August 9, 2012, by Jess Lloyd
A level results: anticipation and abject terror
My results day was 5 years ago which is in itself a rather unnerving thought. But I remember the actual day and the run up to it, to rehash the cliché, as if it was yesterday. Or, to be more specific, I remember the mixed feelings of anticipation and abject terror.
A number of my friends had received letters of firm acceptance from their university of choice in the morning before they collected their results, so were annoyingly happy and relaxed. I hadn’t and I was an irritable bag of nerves.
The results table of doom
The table of envelopes laid out in alphabetical order was set up in the centre of the sixth form block and by the time I arrived all the corners of the building were taken by my classmates clutching unopened envelopes. That’s probably a bit of a dramatic exaggeration, but it was fairly tense.
By the time I found my envelope, the room was filled with hugging and laughing people who had managed to get in on time (in my excitement, I had missed the bus in to town and had promptly had a strop at the side of the road).
I didn’t actually get the required grades for the course that I had applied for. I had wanted to study History at The University of Nottingham, but missed it by one grade. It was a very surreal feeling, especially as all of my friends had met or exceeded their grades and were assured their dream place at university.
Making the call
I remember feeling really disappointed with myself and worried about what to do. I phoned the University, who were amazingly helpful and supportive. After talking through my options I was offered a place to study the combined course of History with Contemporary Chinese Studies. It couldn’t have worked out better; I loved my degree and really enjoyed studying a different language and culture alongside history.
My advice for results day would be to stay calm. If you get the results you need then congratulations! If not then don’t worry – you still have options and it might end up suiting you better than your original plan; it did for me.
A bit about me
Who’s that girl? It’s Jess. I work as a marketing assistant for The University of Nottingham. Part of studying my degree entailed travelling to China and learning a language that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do otherwise. Working for the University means that I have the chance to work at the Ningbo Campus to make the most of what I learned during my degree.
Anyone awaiting their A level results and scared that they won’t get the results they need for their first choice should remember that, as with Jess, it will all work out in the end and in a year’s time you will probably look back and laugh.
I’m going to be giving out a free guide to starting university on results day and, since I’m at Nottingham now, I expect it will be of more use to Nottingham freshers than anyone else. If Jess doesn’t mind (let me know if it’s a problem), I’ll post the link to it here on Thursday.
Good luck!
I remember my A-level results day like it was yesterday. The internet wasn’t working at home and I remember getting a phone call from my friend who had secured the grades she needed to get into the University of Manchester. I raced down to her house to use her internet and I discovered that I also had got the minimum grades I required (ABC/BBB) to study Spanish and Portuguese at Nottingham on the UCAS track system. I couldn’t have been happier!
Arriving at college, I had a strong feeling that I had achieved A grades in English and Spanish as my exams had gone really well during the summer. However, I couldn’t be sure what my result was going to be for Drama. The person to hand me my envelope was my Drama teacher and I just remember her saying that she already knew one of my results and that she couldn’t be happier. I opened the envelope and was so happy to find 3A grades, which got me into a University, which has given me so much.
I absolutely loved my degree – all 4 years of it! And now I’m about to start training as a Modern Languages teacher after achieving a 2.1. Bring on year 5 at Nottingham – it’s gonna be a good one! And good luck to all the A-level students getting their results next week – the best is yet to come!