Results day can be a difficult and stressful time. For some, sadly, they will open that envelope to find they maybe did not do quite do as well as they had initially hoped. A lot will then enter clearing, a scary time when great deal of students try to gain a place at university because for some reason their grade was not quite what was hoped for. It’s a stressful and horrendous time for anyone in the process.
However, results day is not always a sad or disappointing time. There is a brilliant and joyful side too called adjustment. For students who performed better than what they were predicted, there comes the harsh knowledge that they could perhaps have gotten into a better university. Nevertheless, on results day if you gained higher than the required grades you are not tied down to your firm choice university, even if they have accepted you. Adjustment was introduced in 2009 in order to allow students to advertise their new, unexpected results to universities whose entry requirements would have meant they would perhaps have rejected you due to predicted grades. This means you can try to gain a place at a university higher on the league tables or a university you formerly loved but didn’t apply for due to the entry requirements being higher than what you thought you would achieve. The even better news is that doing this through adjustment does not jeopardise your current confirmed place at the university you had originally applied for and been accepted into. You can go through as many universities that have been unlocked for you as you wish, with the reassuring knowledge you can just return to your firm choice university if need be as if adjustment hadn’t even happened.
For students exceeding expectation, adjustment is becoming more popular every year. In order to attempt the adjustment process log onto your UCAS Track account and hit the button saying “Register for Adjustment”. The only bad news about adjustment is that you have only 2 weeks to make your mind up - from results day until the end of August. By then it will be too late to change. After you have registered for adjustment the universities you contact will be able to view your UCAS forms, even if you did not send these universities your UCAS forms in the original application process. Unfortunately, the bad news is that not all universities in the United Kingdom offer the adjustment system. In order to find out whether or not they do go onto their website or phone them directly. If they will then this will become apparent on your UCAS Track and the university you were previously interested in will be notified. Happily, they will still accept you even if you do not choose to take your adjustment choice in the end.
The adjustment process can be a tense and exciting time where you have a new offers coming your way. The best thing to do is to not get sucked in too quickly by the possibilities of it all and to sit down and have a good think about your options. Make sure you have thoroughly researched the courses and universities you have on offer and see which one best caters for your own individual needs. It is important to think about more than just university rankings and course matters, there are other factors that are incredibly important. Think about the location, the university’s way of teaching and assessing, the campus and anything else important to you. Although adjustment can be very stressful with a lot happening in one go, it is a great opportunity so make sure you make the most out of it!
