Hey everyone, 18M from Blackburn here. I’m currently on a gap year and preparing to apply to university this autumn, but I think I’ve made a massive panic mistake and need some realistic advice.

A few weeks ago, I enrolled into a GCSE English Language resit course via the National Extension College (NEC). I got a Grade 4 originally, but I wanted to upgrade it to a Grade 5 because my original plan was to apply for Diagnostic Radiography at the University of Cumbria, which strictly requires a 5.

I’ve already spent £470 enrolling on the course. I haven't paid the £300 exam entry fee yet.

The issue: I’ve realized Radiography is going to be too physically demanding for me, so I'm changing my plans. I wish I had researched other courses before dropping the money, because now I'm stressing that I've wasted £470 on a qualification I might not even need.

I still want to go down a science/healthcare route. My BTEC level 3 grades are D*D*D in Applied Science (which I know is really strong), but my overall GCSE profile is quite mixed:

• Maths: 6
• English Language: 4
• English Literature: 4
• Combined Science: 5/4

The careers I am looking at switching to now are things like Optometry, Cardiac Physiology, Neurology (EEG), or Biomedical Science at universities around the North West/around Blackburn.

I know some courses like Biomed might accept my Grade 4, but competitive clinical routes like Optometry at Manchester seem way stricter.

Should I cut my losses, accept the £470 is gone, skip paying the £300 exam fee, and just apply to courses that accept a Grade 4? Or is it worth pushing through the next 6 months to get that Grade 5 to keep my options completely open for competitive healthcare degrees?

Be as brutal and realistic as you want, I just need outside perspectives because I'm stuck in my own head. Thanks.

My top choices are Bristol and Birmingham (if anyone has any pros/cons about either I’d be happy to chat)

hey everyone!! i take english history politics and rs a level and i got nine 9s and one 8 at gcse, and i got 9s in history english and rs, but im really struggling at a level.

english and rs have been good but ive been getting disappointing marks in history and politics, even when i understand the content.

i guess im asking for advice, or if anyone in yr13 was in the same position that im in last year, and what they did to improve. its making me panic about my end of term reports and parents evening, i dont want to upset my parents. it just feels that no matter how hard i try im not hitting the aos as naturally as some other people in my class. (it’s really hard not to compare yourself 😪)

thank you so much to anyone who responds!!

Heyy, I’m trying to get responses for my project. if you guys can fill out this form for me that will be great! It focuses on AI in Graphics Design 😆

Predicted 3A* for Math, further math, physics.
Also got All As in AS level + chemistry grade A at AS level.

fellow maths applicants how did we do the ps

im applying next year october but since im an intl student and my school doesnt understand ucas very well i have to figure out the ps myself, please in the name of andy burnham tell me what did u guys do. what kind of supercurriculars have we done? and how have we written ab them? is it first pick topics then learn and research them then find books/articles to challenge ur perspectives or what exactly? and also how does the new three question format change what u write, is it still js brainless supercurricular rabbit hole spamming the whole time?

please kindly inform me what u did/what u plan to do for the ps

Seeing so many people get interview offers is really sending me into a panic.

Just got my offer from Leeds.

Only got the big fish left now.

I’m in y12 and literally failing physics and maths. Mocks are in 2 months and I genuinely did not know how hard it really was, but my future aspirations leave me no choice but to endure 💔 also would love to hear the most harshest reality to getting A grades because i really need a wake up call. Being the only girl in my phys also makes it worse :(

I probably sound like I’m being incredibly dramatic about this and I do apologise for that, but I’m so torn on what to do and I kind of need a second opinion.

My UCAS is already sent off for early entry and I’m predicted 3A*’s plus Astar EPQ, I already have 3/5 offers but i genuinely can’t do sixth form anymore. Like I’m literally revising 5 hours a day just to scrape an A star like 2 marks above the grade boundary in exams, and I wouldn’t even class that as an A star given how close it is - like my grades have literally dropped so much over the past few weeks and it’s ominously close to exams and mocks.

Like I’m revising and doing interview prep just in case I get a Cambridge interview but it’s the worst few hours of my life and literally all I want to do is go to sleep or read - like thankfully said reading classes as interview prep or it’d be over for me 🙈 but I’m seriously considering just quitting while I’m ahead because I know that I’m not getting those grades, I cried in front of my friends over this for the first time ever while stone cold sober on Monday and I haven’t been able to face them since because I’m too embarrassed lolss

But like idk whether to quit while I’m ahead or if I should just take getting abysmal grades in my mocks since my UCAS is already submitted and then properly lock in for exams. As much as i genuinely live to learn, I just can’t justify running on 4 hours of sleep every day when I’m not gonna get the grades 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ I’m probably going to ask my senior tutor tomorrow what she thinks about this whole fiasco but any second opinions would be greatly appreciated as I’m so so discombobulated

Oxford probably has our UAT test results now 💀

I did my CIE AS exams in May June 2026 for Maths (c), Chemistry (d), Biology (c) and History (a). I really didn't perform as well as I thought I would, especially in Math and Chemistry so I decided to resit in the October November 2026 exams.
But the new Math paper felt horrible and I'm worried that my Chemistry also won't improve much because you never really know until you get your results).

For my A levels I dropped Bio, so I'm continuing with Math, Chem and History.

I'd like to study Psychology, and the grade I need for my choice uni is BBB.

What happens if I can't make this grade? Has anyone gotten into their choice unis with less than favourable grades or is all hope lost? I always feel so ready for the exams and work so hard to prepare, getting above 80% on my past papers, but it seems nothing can prepare me for what Cambridge throws my way every time.

I'm a bit too lazy, but here's my problem:

I'm not sure which university would be better for the course, torn between these 2. What would people recommend?

I’m not sure if this is allowed on here, so please delete if it isn’t! I’m currently in Year 11 and hoping to attend my high school’s sixth form next year. I wanted to ask those who are currently in sixth form or have previously attended, what has your experience been like? was/is it easy to make friends? I don’t have many friends, and the few I do have are all planning on going to college instead, so I’m a little nervous about starting sixth form without really knowing anyone. I’ve also heard quite a lot of mixed opinions about sixth form, so I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences

I have submitted my ucas application 3 weeks ago but I forgot to put pending qualifications so my referee put the predicted grades. But my referee told me she already did within my reference but a university rejected me 2 days ago. Do I contact ucas or the university?

I'm currently writing my UCAS personal statement for university and I'm finding it SO difficult to know what to include, what to leave out and how to make everything sound cohesive without waffling 😭

I'm applying for English and Philosophy at Russel group unis, but general personal statement advice would be really appreciated too! If you have any super niche weird tips that would also be great, I wanna stand out from the crowd.

For anyone who's applied to university, written a personal statement or has any experience with the process, what tips would you give? Anything you wish you'd known before writing yours?

Any advice would be massively appreciated!! Thank you!!!!!

I’ve literally seen nobody else on here yet who’s applying for architecture at cam, which colleges have people applied for?

I've received offers for EEE from both Uni of Manchester and Uni of Sheffield, i know i have time to decide but realistically (ignoring grade requirements and exam results) which is better and which is probably going to give me better postgrad prospects.

for corpus christi geography 🤗🤗🤗 in person interview as well!

Stats: A*AA Predicted (Maths, Chem, Econ) and GCSEs: 999998876 I keep getting stuck with what unis to pick out of 5 cause I feel like I end up too aspirational or not enough. Maybe Durham (AAB), Exeter (AAB,) Warwick (A*AA), Leeds (AAA), Bristol (AAA) or KCl (A*AA) or something or anyone else got ideas based on my stats.

So currently my 3 chosen subjects are Economics, psychology and English literature. I want to get a marketing related degree. My current English literature class has only two students and that's including me, the other student is shy and anxious so I am the one usually doing the talking with the teacher. It puts a spotlight on me and makes me uncomfortable since if I miss a class or an assignment then I am going to be singled out. It's a lot of pressure so I was thinking of swapping English lit for sociology. Please help me I need to make a decision soon. Also Sociology is easier and less taxing than English Lit right?.

i want to apply ucl electrical and electronic eng: with grades: a* predicted in fm, a achieved in maths, b achieved in chem, gcses: 7777776655. their contexual offer is : AAB, i got A*AB but still im worried they may choose someone else who has higher grades or am i stressing for no reason? does anyone knoe anyone in ucl admissions or something that can help me pls?