Results day is brutal when the grades fall short. The good news: every UK university accepts at least three different routes in, and the alternatives are often faster, cheaper and better suited to adult learners. Here are your eight realistic options.
First: take a breath
Before deciding anything, give yourself 24 hours. The decisions you make in the panic of results day are rarely the best ones. Once you’ve calmed down, work through the options below.
Option 1: Apply through Clearing
UCAS Clearing matches students without a confirmed offer to courses with spare places. It opens on results day and runs into October.
- Phone universities directly with your grades — they’ll tell you on the call
- You can hold one Clearing offer at a time
- Don’t panic-pick: a course you don’t want is worse than waiting
See available Clearing courses on the official UCAS Clearing search.
Option 2: Resit your A Levels
You can resit any A Level paper in the next exam series (typically May–June the following year). Resits are open to anyone, regardless of age.
- You only resit the papers you want to improve, not the whole subject
- Your best grade per subject is the one used for university applications