One in three UK teens are worried about getting into university this month due to too much competition

For those who achieve their required grades, A Level results day is one of relief, but just how much do UK teens know about their options if their results aren’t what they needed to get onto their chosen university course?

The University of Law, the UK's longest-established specialist provider of legal education and training, has polled both 1,000 UK teenagers aged between 13 and 17, and 1,000 UK parents (of children this age), to reveal the nation’s worries and expectations about getting accepted into university.

Two thirds (66%) of the secondary school children polled were worried about getting onto their chosen university course, with a third (33%) saying it’s too competitive and 14% saying this was down to their performance at school.

For one in seven (14%) their worry stems from disappointing their parents if they didn’t secure a place. Despite this, the parent survey showed a quarter (26%) of parents don’t have a preference in their child’s career choices.

Although many of the children were concerned they wouldn’t be accepted onto their preferred course, only 7% seemed to take comfort in the options Clearing can offer them, suggesting little awareness of this, despite UCAS data showing 505,680 students were successfully placed onto a university course during the Clearing process in 2017* - a figure which has only risen in the past three years**.

The research also looked into the top career choices in the eyes of British teenagers, versus those they believe pay the most – highlighting the two don’t always correlate. Owning a business was the most aspired career (32%), followed closely by the similar self-employment goal of being a YouTuber, Blogger, or Social Influencer (18%) - although these 21^st Century careers only made it 4^th and 5^th on the list of those believed to bring in the most income.

Commenting on the results, Lysette Gauna, Head of Brand & Content Marketing at The University of Law, said: “It’s sad to see the worries and concerns teenagers feel about getting into university, especially when they can take comfort in the support that the Clearing process can offer them.

“At The University of Law, we’ve seen a lot of great students come onto our courses through Clearing, so we think it’s important students are made aware the different avenues available to them. This might help take away some of the pressure they feel on results day.”