The long summer between the end of school and university can be a tense and scary time. For years people have been promising you that this will be the best summer ever, and that you'll have the time of your life at university. But you can't relax. How can you, with results looming over your head? Without being sure about where you're going next?
During my long summer last year, I swung between wild confidence and complete panic. I'd convince myself that I was brilliant and had my place sorted, but a few days later I'd be counting marks in my head, trying to work out whether that one bad exam would stop me going to university. I googled gap year plans, considered applying for a different subject - something I thought might be a safer bet - and even occasionally tried to convince myself that I didn't want to go to university, although I never quite believed it...
Over the next few blogs, I'm going to try and tackle some more practical issues about starting university. But how do you go about preparing with months to go, and all that uncertainty?
Exam Season
The best thing you can do is try not to focus on university. Concentrate on your A-Levels and the last two years of study; these exams are about bringing together all the hard work and effort you've put in over the last two years, and if you've got this far, you're certainly capable of succeeding. Put away your prospectuses: worrying about whether you've done enough to get the right grades will not help you revise! It's hard, but you have to concentrate on the moment now. Make sure you have a cut-off point before you go to sleep. Stop revising, don't think about work, and let your brain let off steam. I recommend watching Horrible Histories.
After Exams & the summer
Take down all your revision stuff and put everything work related somewhere you can't see it! Do something completely different.
This is a really good time to go and see friends and do interesting things. It gets harder to keep up with people at university; do daft things like doctor who marathon sleepovers, read all the books you've been meaning to read for the last year, and enjoy being an adult with no responsibilities. Unless you have a job, in which case enjoy being an adult with no responsibilities in the evening...
When it comes to preparing for University, don't worry about starting to prepare instantly. I recommend buying things in August, or even after results in September - just don't leave it until the last week before you leave home! Lots of supermarkets and shops do 'off to university' discounts on things like kettles and bed linen. The majority of universities don't send out any pre-reading until after results, if they send any at all (My pre-reading was one poem!), so don't worry about having to swot up on course material. If you're desperate to study, that's fine, but seriously, it's okay to take a break and spend your days watching YouTube videos and eating Starbursts.
Remember: almost everyone gets into university!
Don't worry about 'what if I don't get in' or 'what if something awful happens and UCAS messes up or I fail everything' etc
You will not fail everything. If you worked hard, you will probably get what you realistically thought you were going to get, and it will look pretty much like your predicted grades.
UCAS is usually pretty reliable, but even if they did mess up, your university will always know what is going on. They're very helpful. If you have any worries, you can always email the admissions tutor, who are more than willing to reassure you and let you know what is going on!
Even if you don't get into your top choice university, or something goes really wrong, remember: this is not the end of your academic journey, but it might just be the start! There are a thousand and one ways to go on, and ending up at an unexpected university might turn out to be a blessing in disguise!
Finally, don't stress too much about grades and numbers. Working out percentages and grade boundaries might have been useful a few months ago, but when the exams are over, try not to think about them. If you must think about your work, don't think about grades - think about the quality of the work you created. When examiners look at your work, they don't see marks or numbers (unless you're doing maths, ha ha), and they won't be marking you as if you're a postgraduate, and can't make any mistakes or leave anything out! Examiners look for what is good, not what is bad. And universities are the same! If you've got an offer, than that university wants you. And they will do everything they can to make sure you get that place!
Don't worry too much about predicted grades either. Schools make out that they're everything because they want you to be safe, but they're more like an approximation. Without revealing my grades, my offer for my course was YYY, and I achieved XYZ, with the Y in the subject I'm now studying. Although I'd dropped one grade below the offer, I was still given a place on my course, and it hasn't made any difference! Work for your predicted grades or higher, but seriously, don't worry about having one bad exam or a question or two you couldn't answer. At the end of the day, you are student who is good enough that they made you an offer, and for most universities (excepting medicine/Oxbridge etc), dropping one grade might not be an issue.
Remember: you are a brilliant, talented student. And you really deserve this break - don't waste it worrying. For the moment, all that future stuff will sort itself out: concentrate on the moment, get your exams done, and then just - stop.
Have a great summer!
J.R.
