What to do if you think you are going to fail next week.

So you think/know you are about to fail your a levels and get your results back.

First of all, try and relax, this is hard, and scary to know your life is maybe not going in that linear way you thought it would, but it’s not the end all be all, there are ways forward, there are options and you are not alone.

Second, look at some respectable lower offer universities you maybe wouldn’t mind, for example Swansea, Sussex, Brunel, and note down their numbers, sign up to clearing on their websites. Be prepared, have your personal statement and UCAS number to hand for clearing.

I wouldn’t recommend looking at any much lower on the league though, there is no point in getting a degree from a university that is not respected resitting is a better option for your future.

Third, and perhaps most terrifying. Tell your parents! Horrible but necessary, sit them down, tell them what’s up, prepare them, it’s better they do not approach results day with massively high expectations that are crushed, getting ahead of it will result in a better outcome for you than them finding out on the day I promise you.

Finally, try and breathe. Your fate is not sealed till results day and agonising over it is not going to help you, you need to be prepared and try and move forward with a clear head, make your next steps rationally because there are plenty of crap universities and other people that are dying to take advantage of desperate students, you are not an embarrassment you are not pathetic, and you are not stupid.

I am a firmly believer that catastrophic failure is one of the best lessons a person can learn about how to overcome struggle and persevere and unfortunately you hit the teaching stage. But if you have failed now, this failure was most likely always coming, and ultimately better now than resitting a year of uni wasting all that money. So pick yourself up, keep going, it is all going to be okay.

(and I will share how to go about resitting later or you can find it in my old posts 🩷)