Hey!
Welcome back! Thank you for sharing this so openly, and I'm sorry to hear that this cycle has ended this way for you. I'm the first in my family to go to university, and I went to a non-Russell Group university too, so I completely understand how disheartening it can be when it feels like you get so close at the AC stage after making it past the first few rounds.
Submitting 30 applications and making it to multiple video interviews and assessment centres is no easy feat and shows that you had a strong cycle overall, even if the end result doesn't feel like it. It shows that your applications are working to a point and you are clearly competitive enough to get through those early stages.
I'd definitely avoid viewing it as a "0 offers = no progress" situation - like you've said, you will have developed a lot of this cycle and built lots of experience. The jump from getting interviews/ACs to converting them is often the hardest part, but very learnable and coachable and this was definitely the bit I struggled with last cycle too!
In terms of next steps, I'd probably try not to see this as a reset to zero situation! You've now got a much clearer idea of which stages are tripping you up most, which is incredibly useful for targeted improvement next cycle. It might be worth getting very specific feedback where possible and then focusing your prep around those areas, rather than just broadly reapplying in the same way again. I'd also give yourself some space from it if you can - these application cycles can be really draining, and stepping back briefly can help you come back more motivated next time.
Wishing you the best of luck, and let us know if we can help at all!
