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 don't understand the negativism about Sheffield, back in my day, '60s it was one of the Northern big 5, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and, I think Newcastle.

Just as an aside, while your young people are out increasing Spoonies' profits this evening into tomorrow morning, hope you all have stocked up on somethings cold and delicious and I don't mean Magnum ice creams.

Not Newcastle, it was Birmingham which I would never have considered 'North'!

Should say predicted A star, always on track for A/ A star in that subject.

Is there nothing in Clearing? Has anyone checked the maths scripts? If he plans on studying a maths rekated subject he may need to bear in mind that a gap year might prove problematic for some unis.

If its UWE then it may be a practical arts course which they are excellent for? My DD applied there but didn't get an offer. My BF many eons ago went there for a Graphic Design HND when it was a polytechnic at Bower Ashton and he was amazingly talented (and has been in the industry now over 30 years).

Were her 3 A stars from A levels, maybe arts A levels, or the BTEC equivalency?

@TesChiqueDD was predicted ABB, got CCD and thankfully had her offer changed to unconditional back in July based on her mocks results. She got offers from RG unis of ABB and BBB (contextual offers, we're in a deprived area) but much preferred a different smaller uni with amazing wellbeing support and the offer from there was CCC. She's Autistic so wellbeing is a far bigger priority than grades. No one has ever cared what uni I went to and when recruiting people I've not cared either.
Most people go for the harder to get into more prestigious unis, but not everyone does.

My son was told he had to upload his to the UCAS hub - he doesn’t have access to a uni portal. I’d go through the UCAS hub to see if anything is flagging up as it wasn’t obvious when my son logged in today, he was told via the uni.

My DD got an unconditional offer A WEEK AGO but hadn't checked (we assumed check today / all happens today) - foundation year / 3 year degree, slightly different course and extra year but modules right up her street and its still at her first choice uni.

DD has accepted. we are happy.

Something will work out for those that didn't quite get what they hoped for - like my DD.

No it's the uni that needs to see the certificate. They will send their decision to UCAS once they've seen it and UCAS will show the uni change to unconditional.

After convincing us that he would be lucky to get a C in economics after making a big mistake, DS actually got an A alongside an A* , A and an A in A/S level further maths. We are so proud and relieved! I don't know who was more shocked, him or us. I had all our clearing notes ready for him to start applying, thankfully not needed. He is going to the University of Sheffield to study computer science. Sending good wishes to everyone, it has been a very stressful time for both students and parents!

It's quite a buyer's market this year, it does vary year on year of course. In my day (late 90s) I got into a very good university with appalling grades (waaaay below expected) as I had an unconditional offer so it wasn't true for me that a drop of one grade made a difference.

Hi @SlightlyJaded - I absolutely remember your previous results-day nightmare but can’t quite believe it was actually 2 years ago!! I’d say this time around it’s a little easier, not least because your DS is more than happy to go to NTU and you don’t have to contend with the stress of clearing again. Also, if your DS prefers coursework to the cliffhanger of exams, he probably won’t have to take any exams as part of his degree once he’s at NTU, whereas at Liverpool Uni he almost certainly will. It was one of the reasons my DS turned down his History place at Manchester Uni on results day a few years ago in favour of UEA, and absolutely thrived as the course assessment structure played to his strengths.

I know you and a few people asked this ages ago, but she’s doing Filmmaking at UWE, she really loved the course and the city (more than Uni of Bristol for example) so she’s determined it’s UWE she wants. She’s going to be designing the sets in all your favourite films and TV shows one day soon I’m sure.

That makes total sense! Hope she has a great time!

I got into a very good uni to do a popular humanities subject in the 80s with the same grades DS has just got (AAC). We both got As in the degree subject and the C in a non-required subject.

That's actually really sweet! I got BCE after straight As at GCSE, my parents were furious but it all worked out in the end phew.

It might be because university numbers are down in general, as the number of international students coming to study here starts to decline, coinciding with a falling birth rate. Unis still have places to fill and need to financially – makes sense they'd be willing to offer a place with grades they might previously have rejected.
theweek.com/education/uk-universities-why-higher-education-is-in-crisis

@SlightlyJaded oh no poor you but at least he 's happy. Dd also dropped to 3 C's and and a in epq, missed her lancaster offer but was offered foundation which she's now taken. They wouldn't move this am on the bcc in clearing so liverpool may not have either. We alos have issues that were mitigating! So extra year to fund as she didn't want to look at clearing other than liverpool who haven't replied and so it all by email! Nothing much now left as her course is very popular this year! I'm off to drink wine, please join me 😀

I went to Sussex for a master's years ago, and my mum worked there for forty years. It's a beautiful, spacious campus, and the Sussex countryside is glorious. And Brighton is the absolute bomb. I haven't been to Nottingham, but I'd choose Sussex any day!

Yes I read something in the news today suggesting that unis this year have accepted students for their first choice in record numbers because of increasing uncertainty about international students, as well as this being a smaller birth cohort year, so they’re keener than usual to snap up the U.K. students.

Very grateful for that over here as my son along with his 2 closest friends missed his firm offer grades by at least 2 grades (already slightly below his predicted grades), but miraculously all 3 have got their first choice uni and course anyway. All very relieved even if slightly disappointed with their actual results as they all worked hard.

Not a total surprise here that this happened as my son is very bright but due to his ADHD has always been a spectacularly uneven performer (bit like OP’s kids from the sound of it, I really feel for you OP! So good he’s happy with insurance, a shame he won’t lift the phone, but the way UCAS works nowdays my understanding is they will already have seriously deliberated over whether they could still offer before declining him so would likely be a no anyway). His GCSE results day was genuinely traumatic for us both! I didn’t sleep for about a week and I’m not even kidding (was also under a lot of stress in my personal life at the time so really could have done without that drama). Had to move schools for sixth form when really not planned/anticipated etc.

He ended up with ACCD today (from memory his actual prediction was A star AAB?) with the A being in his planned subject choice for study at uni thank God (maths) though he did do further maths as well and it is a C which is slightly concerning… Genuinely his grades have always super hard to predict as performance all over the place from A star equivalent on a god day to D/E on a bad day. It’s incredibly stressful having a child like this! At least if you anticipate they’ll get D/Es it’s easier to plan around but when there is a very realistic hope of As at the same time it makes it very hard to plan properly for all eventualities, and also not show that you’re super disappointed if it ends up in D/Es!

Congrats to all our kids and to us no matter what the actual results were today, their whole secondary school education was really a bit of a mess due to pandemic disruption so it’s not been an easy run for any of us. We all deserve a glass or two (or three!) of wine this evening!

Having convinced themselves that they’d ploughed their exams, DC has spent the last couple of months planning a fairly well thought-out gap year…only to get the grades today for their firm (humanities at Oxbridge).

Can anyone who knows more about these things confirm my gut feel please that it’s far too late and a spectacularly bad idea to ask at this stage whether deferral would be possible?

Thanks

Thank you @Doitrightnowwe have applied for remarking. Do you mean the same thing?

@AwkwardAnnie huge congratulations to your daughter. If you were prepared to PM me I would absolutely love to know of tiny unis with amazing wellbeing support. That is exactly what we are looking for for my younger one. They all talk the same talk.

Thanks so much for out lovely comments!!! 😻! I hope you have spent the day celebrating so far!! And, maybe into the night!

I am nervously awaiting DS16’s GCSE’s next week. He is ND AuDHD and has had a crappy time at school with getting bullied and epilepsy. He wants to do Level 3 Btec in Public Services, but needs 4 Grade 4’s ( English may be a stretch!! 🤞🙏….. so that’s a bit of a wait and see!

DS18 is off to Edinburgh for languages! He took a gap year, which was good as he changed his second language choice, to go with his beloved Spanish.. ( I think he just fancied a different place for the third year 😈!) ..….

Well, I hope you are continuing well deserved celebrations!! I bet you sleep tonight!!! 💤💕 .. very well done again 🤩
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I just finished a masters at Sussex (as a very mature student) and I loved it. Great teaching lovely staff - they all work so bloody hard! And I really love the campus (but it's my kind of architecture, so some might not) and it has a good feel. The UG students all looked pretty happy to me!