Published: Thursday, 14th August, 2008 08:30
Clearing the way forward
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CLEARING may be a bewildering place to navigate at a time when you’re upset, but it’s something that can and should be used to your advantage, writes Annabel Williams
Having used clearing twice, I think it’s a pretty good system, especially if you’re willing to persevere.
The first time was after I found my grades weren’t good enough for my conditional offer for Bournemouth University’s BA multi-media journalism (BAMMJ) course.
Through clearing, I went to Glamorgan University in south Wales doing a media studies major, English studies minor degree – and ended up dropping out after five weeks to re-sit my A-Levels because my heart was set on Bournemouth.
Even though the BAMMJ course had about 600 applicants every year for 60 places, they would still put places up for clearing, so after re-applying to Bournemouth during my re-sit year and getting refused, I decided clearing was my last chance.
I applied for two Cardiff University courses to stay in the UCAS system and, after getting good enough grades for BAMMJ, I rang Bournemouth’s clearing hotline despite having accepted places on both Cardiff courses.
Somehow I got through to the BAMMJ course leader and talked my way into a degree literally hundreds of others had tried for.
I got released from the Cardiff courses and have never looked back.
My advice? Definitely don’t panic. Put aside the grief of not getting what you want and remember that you’re making serious decisions about your future, albeit in a slightly shorter space of time than your original application.
And remember – if you’re not happy wherever you end up, there’s no shame in going back to school and getting what you really want.
Emotional support charity The Samaritans is braced for an estimated 11% rise in calls over the results period. Visit www.samaritans.org, call 08457 90 90 90, or email jo@samaritans.org
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