Countdown to A level results day - 2023

[HereWeGo2023]

Following on from the A level support thread I thought I would create one for results day.
Hopefully you will all join me for the long nail biting wait and the big day at the end of it!

I think our plan is to drive up to school for 8am, check UCAS in the car, and only go into school when she knows from UCAS. She's quite relaxed, has been keeping herself busy. Exeter was her third choice, and when they had the clearing (much reduced) grades up last week, I think she felt huge relief that there was a proper back up plan (of course those grades may change tomorrow, but we'll worry about that as and when). She's done a little back up list with phone numbers and her UCAS details, ready to hit the ground running if necessary. She can't call it at all - I thought she came out of most of her exams feeling pretty ok, but she's just not sure.

Her subject choice is pure passion - she just loves everything to do with it, last week she was doing an activity directly related to the course because she wanted to, not for her UCAS statement lol! It doesn't translate into a well-paid career (even at entry level, I think she'll need a Masters as minimum), but for now, she wants to enjoy the study, which is fine by me. DH and I both secured graduate jobs straight from Uni - although our careers were aligned with our degrees (both businessy-economics-y), our colleagues had come from a huge variety of disciplines, so we've encouraged DD to do what she loves at this stage.

My DD is working until 10pm tonight specifically to take her mind off it all. She'll roll home tired, fall into bed and when she wakes up it will be exam results time. We are checking UCAS first as the destination is more important than the results she feels. I swapped 'exam anxiety' for 'Lioness anxiety' earlier today for a couple of hours but today can't go quick enough for me now!

@GMH1974 thanks for the info. She had wanted to do a masters but her grades in final year didn't allow for that. Looking at jobs she realised it was all min wage stuff in gift shops or on reception or volunteer. She is still glad she did her degree in a subject she loved and has found her place where she is now. She actually wrote on spec of asking for some unpaid work experience and they loved her on paper and the in person so much they created a job for her to use her skills to improve their processes in their business. Not linked at all but using s lot of skills she learned along the way.

No fingernails left here! DS has gone to work until 10.30pm and I have been trying (and failing) to do some work. He hasn't even applied to uni this year as he wants to go travelling so there's no real reason (for me) to stress!

Dd also at work (until 8) so doubt she has time to think about it. I was distracted at work earlier but keep thinking about it now I'm home so am cleaning to take my mind off running through all the possible scenarios in my head!

DD seems ok. We are all busy packing as I stupidly arranged our family holiday to commence tomorrow. Going overseas to a developing country & touring in a van so will need to sort any clearing tomorrow am. I know, incredibly stupid!
Her plan is UCAS first for uni then school portal for grades also accessed at 8am. I guess if UCAS crash then she’ll access grades first. If she’s got into either uni then she may go into school. Weirdly school are emailing her to book her place at school for morning celebrations. Her friends are all saying they dare not book their place incase it jinxes it. I guess school want to know numbers as they’re doing coffee & croissants.
Plan B is clearing but I’ve had a look and her course isn’t listed anywhere as yet, other than Penryn but that’s way too far. Plan C is a job and resits.

The Penryn campus is lovely @NotDonna but let's put it this way - we had to get the night train when we went to visit 😆DS had decided he wanted somewhere not too big and by the sea, but Penryn was definitely too small for him.

It looks as if the UCAS portal has become unavailable as expected, although I thought it was 6pm it was going down, not 5.

DS is just off to work. Have a list of possible accommodation for both Firm and Insurance (not able to sort out either before Results day). Briefly looked at Clearing. DS doesn’t want to talk about it. Once DS is at work I might just potter in the garden to try and relax (feeling so tense)

DD has been away staying with family for a few days. Now back & nerves are kicking in. She has no insurance option as she was so specific in what she wanted and all 4 unis we're offering the same. So it's Newcastle or clearing with Sheffield Hallam the only viable looking option at the moment. Going to log onto UCAS first then college site for grades

DD1 she went in for particle physics and known since she was around 11 she wanted to do physics; and shes now starting 4th year of her integrated masters. DD2 who gets her results tomorrow has wanted to work in a zoo since end of year 11, so shes got zoology/animal behaviour courses marked out.

for DD2 Reading is first choice zoology, Chester insurance animal behaviour. She has Bangor and Gloucester lined up for clearing and maybe Wolverhampton. shes logging in ucas tomorrow, then going to get her grades when school opens, although UCAS has a track record of crashing over the years.

We are another family going on holiday tomorrow! I'm sure it'll be fine...

@sammyjoanne DS is first (and second) choice Zoology at Bangor, fingers crossed for your DD.

D2 has gone off to a pre results party. I'm incredibly anxious on her behalf, though trying not to show it. She's already got a place on an Art foundation year for September so she'll hopefully be applying to university for next year with grades in hand. She's had a very difficult time over the last few years (NHS waiting times) and the last few months especially have been awful. Talk of grade reduction to 2019 levels hasn't helped either.

Just a word of warning for people hoping to log onto UCAS first thing, when D1 was getting her results in 2020, UCAS took hours to update and allow log on. In the end she ran to school (literally) and her college emailed her while she was en route to congratulate her on getting her place.

The UCAS system worked better last year than for a few before that, @JulesJules!

By the way, when your DD comes to thinking about degree choices, I've tried to pull useful info together on a thread about art/design (I remember you from an Applicants thread a while back?) and some knowledgeable people have added to it since;
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/higher_education/4795276-art-and-design-at-university-for-past-present-and-future-students-and-parents
Does your DD have an inkling about which specialism she'll pursue, or is she going to explore that on the FAD? 😀

Oh god just to add to the stress dd has just found out her group of mates have been really really nasty and have all booked tickets to club night and not told her. The night is now sold out.
It's all led by one girl who has taken a dislike to dd and is having drinks at her house first and not invited dd.
She's so upset.

God that's so petty and unnecessary @troppibambini6 - they'll all be going their separate ways in 4 weeks, how utterly childish. Incredibly poor form for her friends to all have gone along with that.

In some ways I think it's probably best it is sold out, the last thing she needs is to feel like she's tagging along with them like a charity case. Far better to plan something else, and sack these friends off.

I totally agree @tribpot. She's absolutely gutted though.
I honestly feel more sick about that than the results now.

I agree, at least the examiners aren't being malicious! Ugh.

Times now reporting that the approach to assessment in NI and Wales is different to that in England. Not sure what to think..

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/8a29a5a2-3c2d-11ee-81cd-1bf34cc855cb?shareToken=86f87fa6573735910c41b830ea471927

It feels as though the newspapers are actively trying to stress everyone out.

NI and Wales weee always going to be different this year as has some pre notification and not going back to 2019 boundaries- I can’t read the article but if this is what they’re saying then it’s been known since last year.

Fingers crossed for tomorrow!

We've known this (as have the universities, crucially) for the past two years. It's clickbait. The Times is awful when it comes to exam season.

Hadn't realised that but as you say if the universities are aware it should all work out - although how employers are supposed to make head or tail of things I don't know! Agree re the Times - it's almost like they want everyone to panic...

Thanks so much @photodad yes I have been on that thread, very informative and supportive! D2 will hopefully be able to explore lots of options during her foundation year, and as it's local to us, I'm hoping it will be a good halfway house between home and university.