2025 A Level Results Day and Sept Uni Starters - All Welcome

[SlightlyJaded]

I couldn't see board specifically dedicated to results day for our DC who have sat A levels this spring. And I know some of us STILL have questions about Uni starters.

DS has Liverpool as his first choice and Notts Trent as his insurance - both to study History. Anyone who recognises me from previous boards might remember the hell we went through with DD a couple of years ago, so DS has applied quite a lot of caution to his choices - perhaps too much, perhaps not enough. Neither of us have any idea what to expect with his results. He has genuinely fluctuated between a D and an A in some of his mocks....

I still haven't done anything about accommodation which is one of the reasons I am starting this thread.

But mostly, it's for nail biting, relief, tears, support, advice and all the other things needed to get us through the next few weeks.

Welcome :)

I was amused by their efforts on Mastercard yesterday to call Spam tinned ham for the same reasons.

I guess it depends on whether he would think the gap year was wasted if he didn't get offers from there next year either?

It’s because on MN, stars make bold anything between them. So if you put A* twice, anything between will be in bold.

That’s an amazing result. What is she going to study? If the result is better than expected, has she thought about trading up in clearing?

Ds did not get what he wanted but has got a provisional offer from his first choice after them declining him first thing. His insurance has inundated him with info this morning as he met their offer and he felt bad declining them this morning as the emails were so welcoming! Just waiting for the confirmation now from Nottingham. His school were fab this morning, they had lists of those who did not get first or insurance offers and a separate area to support those to deal with clearing. Ds and I sat in Aldi car park today send in the request to Nottingham, then went and had breakfast out. Positive in the end but ds is sad not to have got the grades he wanted but it has worked out ok in the end.

That's good point. It would be a mix of work and travel and I think he would make the best of it but certainly it would be a let-down if he ended up in the same position.

Does anyone know when you find out a bit more about room allocation at Lancaster? We have paid a deposit for Furness but they say online some of the rooms have a "long" single bed.
Just wanted to get buying room stuff while I have some time off work.
Thought the hive mind here may know. Thanks

Unless she's fixed on UWE for a personal reason then with those results she should definitely look at trading up through clearing. She could get into a top ten university with those grades.

Thank you, I've been on Munsnet since ds was a baby and I never knew this! 🤯

Does anyone know when you find out a bit more about room allocation at Lancaster? We have paid a deposit for Furness but they say online some of the rooms have a "long" single bed.
Just wanted to get buying room stuff while I have some time off work.
Thought the hive mind here may know. Thanks

the long singles aren't that long but they are slightly longer. Ikea sheets fit.

@SuperTrooper1111 we are team BTEC too. DS was the Covid GCSE year and had a lot of remote A level teaching. He passed his A levels but not with the grades needed for either his firm choice or insurance. He refused to look at clearing (potential ASD/ADHD but not diagnosed, suggested to be tested by educational psychologist who confirmed dyslexia and diagnosed dyspraxia) and went off under duress and signed up for business studies BTEC and loved it, Distinction star/distinction/distinction and is now studying Accounting and finance at Liverpool Hope.

DD was adamant she wouldn’t do A levels and opted for a vocational BTEC resulting in triple distinction star. She can’t start her vocational plans yet due to her epilepsy, but is starting another BTEC, this one in dance, a completely different direction. Her teachers from the last course tried to persuade her to take a second BTEC closely related to the first, but there is an overlap and she was worried about being bored.

Well done to her @PuppyMonkey
(and also to all others doing so well!)

I have to ask tho – has she thought about trading up? There won't be many students at UWE with three A-stars. Apols to UWE students – it is a good uni for sure but not usually having such high offers as that.

What is it to study? Or is she really happy wth UWE for other reasons? If so best of luck to her.

Any specific reason why he prefers them?

@3bluellamas thank you so much!

That’s great know. Glad your DS enjoyed his time at Durham .
We did that walk up the hill on open day! - I’m sure DS will have a fab time there and he’s very much looking forward to freshers week
i feel like there’s a strong sense of college loyalty at Durham so now he’s a Stevo !

That’s great know. Glad your DS enjoyed his time at Durham .
We did that walk up the hill on open day! - I’m sure DS will have a fab time there and he’s very much looking forward to freshers week
i feel like there’s a strong sense of college loyalty at Durham so now he’s a Stevo !

Of course they will send lovely emails - they want your business - £9.5k tuition fees, hall fees, bar spending etc.
It's a buyers market with less international students so go for the place you have your heart and head set on

They are both higher up in rankings. Bath is in the top ten in the UK for Economics so a really solid choice but I think he considering that LSE/UCL might give him a better chance if he wanted to do a Masters abroad in the future. He also knows and likes London whereas he doesn't know Bath (we're based inNorthern Ireland)

Well done for getting it sorted so quickly. I should think you need a lie down after what must have been stressful. Hopefully you can all look forward to it now xx

I would stick with Bath if he likes it. It's got an excellent reputation. There is absolutely no guarantee, even with those fantastic results, that UCL or LSE will make a different decision next year.

@Annoyeddd you are probably right re them wanting the money but this morning in the sadness of not getting the grades and holding out for first choice, those emails made ds felt wanted somewhere and it did help quite a bit.

I think you'd be bonkers to reject Bath for economics.

Its not what Clearing should be used for though as this period is for the students that desperately need to sort out where they are going/where they are going to be living in a few weeks time.

A lot of unis refuse to deal with students that are looking for entry a year on - though the case you mention is slightly different as this student changed their mind.

If someone is looking to start uni in 2026, they are better off applying from September in the next UCAS cycle, when all the unis are accepting fresh applications, not just the ones who happen to have vacancies at the moment and want to fill them for this year.

I concur!