However the University of Ulster will help you even if you don’t manage to achieve the grades you were aiming for.
The University’s Craig Fairless explains: “Don’t panic even if you don’t get the grades you were hoping for. You may still be able to find a place on a degree course that could kickstart your career.
“Plenty of advice is available to help you find the right course and university. At Ulster we will do our best to provide you with the advice to help you make these difficult decisions.
“There are still options for those without the required grades. If you have narrowly missed out on the grades you were targeting, you may still be offered a place but you will need to check with the university first. This will depend on the availability of places and may take a few days to be confirmed.
“If you have applied to Ulster, you may be made a ‘Changed Course Offer’ for a course in a related subject but with different entry requirements. You can decline this if you want to. However the University will do its best to match you to a course that really suits your needs and interests.
“If you aren’t successful in securing a place on any of your choices, you will automatically enter Clearing. Every year, many thousands of students successfully gain a university place through Clearing.”
Information on Clearing vacancies at all UK universities appear in the national press and on the UCAS website. The University of Ulster's Clearing vacancies can be seen at http://www.ulster.ac.uk/admissions.
Universities may also have new courses that were not available when you first applied. Check to see what else is out there.
Information on admissions to the University of Ulster is available on the website at: www.ulster.ac.uk/admissions, but we will also have a telephone enquiry lines available. For course admissions enquiries contact 028 7028 7028 where you can talk to an advisor on the way forward in course selection.
The University is operating advice days on each of its campuses on Friday, August 20. These will give you the opportunity to ask questions about Clearing and enable you to visit and tour the campuses. The advice day will take place between 9am and 1pm on the Coleraine, Magee and Belfast campuses and will operate on the Jordanstown campus between 9am and 4pm.
Information and advice is also available through the NI Direct website http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/results2010.
The University of Ulster is unique in Northern Ireland with hundreds of courses across our four campuses, so you may still be able to study your chosen subject, but on a different campus.
And the most important thing according to Craig Fairless is: “Stay calm. We will help advise you to help you make these difficult decisions. Students should also remember there are also a number of our full-time programmes also available on a part-time basis. There are generally a lot of places available on our part-time courses so students can still continue their education. Information on part-time courses can be found on our website at http://prospectus.ulster.ac.uk.”