It is 44 years since the postman brought the letter I had been waiting for
from Cambridge University. I can still hear the noise of the letterbox flap.
I can still see the envelope on the mat. I bent to pick it up, wondered
whether I dared to open it, stopped breathing and did. They were sorry but,
no, they could not offer me a place: stiff competition and all that, hope
all goes well. Then the film stops. I don’t know what I did next – probably
because for the first time in my life, the prize had not dropped onto my
plate – but my disbelief, anger and self-pity remain pretty vivid.
Did it make any difference that I went to Bristol rather than Cambridge? In
the long run, not a jot. And that is the first thing to realise if you are
sitting there wondering why you did not get the necessary grades and what
the hell you are going to do.
It is a setback and a shock but it is not the end of the world. It may even be
good news because you now have a chance to think seriously about the rest of
your life.
You did well at GCSEs and cruised without much thought into the sixth form.
Everybody else was applying to university, so you did too. Well, think
again. Do you really want to go to university? And, if so, why? Many
employers are saying that it makes sense to recruit 18-year-olds who can be
trained on the job.
You don’t need me to tell you that three more years as a student means some
hefty debts. An increasing number of graduates cannot find work that
requires degree-level skills. An increasing number of students don’t even
graduate; they decide a year or two into the course that it’s a waste of
time and money.
You have a chance to avoid their mistake. If you want to be a doctor, then you
need a degree in medicine. If you want to work in film or television,
however, a technical apprenticeship – for example, with the BBC – will
probably prove more valuable than a degree in media studies. Use this
apparent setback to decide what is really right for you.
Neither should you feel that you have to make an immediate decision. If you
are absolutely certain that you know what you want to study, then fine, you
can start to pick up the pieces. If you are not, then the best thing might
be to take some time out. Travel or find a job that will help you to make up
your mind and may well strengthen a subsequent application to university. It
is far better to delay university entrance for a year than to rush into an
application that commits you to a course you are going to hate.
If your marks are unexpectedly low, it may be worth asking your school to
request a remark of your papers by the exam board. There is a fee, but
examiners do make mistakes. Last summer 23,000 GCSE and A-level grades were
changed on appeal. If you are certain you want to go to university and your
marks are not increased after being checked, you can either resit your
A-levels to improve your scores or find a university that will accept you
with the grades you have got.
If you choose to try again, you might achieve grades that would win you a
place at a more prestigious university than the one that has just rejected
you. Next year the clearing system is changing so that some top
universities, although probably not Oxford or Cambridge, may hold back
places for students who do better than they or their teachers had expected.
Candidates will have five days to shop around for a place at a university that
would have rejected them on their predicted grades. This development could
play in your favour if you decide to retake the exams next summer.
The alternative, of course, is to apply now to the clearing system run by the
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas). Last year nearly 40,000
people, who were feeling just as downhearted as you are now, picked
themselves up, followed the advice on the Ucas website (www.ucas.com)
and found a university place.
Make sure you investigate all the options. Highly competitive courses at
popular universities may be full, but many courses will still have
vacancies. You are about to make a decision that will affect the next three
years and possibly your whole life. So look before you leap.
A sensible first step is to contact a careers adviser or, better still, a
teacher who knows you well, to discuss courses that may meet your
aspirations.
You do not have to stick to your original subject choices, but you need to be
realistic about entry requirements (published on the Ucas website). The
Sunday Times University Guide (www.timesonline.co.uk/universityguide)
will help you to decide whether a course is any good. Courses that have
vacancies are listed online by Ucas and some are advertised in the media
until late next month.
Once you are sure that a course is of interest, contact the relevant
university as soon as you can. Visiting the university means you have a
chance to meet the tutors and to check out the accommodation and the social
life.
The course might be right, but you need to feel comfortable with the city or
campus as well. Most universities will make arrangements to meet you and
show you round. It is in their interest to help you make the right choice
and you may be wise to think again about anywhere that can’t be bothered to
do this.
Make sure you have thought through why you applied for this particular course
because candidates who appear to have stuck a pin in the prospectus are
going to be accepted only if the university is desperate. You may be asked
about your exam results, so be prepared to give an honest answer that is as
positive as possible.
If the conversation goes well and the university decides to offer you a place,
you will be asked to forward your clearing passport, which Ucas will have
sent you. Do this only if you are sure that the course is the right one for
you. If you are not sure, explain politely and contact other universities.
If you are sure, send the passport or take it with you if you have not
already visited.
All offers are unofficial until the university has received your clearing
passport and informed Ucas. Once this has been done, Ucas will write to you
confirming your place. You can then uncross your fingers and start planning
your future.
For the government’s exam results helpline, phone 0808 100 8000
If at first you don't succeed
Rachel Hovendon missed a vital A grade by a couple of marks. An initial
score of two As and a B at A-level, rather than three As, cost her a place
to read theology at Oxford University three years ago. Afterappealing to the
exam board shewas told that there had been a marking error and the B was
upgraded to an A. Since Oxford had by then given away her place for that
autumn term, Rachel opted for Durham. She says: “If a mark doesn’t seem
right, appeal. But try to get an urgent remark and ask the university to
hold your place until the new result arrives.”
Fatima Ahmed kept the tears at bay when she checked her results on
Thursday to discover that she had narrowly failed to obtain the grades
needed for a law course at Queen Mary, University of London. She quickly
headed to the careers adviser at her sixth-form college and phoned
universities that were advertising vacancies for law courses in the clearing
system. Within hours she had a place on the law degree course at
Westminster. “If you know which course you want to do, jump in quickly:
popular courses like law get snapped up,” she says.
Matthew Whitty was celebrating last week. His four As had secured him a
place at Nottingham in October to study politics. Last year, after attending
a London state school, Whitty had scored three Bs, losing out on his
preferred university. He decided to study at a private college and retake
the exams. It cost about £20,000 for the year. He advises analysing
your exam performance and working out how to improve. “What you decide to do
depends on your circumstances but I’m glad I retook the exams,” he says.
Sian Griffiths and Lorna Buky-Webster
