Sheffield admissions director shares advice for making the right university choice on A-Level Results Day
Ahead of A-Level Results Day next week, the director of the University of Sheffield’s admissions process, Dan Barcroft, has offered advice on how to hit the ground running no matter what grades you get
As A-level results day approaches, thousands of students across Yorkshire will be counting down the days with a mixture of excitement and nerves. After months of revision, exams and a long wait over the summer, it's completely understandable to feel that everything depends on one set of results.
As Director of Admissions at the University of Sheffield, I know just how much pressure results day can bring for young people and their families. Every year, I see the many different routes students take into higher education and I'm reminded there is rarely just one path to success.
For some, results day is a day of celebration. For others, it's a chance to rethink their plans, explore new opportunities and discover options they may never have considered before. Whatever your results, the most important thing to remember is that you have choices.
If you're preparing for results day, there are a few simple things you can do now that will make the day itself much less stressful.
Firstly, spend some time thinking about what matters most to you in a university. It's easy to focus on league tables or where your friends are going, but choosing a university is about much more than that. Think about the quality of teaching, opportunities to learn from world-leading research, the support available to students, the clubs and societies you could get involved in, and the city and community you'll be part of. The right university for you is one that offers the right balance of academic challenge, personal support and opportunities beyond the classroom.
It's also worth remembering that clearing has changed. It's no longer simply a route for students who don't get the grades they were hoping for. For many, it's an opportunity to reassess their options. Some students achieve higher grades than they expected and use clearing to explore courses or universities they hadn't originally considered, while others decide they want to study somewhere that's a better fit for their interests and ambitions. In fact, last year was a record-breaking year for university admissions across the UK, with nearly 17,000 students securing a place through clearing on results day alone – the highest first-day total on record.
If you think you might use clearing, spend a little time preparing before results day. Research courses that interest you, make a shortlist and look at what support different universities offer. As you're exploring your options, don't be afraid to ask universities what support they'll offer throughout the clearing process. The best admissions teams will take the time to answer your questions and help you make an informed decision. At Sheffield, for example, we offer advance registration for clearing, dedicated support from our admissions team and guaranteed accommodation for those who join us through clearing, so students can approach results day with one less thing to worry about.
Parents, carers and supporters have an important role to play too. Results day can bring a range of emotions, whatever the outcome, and often the best support is simply staying calm, listening and helping young people explore their options without feeling under pressure.
One thing I'd encourage students not to do is compare themselves with others. Social media can make it seem as though everyone else's future is neatly mapped out, but every year universities welcome students whose journey has taken an unexpected turn. Many later say that what initially felt like a setback opened the door to opportunities they hadn't even considered.
Results day matters, but it doesn't define who you are or what you're capable of achieving. Whether you're heading to your first-choice university, finding a place through clearing or taking a little longer to decide what's next, there are plenty of routes to success.
Be proud of everything you've already achieved, keep an open mind and remember that the next chapter of your story may look different to the one you first imagined, but that can often be a very good thing.