A rookie's opinion on Clearing

As the newest member of the team, I’ve been asked to do a couple of blog posts on Clearing, as:

1) I haven’t experienced working one at the Uni yet, and 2) because I’ve most recently been through the uni process.

When I was in Year 13 the word 'Clearing' was whispered in hushed tones behind closed doors. Nobody wanted to have to go through Clearing. I'm surmising, but I think these are the reasons why:

1) Clearing symbolised failure. Going through Clearing usually meant you hadn’t gotten the grades you were expecting, so was seen as a huge ‘I messed up’ sign above your head. 

2) Clearing equalled panic. We all had visions of hundreds of students fighting over limited university places. (Whether this was strictly true I have no idea, but the thought was enough to scare us all senseless).

3)  Not every university was in Clearing, so if your first choice was one of those institutions and you didn’t quite make the cut, you’d usually end up ‘downgrading’. 

4)  The uncertainty of it all. The assumption was that you’d end up going to a university you hadn’t looked around, staying in accommodation you hadn’t picked, and doing a course that might not have ultimately been your first choice. 

I have absolutely no relevant pictures for this blog post, so here is a happy doggo instead!

Five or six (I’m getting old, no need to remind me) years on, and Clearing is a whole different ball game. Let me try and explain in response to the points above. 

1)  Clearing doesn’t mean failure. We’ve interviewed students recently who went through Clearing because they did better than expected in their A-Levels, and decided that they did in fact want to come to university after all. Clearing can also be just a sign of someone indecisive, changing their mind, or having their circumstances change. And that’s not failure at all, that’s just life.
2)  I can’t speak from experience yet (having not worked through Clearing), but what I can assume is that there’s no need to panic. Clearing lasts an awful lot longer than it previously has, so even though ringing on the first day will probably give you the best options, you could also ring a week later and still be offered a place. 
3)  Almost every university in the country has courses in Clearing this year. Including the likes of Oxford and Cambridge. So you could probably even upgrade if you wanted.
4)  I think the uncertainty is still there, if I’m honest. But most universities run campus tours and visits for those people who have come through clearing, or have ‘virtual tour’ options on their websites so you can get an idea of where you’ll be studying. A chance to email or speak to the academics running your course is also a possibility, so you can ask any questions you may have. And guaranteed accommodation for first year students means you’ll be exactly where you need to be to meet new people and make potential friends for life.

I hope this cute bunny makes you feel less panicked about Clearing, it's certainly working for me.

So there you have it. After some consideration, I’ve decided most of the changes to Clearing are due to the sector, rather than changes to the process itself. It sort of feels like the weight of Clearing has been reversed. Whereas the panic used to fall on students, with universities not caring as much because the intake was quite slight for them, now Clearing is a MASSIVE DEAL for uni’s. Students can get pretty much whatever they want while universities are stressing over filling places. It’s a slightly unwelcome role reversal for us, but one that benefits our millennial’s, so that must be kind of a good thing, right? They are the future, after all.

Until next time.

Over and out.