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.

Stress?

It’s not all about Clearing…..

…. Although it’s felt that way over the last few weeks.

On July 2 I mused on what Clearing means for universities and how – as many commentators have pointed out – it has changed from a blind panic for underachieving A level students to something quite different. At this point, it would be wise for me and my career prospects to reference our very own Vice Chancellor Bill Rammell’s views on the matter. Which are, of course, spot on.

These days, people use Clearing not so much as a race for places as simply an extra few weeks to make a key life decision. Fair enough. It’s also increasingly an opportunity for those who have surpassed BTEC and A level expectations and predictions and who are looking afresh at “if” and “where” to study at uni. Yet having said all that, as this year’s first day showed there’s still a significant number of those who didn’t receive the grades they thought they were going to receive or were predicted.

State of the art - c'mon!

This year, the first day of Clearing was as insane as ever. Web, phones and footfall rattled the furniture, fixtures, fittings of the usually savannah-like atmosphere of our state of the art Postgraduate and Continuing Professional Development Centre, where the turbo-charged, chocolate-powered extended Admissions team and academics worked their socks off. Things were quieter over the first weekend, but steady again the following week. And then - and now - the long tail, with slow, steady traffic coming in, sending university managers, admissions, recruitment and market research teams twitching and refreshing spread sheets as if there's no tomorrow.

Nouvelle Vague; Mkt Research in Paris 1963

For universities, Clearing can last a few weeks, after which it's ‘business as usual’. For students involved in Clearing, the whirlwind will have started much earlier, will carry on much longer and carry far more emotional intensity. Kudos and Quailty Street should certainly be heaped upon University colleagues working through the process, although for applicants, once an offer is accepted, there are only a few weeks to prepare accommodation, travel, budget, reading lists, Freshers’ wristbands, Facebook status, Luton Town season tickets, napkin, cruet and cutlery etc etc. Not to mention those groovy Tarantino, Smiths, Pixies, Star Wars, Nirvana, Bob Marley, Bob Hope, Tiswas and French New Wave film posters. And blu-tac. Oh, and the rag-rugs, incense holders, kaftans, spider plants and Super Noodles.

Transport is arranged

Then there’s the whirl of arriving, working out which clubs or societies to look at (or avoid), who to ‘buddy up’ with, how to approach the induction and enrolment processes, how to find the library, which of the multitude of coffee outlets to patronise etc., etc., etc. All of which feels like five years mashed into as many weeks. It’s exciting, for sure although there will be a few puffy eyed souls we all need to keep an eye out for, who may have hit one beach party too many and might need a hand with working out where they are or who may need a shoulder to cry on.

At the time of writing - we still have a few places left through Clearing. Best be quick - like other institutions, we're at the tail end and have already welcomed frazzled colleagues back from the Postgraduate and Continuing Professional Development Centre (it's state of the art y'know), who’ll be picking themselves up for the main cycle recruitment and the beginning of another round of encouragement and cajoling.