Results Day

It’s been a lovely long summer for those of you who have just left year 13, but unfortunately the day is almost here: A Level Results Day. Having experienced my own results day only a year ago I fully understand how everyone is feeling. You’re all nervous, fed up of the wait, and even a bit scared to be excited in case your results don’t go as planned. But I can assure you this is totally normal and every single person right now is in exactly the same boat. What you need to do now though is make sure you’re prepared for your results no matter what the outcome is; this is also a good way of approaching a very stressful topic and easing your mind slightly for the week ahead.

So how on earth do you even prepare for results day?! Well here’s a few tips.

Logging into UCAS Track…

So the first thing anyone is going to do on results day is log onto Track and see what the outcome is, so it’s vital that you’re totally prepared to do this. It may seem silly at first but make sure you write down your username and password for the Track website, you don’t want to be panicking about logging on when you’re already nervous enough! Track also opens at a slightly different time to what they tell you. On their website last year it said that I’d be able to log on at 8am and check my university place. However, I tried logging on from about 7:45am and I managed to log on before 8am so don’t be scared to try logging on throughout your morning.

Good Results…

If you’ve been accepted into your first choice of university this will come up on Track saying ‘your place has been confirmed’. There’s nothing to do on Track after this (unless you’ve changed your mind) so sit back, relax, and think about your exciting future!

Unexpected Results…

Unfortunately some people do get results that are slightly lower than expected and so they aren’t accepted into their first choice university. If this is the case, but you’ve managed to get the results needed for your insurance choice, you’ll be shown the ‘your place has been confirmed’ message for your insurance choice instead. This is usually still a great outcome but there are other options if your heart is set on somewhere else.

Clearing…

Clearing does seem like an extremely scary thing and for some it’s upsetting to think that you won’t be getting into a top university, but this is wrong! Nearly all of the top universities offer places in clearing so you’ve still got a great opportunity to get into somewhere fantastic. It may be scary to think about but I highly recommend that everyone should find the phone numbers of the clearing lines for universities that you’re interested in. I made a note of the phone numbers for universities that had been in my top choice anyway and also made a note of the grades they were originally looking for in their courses. I feel like this was a great way to prepare myself for any unexpected results and put my mind at ease as I knew exactly what actions to take no matter what happened with my results.

And finally, try to stay positive!

I know it’s a lot easier said than done, but just remember that what’s done is done and all you can do now is wait and see what happens on results day and be prepare for any outcome. I know everyone will have worked extremely hard this year and everything will work out well!

Stay calm, be positive and good luck!