The Ultimate Clearing Survival Guide From The People Who Have Experienced It
If you have to go through clearing this a-level results day, don’t panic as we’ve spoken to people who have been through it themselves.
Having to go through clearing can be scary, especially if you’re feeling disheartened that you didn’t get into your first choice of uni. However, clearing doesn’t mean you’re not going to get your degree and there are plenty of people who have gone through clearing and ended up having an amazing time at uni either way even if it wasn’t the one they planned to go to originally. If you’re feeling anxious about results day and are unsure how to handle clearing if you have to go through it, we spoke to some members of the Student Beans team who went through clearing themselves and how it went for them.
Charlie Welmen- Legal Counsel & DPO at Student Beans
Where were you meant to go, and where did you end up?
“I was meant to go to LSE. Embarrassingly, after receiving my conditional offer from LSE I was given the opportunity to write a blog for them in the lead-up to results day called ‘I’m Going to LSE’ (yes, really). When results day came around and I didn’t meet the grades I had to write a final blog post called ‘I’m not going to LSE’. My friends still laugh about it now…at the time, it wasn’t very funny to me. After a few tears, I ended up securing a place at my second-choice university, Southampton. I hadn’t made the grades for Southampton either, so they initially rejected me and then two days later I was told I was given the last clearing place to study law!”
What did you know about Clearing before results day?
“To be honest, I knew little about it and never considered it as an option as it always felt like failure. I was underprepared when I needed to go through Clearing and my lack of awareness about the process almost cost me my spot at University”
Do you have any top tips for students who will have to handle Clearing this year?
“Clearing itself can be very competitive. When you find out that you haven’t secured your top spot or your insurance choice, you’ll likely be disappointed. There will be time for tears later (trust me, I did a lot of moping!) but you’ll need to start thinking about Clearing options quickly. My advice would be to have a look at what options might be available to you before results day. That means that if it hasn’t worked out the way you hoped, at least you’ll still be prepared. Once you’ve been accepted onto a course, find your accommodation quickly! Annoyingly, the only option left in halls for me was on a site of the crematorium. We could always smell burning…”
Looking back now, are you happy with how it all turned out for you?
“Studying at Southampton gave me so many experiences and opportunities that I may not have had at LSE. I met some incredible people and made friends for life, I studied for a year in Hong Kong, become heavily involved in Mooting (a legal competition) and won awards in competitions all over the country, secured a graduate job as a trainee solicitor and came away with a first (sorry, had to sneak that in)”
Lewis Potton- Editor at Student Beans
Where were you meant to go, and where did you end up?
So my two options were Southampton and Leicester to study English Literature. Southampton needed 2 A’s and a B (which in hindsight was a bit ambitious for me), and Leicester needed an A and 2 B’s (but the A needed to be in English). Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to get that A in English, ended up with an A and 2 B’s and missed out on automatically getting a place at university. Eventually, I ended up going to Kent to study English & American Literature – but it wasn’t without a day of drama and lots of mixed emotions.
What did you know about Clearing before results day?
In truth, it was almost nothing. Naively I’d assumed I was going to do enough to get my necessary grades and was totally shocked when I found out I was without a place. Like most people in the same boat as me, my school hadn’t prepared me at all for any negative eventuality. As a result, I was clueless, unprepared and understandably panicked on the day when my results came through.
Do you have any top tips for students who will have to handle Clearing this year?
My first words of advice to anyone would be, just take a second and breathe. When you don’t get the grades you were hoping for it’s a real shock to the system. Unless you take a moment and remain calm panic can set in pretty quickly and you can make rash decisions. Once you have managed to overcome that initial shock it’s important to remember that there are loads of places up for grabs at some really strong universities, and it’s important you start calling around right away. At every school, there should be teachers available to quickly work out for you which courses still have spaces, and recommend the ones for you to speak to. Then it’s about calling around quickly to try and secure one of the places. While it was a lot of stress and rushing around, if you remain calm there are some amazing opportunities to be had.
Looking back now, are you happy with how it all turned out for you?
Ultimately for me, Kent was a great experience and I wouldn’t change anything about it as it made me grow up fast and taught me so much. It’s also worth mentioning that Canterbury was such a lovely place to live and I made some friends for life which I would otherwise never have met. During my course, I also got some amazing opportunities such as travelling to New York to study and the material we studied was so interesting and fuelled my passion for reading and fiction. Proof that Clearing isn’t a disaster at all!
So there you have it! If you do find yourself having to go through clearing this year, try not to panic as it definitely doesn’t mean your life is over. Remember to try and do your research before, even if you’re confident you’ve got the grades you need just in case and to try and stay calm on the day. A-level results day is just the start of your uni experience and the memories you make at uni will last a lifetime, regardless of what uni you attend.
