What happens if you miss the grades for your university offer?
Didn't get the A-level or Btec grades you needed for uni? You still have options...
By Nik Taylor (Editor, The Uni Guide) | 26 March 2025 | 5 minutes read
So you look at your grades on results day and realise they're not what you needed for your uni offer. What now?
First things first. If you've got a university offer that's depending on you getting certain grades, log onto Ucas Hub and check the offer status. Universities will often be flexible on results day.
If you've missed your offer by one, or maybe even two, grades, they might still accept you onto the course.
But if that's not the case, there are plenty of options. Here are the main ones you might consider...
Resit an exam
A couple of silly mistakes may drag your mark down. Provided you learn from these and are confident you can do better, you could consider re-sitting your exam.
However you can’t retake specific modules – you would have to re-take the whole exam for the year.
You'll need to wait a year to re-sit any exams as A-levels and AS-levels are only assessed by exam in the summer. This means, if you want to resit any AS-level exams, you must wait a year to do so at the end of your A2 year; unfortunately, when that time comes, you’ll also be taking your all-important exams that will decide your A-level grades.
If you're re-taking an exam you originally took at the end of your A2 year, you can do so a year later as a private candidate. You don't attend classes; you just take the exam at a local, approved school or college. However, as well as the fees to pay, you'll have to keep yourself motivated to study for these.
Head to The Student Room's A-level forum to ask a question about resits or see how other students are approaching them.
You can retake a whole year –including actually going to classes, doing the classwork etc – if you stumbled in several areas but you're still determined to stick to the same path.
This requires some thought as it can feel a little odd repeating a year (without friends around etc):
Retaking a year can be an option for some people, but have a good think before you decide.Might there be another way into what you want to do? A degree with a foundation year, or a similar courses at another uni, for instance?Perhaps there are other courses, careers or universities that might actually suit you even better? Talk to family, friends and teachers and consider their advice before deciding.Joe Woodcock ( head of community at The Student Room )
Think carefully about how it will feel to stick around for another year, while your friends head off in different directions. You can retake at another local college or sixth form, although this brings its own hurdles.
On the other hand, if you struggled to focus first time round due to mitigating circumstances (such as a personal or family illness), this fresh start might be welcome. You can pick up other subjects which interest you along the way to fill in your timetable, as well as work part-time and get experience in an area you want to pursue.
As with re-sitting an exam, make sure you're not repeating any mistakes.
In most cases, universities will accept grades from retakes in your application. As an example, the Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Southampton has the following policy. "We are happy for applicants to retake some or all of their exams in order to meet our entry requirements. We would be unable to consider an application from an individual that has had to retake exams on more than one occasion to meet our entry requirements."
If something significant affected your original performance, be up-front about this; especially if you're applying to a very competitive course like medicine and law, or top universities like Oxbridge, where retakes may not be typically considered.
If you don’t get the grades you need for your university course, you can find an alternative with lower entry requirements through Clearing.
While Clearing kicks off properly in August when you get your results, universities begin publicising courses with empty spots in July.
If you walk out of a horrendous exam, start work on your back-up plan and begin looking at alternatives straight away. Start with courses that were in your top five Ucas choices or ones you shortlisted previously.
This way if you do have to enter Clearing, you'll be prepared.
Take a gap year
Perhaps a gap year could be just the break you need to figure out a few things about your future. You can then apply again to university the following year or take another path.
Just make sure you use this year out wisely. When you reapply, universities won't be interested in your beach selfies; they'll want to know how you used this time to develop yourself. While a gap year can involve some globe-trotting, you can also spend time working, participating in placements or volunteering.
All of this can contribute towards a stronger Ucas application next year.
Consider something different
There are an increasing number of schemes for school-leavers who want to move into a particular area or sector, but don't necessarily want to sit in lectures for three years. Most involve practical learning within a real organisation, earning while you learn.
A higher or degree apprenticeship, for example, combines this with some academic study, but you'll find that companies are more likely to be looking at you and the skills you could bring and develop than solely your exam results. Well-known brands and organisations like Ford, John Lewis, Santander and Rolls-Royce have all run apprenticeship schemes in recent years.
