Results

Not everyone from my sixth form studied A Levels, some people decided to do the IB instead. 

For those of you that don't know, the IB is an international qualification in which students at sixth form level study 6 subjects (in contrast with the three or four traditionally studied at A Level) as well the Theory of Knowledge and write an Extended Essay. This diploma promises to prepare students better for their time at University. The exams for the IB are not modular, there is just one exam at the end of the two year course for each subject.

So, last Saturday was IB results day. 

Because the IB students hadn't sat any other official IB exams marked externally, they were unsure of their progress and their level in the subjects they study. Of course, by the time they find out their results, it is all too late to decide that they should have spent more time doing school work and less time partying!

Many of the IB students unfortunately were disappointed with their results, missing their University requirements by 1 or 2 points (the IB is graded on a points systems instead of lettered grades) meaning , much upset and a lot of money being spent at the pub.

It is expected and by all means, completely normal to be disappointed that you haven't been accepted into your first choice uni and the only comforting words I could conjure for my friends were "everything will work out in the end" which I stand by 100%. 

I know that for those people going to University now that it is the biggest thing in the world, and to not be accepted into the place which you had planned to spend the net three years of your life must be devastating, but the thing to remember is the university you go to is not the be all and end all. University is simply the bridge which will take you into the rest of your life. It is all about the end goal.

Everything happens for a reason and it will sort it's self out in the end. If you don't get into your frist choice uni, it wasn't meant to be. If you don't get into any unis resit the last year of college or sixthform, go to a college and study another A Level, find a different path into your desired career. 

There is always another way

Where I'm at

So, obviously, I have started this blog because I myself am not going to university [SHOCK! HORROR!COVER YOUR EYES CHILDREN, DON'T READ THE SHAME!]

-therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to update you on my story and how I am doing at the moment.

I left sixth-form officially on the 15th of May this year and finished off my A levels until the 15th of June so I am currently waiting for my results which will be available on the 16th of August. 
It is now  14 minutes to 1 on the 8th of July, leaving me with........................ the rest of my life to figure out what I want to do.
If you read my other blogs or follow me on twitter or have read my profile, you'll know that I am interested in writing/journalism/PR/communications and a bit of marketing [Hello and how do you do to any prospective employers] so I have some idea of where I want to apply to and how I am going to go about doing that.
I started applying for apprenticeships/internships/employment a month ago and have heard nothing back after applying for four positions.
 So I am going to continue to apply at every magazine I can think of, every PR agency, every communications department and any marketing departments that have openings. 
I do not want to end up sitting up home or working at Primark for the rest of my life, however, I have to pick up some more hours there for the summer. 
In my first post, I told you how my school didn't really help those who didn't plan on going to university, so I have been and will be 100% doing this on my own, which isn't a problem although a little help would have been nice.

Having said that, I do have some means of helping myself, for example:
I check the apprenticeships.org.uk website regularly for any updates
I have gorkana jobs send me emails when positions open up in fields I'm interested in
I follow journalist jobs on twitter 

I apply and will be applying to all that I can in order to get a job or some work experience in order to begin my career,

I'll keep you updated!

Advantages Of Going To Uni

Let's not be silly.
I'm not trying to deter you from going to University and furthering your education; I fully encourage everyone to go to University if it is the right choice for you.
Of course, University has hundreds of advantages! 
Here are the reasons I sometimes wish I was going:

• Meet a lot of new people
• Make friends for life
• Maybe find your future partner
• Re-invent yourself
• Have a new start
• Through yourself in at the deep end
• Network- "It's who you know"
• Amazing social life
• Learn from other people
• Learn to live with other people
• Develop your idea and your perspective of life
• Be independent
• Grow
• Discover how strong you are
• Develop new tastes and preferences
• Find out things you didn't know about yourself
• Challenge yourself
• Learn everything you can about what you are interested in
• Work experience
• Realise you wouldn't actually enjoy the career you thought you would
• Learn to live on a budget
• Student discounts on A LOT (stubeans)
• Take time to still be a young person before you go into the real world
• Non-term time
• Learn millions of drinking games
• Learn how to cook/clean/generally look after youself

There are so many more positives, so make sure you really give it a serious think and don't just take the easy way out.

More posts and advice on the way!