OK, so maybe you didn’t get the grades you wanted and so have missed your Uni offers and didn’t get a place through Clearing. Well it needn’t be the end of the world. You have options!
There is nothing to stop you applying for University again next year, whether for the same course at the same university or for something completely different. You can apply again through UCAS as normal. You’ll already have some of your exam results, which increases your chances of getting an unconditional offer, but if your results were the problem you may want to re-take a subject in which you didn’t get a good result. You can apply to re-take most A level subjects through the exam boards such as OCR, Edexcel or AQA.
There can also be a lot of benefits to taking a year out to work and/or travel before uni so it could be the best route for you. If you successfully reapply to uni after a year out, the main difference is that you’ll go to uni with more money, or more experience, or both. This will mean that you get more out of uni and potentially get better grades. A lot of students would benefit from taking a year off, gaining some life experience and really evaluating what they want out of their degree.
If you want to study part time and work part time, there are always plenty of jobs on offer for part time workers – contact us to find out what our clients are currently looking for.
Inspiration for an adventure filled gap year can be found here.
How much you really need a degree will of course depend on your career plans. If you have plans to become a doctor or a lawyer a degree is of course a legal requirement. However, there are plenty of jobs that don’t require a degree so be sure to investigate all routes into your chosen profession carefully before making a decision.
If you still want to study, there are plenty of options other than university:
- Higher National Diplomas and Higher National Certificates: One- or two-year vocational courses, which can lead to a degree. Find out more.
- Apprenticeships: A combination of paid work experience and study for a vocational qualification. Find out more.
- Foundation degrees: A work-focused university course which can often lead on to university. Find out more.
Taking one of these courses won’t prevent you from going to university later – in fact, HNDs and foundation degrees can allow you to start a university course in the second or third year so are worth looking into if you still wish to get to uni later on.
Maybe you will decide to get on the career ladder straight away which can have its advantages – if you go straight into work after A levels then by the time you would have graduated, you will have three years of work experience that you wouldn’t have had otherwise, as well as valuable contacts and of course a salary.
Check out our current vacancies here.
