year 13? Could she get a job and study for her other A level part time?

An important thing to consider is that UCAS demands that all results of exams are declared so that the third A level result will have to be declared alongside the other two for this year. Even if your DD improves it by retaking next year, it doesn't just wipe it out. This may affect her offers for UCAS next year if she reapplies and she may not get another unconditional offer as there may be more applicants for her course, or better suited applicants etc, you just don't know.

I don't know if employers would look at A levels that closely but on her CV it would be clear that the third A level was taken a year later than the other two. Employers may question this - a whole year spent on one A level may not be considered to be as impressive as three A levels taken in one sitting.

Uni is a big step, my DD is at uni so I know what it is like. Perhaps there could be another reason why she feels reluctant to take up her place this year?

Get a tutor for the subject and do some intense revision. Repeating year 13 will look worse and raise questions.

I bombed my a levels. Went on to a great degree and got 2:1. No ones ever looked at my a-levels since.

I got 2 x A*s and a D at a level. I did the subject one of my A stars (having to type it to avoid bold!) at uni and got a first class with honours. Then onto one of the top grad schemes in the country.

I've always been inconsistent. Definitely hasn't held me back though. Even now I wince a bit having to declare a D, but 🤷🏽‍♀️

Some schools do allow you to resist year 13. Unfortunately I’ve yet to meet a student that has done any better than if they had just finished with their peers.