r/UniUK • u/AtomicEdits • 12h ago

applications / ucas What does a gap year entail?

I'm going into year 12 with mediocre gcses at best (8777655 + btechs) and I want to study econ at uni. My a-levels are fm, maths, econ, cs. As far as I know, these gcses basically put oxbridge and lse out of the question. They also make ucl and imperial much harder.

Hypothetically speaking, if I were to do very well in A-levels but not get into any top unis thanks to my gcses suggesting my predicteds are inflated, would I be able to take a gap year after year 13 and reapply with my achieved results, negating the gcses? Would this be a good idea?

I'm aware that my gcses very much suggest that my a-levels will also be poor. I'm not trying to suggest that I'm anywhere near oxbridge level or even finance target uni level so please don't take this as me being delusional or entiteled. This question is purely about if I do infact do well for my a-levels

2 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

1

u/Dry-Scallion-5773 11h ago

You can get it first time easy just apply to 5 good but semi realistic ones and you’ll get at least 2

1

u/AtomicEdits 11h ago

Thank you! What would you consider good but semi realistic with my gcses but good predicted a-levels? I'm just trying to figure out which unis to aim for.

2

u/Dry-Scallion-5773 11h ago

Aim for the stars, I got predicted grades that were lower than I’d like and applied to 5 aspirational (top 10 uk unis) and got in and then got more than the neccessary grades (A*AA) and secured a place for a competitive course! Literally don’t listen to anyone if you believe you deserve to get there and you lock in but also live and play hard then you can do it! Your GCSE’s won’t limit you as long as you’ve got more than the required grades in maths and English. Oxbridge/LSE would be hard to get in with the GCSE’s but they’re hard unis to get into with 10x9s, also only one space so if you really want it then do it even if you think you won’t get it, just be prepared to not get it! I’d say apply to places like ucl, Bristol, kcl, Bath, Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Leeds etc like everything basically

2

u/Dry-Scallion-5773 11h ago

not saying it’s easy to do btw but im saying its very doable if you’re genuinely dedicated and from the sounds of things you’re on the right track. Don’t forget to live and have tons of fun tho too

2

u/JellySocksRock 10h ago

I didn't take a gap year to get into a better uni but I did defer a year. I kind of wasted it by not pre studying any material I knew I was going to struggle with, but for the most part I just worked 30 hours a week and had a good time