A level results day (on Thursday 18 August 2016) can be one of the most stressful but exciting times in a student's life. Make sure you are prepared for it with our step-by-step guide:
If you have gained the grades for your first choice of university, Congratulations! Here is what will happen next:
- Your “Conditional Firm” offer will change to “Unconditional” in due course
- You will receive confirmation of this on UCAS Track within 5 to 7days
- Login to UCAS Track using your UCAS ID and password to check for these changes.
Were your grades better than expected? Congratulations again! If your grades are higher than what was required for your "Conditional Firm" offer (CF) and you want to apply for a course that requires higher grades, check out the UCAS Adjustment Vacancy section.
Are your grades lower than anticipated for your "Firm Choice"? Don't worry - help is at hand!
- First seek advice from a Harrow College Career Adviser
- Contact the university. They may still consider you for an offer of a place if your grades are just a few points out
- Or they may offer you an alternative, so contact them to enquire about this if they haven’t as yet responded
What about your 2nd choice of university (“Insurance Choice”)?
If the university for your "Firm Choice" has declined their offer, but your grades meet the conditions for your "Insurance choice" your "Conditional offer" will change to "Unconditional" and will be confirmed on UCAS Track in 5 to 7days.
What if you have no offers for both Firm & Insurance choice?
You will now be eligible for University Clearing. When you login into your UCAS online application it will say that you are "in Clearing". This means that you can contact universities with vacancies for the degree course you want to study, to enquire about getting an offer of a place, but please speak to a Careers Adviser first.
UCAS Additional Registration Fees
If you originally applied for only one Higher Education course, for the reduced UCAS registration fee of £12, you'll have to pay an additional £11 to apply for other courses through Clearing.
What if you weren't able to secure a place at university through Clearing?
Try looking at other available options such as:
- Increasing your qualifications through further studies
- Reapplying to university through UCAS the following year
- Advanced or Higher Apprenticeships where you will have the opportunity to get training in a particular job area, work towards either a Level 3 or Level 4 qualification depending on your results, and get paid at the same time.
- Completing an Internship - a paid or unpaid work placement with an employer that will help you to develop skills within the work place.
- Taking a Gap Year - you can use this time to do further studies, travel to expand your cultural knowledge, or work in the UK or abroad.
- Finding employment with help from College Careers & Employability Team
What other higher education courses could you consider?
You could increase your Level 3 qualification to Level 4 or 5 by applying for one of the courses below.
- Level 4 HNC (Higher National Certificate). This is the first year of a Higher National Diploma
- Level 5 HND (Higher National Diploma) completed in 2 years
- Level 5 Foundation Degree (FdA or FSc) completed in 2 years
On successful completion of either of these courses you can top up the qualification to a BA or BSc in the same subject, by doing a further one or two more year at university. You could also use these Level 4 or 5 qualifications to re-apply for degrees such as Nursing, Social Work etc.
Click here for more information about Careers at Harrow College.