The C in “conditional offer” stands for cruelty. The thought of going through the rigorous admissions process boasted by some universities, securing a coveted place, celebrating, and then missing the grade offer is a situation on many minds in the A-Level exams hall. But this is not the only pressure associated with these consequential exams; there is also the stress that if you miss the grade offer, it is final. Not only final in the sense that, yes, your place for the upcoming year will be withdrawn. But final in that you can’t retake the exams which you have spent so long preparing for —to then reapply or apply elsewhere to some of the UK’s top universities. If you do not achieve the grades many Russell Group universities want on your first try, you could essentially be barred from them forever.

“Universities are already competitive, and accepting resits could potentially alleviate this reality”

The unfortunate reality is that many of the top-ranked universities in the UK are far more reluctant to accept students with A-Level grades gained from exam resits. Whilst no university states A-Level resit grades will not be accepted, many do specify that they may disadvantage a candidate in the admissions process. The London School of Economics state that they ‘prefer students who have achieved high grades in their first attempt (and in one sitting)’. Cambridge University would also be ’concerned’ if an applicant had to retake many exams due to the lack of resits allowed for university exams. Many of these universities are ranked the best in the UK and so boast some of the harshest acceptance rates. These statistics, coupled with a clear disdain for A-Level resits, ensures that the chance of acceptance under such circumstances is meagre. It is also worth mentioning that many of these universities, such as Edinburgh, downright reject any A-Level resit grades for courses such as Medicine and Veterinary Medicine.

Of course, this is not all universities, but it is undeniably several top-ranked UK institutions and countless Russell Groups. Thankfully, university admissions departments do recognise extenuating circumstances. However, their acknowledgement that this may have affected someone’s initial set of A-Level results lacks multiple things. The reality of extenuating circumstances being ‘assessed’ for their severity is slightly unsettling. How can an institution rightly decide whether extenuating circumstances are or are not serious enough to be the root cause of lower A-Level grades?

“How can an institution rightly decide whether extenuating circumstances are or are not serious enough”

I spent a large amount of time in the hospital the year I took my A-Levels with a long-term health condition. I missed my final mock exams and revised copious amounts of content in waiting rooms. Whilst this thankfully did not harm my entry into Cambridge, I cannot find harmony with the idea of exam boards and universities deciding whether, and to what extent, this impacted me and my performance. These institutions do not know me and countless other students personally or as individual people — so how and why do they hold this power?

However cruel, I can understand conditional offers. What I fail to understand is why A-Level students who retake their exams and achieve high grades are seen to be incapable of degrees they could potentially thrive studying. These highly ranked universities can be the catalyst for incredible opportunities for young people, as well as an unquestionable source of social mobility. For some, the advantages they can unlock are vast, and to only allow one chance at getting in (at the mere age of seventeen or eighteen) just seems unfair. Universities are already competitive, and accepting resits could potentially alleviate this reality. However, the current state of disregard for them seems to adversely affect those that may have extenuating circumstances. State schoolers are more likely to fail their A-Levels or achieve lower grades than private schoolers, alongside a regional attainment divide between the north and south. Russell Group universities claim to be doing much in the name of access and widening participation, but from this view things seem pale.

Ultimately, it is difficult to see an angle in which this disdain does not adversely impact students with illnesses, disabilities, extenuating circumstances, or those that come from poorly performing schools. For once, it would be refreshing to see universities give young people a second chance.