This year, A-level results day is on Thursday 17th August 2023. This day comes with a lot of highs and lows, and has different outcomes for everyone. Here’s what you can expect and what you can do to prepare for the big day!
Before results day
There are a lot of things you can do to prepare for A-level results day. Make sure to have important information easily accessible in case you don’t see the results you were expecting, and you want to apply through Clearing (don’t worry, we’ll talk about that later on). Keep the following handy:
- A notepad and pen/fully charged mobile phone
- Details of your conditional offers and university contact numbers
- Your UCAS number and universities’ UCAS/Clearing numbers
- Your personal statement
- Your GCSE results
- Any questions to ask course tutors.
Not to mention, make sure to take care of your mental and physical health in preparation for the big day. We know stress can take a real toll on you, so hang out with friends, do your favourite hobbies! Do things that make you happy leading up to A-level results day.
Collecting your results
On results day, you can typically collect your results from your school or college at any time after 8am. Your UCAS Hub will be updated at a similar time saying if you got into either of your choices. As many people across the country will be logging onto UCAS, be prepared for the site to go down.
(Just a heads up, your A-Level results won’t appear in UCAS Hub, so make sure you actually pick them up from your school or college!).
Got the results you wanted?
First of all, congratulations! You’ll see a firm acceptance on your UCAS Hub and you’ll receive further details on what your next steps are either from UCAS or directly from the university, such as enrolling or providing evidence of your qualifications.
Not what you were expecting?
Unfortunately, you may not see the A-level results you were expecting, but try not to panic! There are still a lot of options to explore. If you feel as though your grades don’t look quite right, or if your grades are off by just a few marks, you can appeal your grades.
Additionally, you can even call up your preferred university or institution to see if they will still consider you. But be aware that places are limited and there is a lot of competition. Alternatively, you can explore gap year ideas if you want to take a break from study before reapplying to university.
Clearing
Clearing opens well before results day, this year opening from Wednesday 5th July, so you can look well in advance to see different universities’ course availabilities and see if any stand out to you. Make sure to consider different subjects as well, you don’t have to necessarily stick with your original idea.
On A-Level results day, have the preparation mentioned above on hand and see what universities/courses are available. Consider asking for advice from someone at your school to figure out your next steps.
Once you find a course you’re interested in, contact your university of choice and give them your Clearing number (which you can find in your application) and your personal ID so they can look you up. This is where you can ask any questions you have, what the campus is like, knowing more about accommodation, and most importantly, if they can accept you.
Once you have permission from your university, you can add a Clearing choice to your application, which is seen as a definite acceptance of the offer – the next step is for the university to confirm your place. You can only add one choice at a time, so if a university doesn’t confirm your place, you will be able to add another, so make sure to contact multiple universities if you need to.
If the university confirms your place, congratulations! This is the point where you can find your accommodation for the year and look further into getting everything ready to start university.
So go get prepared for results day!
We know it’s a stressful and scary time, so it’s important to know all your options when A-Level results day comes. Make sure to take care of yourself in the meantime! Good luck to you all, and you got this!
