My Huddersfield Clearing experience
Jenifer Starling-Babu
Biomedical Science BSc
Hi, my name is Jeni, and I am a third-year biomedical science student at the University of Huddersfield. In this blog, I’ll be talking about my experience of applying to the University of Huddersfield through Clearing on Results Day.
Don't be afraid
So Clearing, as you know, seems like a scary process, but I assure you many people go to university through Clearing each year.
People change their mind about the course they want to study, or the university they want to go to. Some people may have decided not to apply at first and later decide to apply through Clearing, or may have received grades that they were not expecting.
Whatever the reason, Clearing is a great opportunity to connect with universities and help you on the path towards becoming a uni student.
How my Clearing story started
My Clearing experience occurred during summer 2020 when nationwide it was announced we would be going into lockdown. I still remember hearing on TV that my A Levels would be cancelled, and my grades would be given through evaluation of mocks, predicted grades and yearly performance.
At the time it was quite a nerve-racking experience. Year 13 for me had been quite a struggle and overall was overwhelming, so the outcome for my given grades was something that made me quite scared.
I remember being on a group call with all my friends talking about how surreal the situation felt and collectively deciding to prepare in advance for Clearing.
I recommend all students do this. Without preparing beforehand, the process of Clearing may feel daunting and stressful. Planning ahead means you’re more prepared for the day and may be calmer as you have everything you need ready.
Preparing for Clearing
The way I prepared for Clearing was by first looking into other universities outside of my two UCAS options to see if they offered my desired course.
Many students are looking for particular courses or degrees, that plenty of other universities may also teach and could have a potential opening for in Clearing.
I highly recommend reading through the courses’ teaching and modules. Although it may be the same course there could be slight differences in the module topics being taught and there could be something that you’re not interested in (i.e. some biological science courses have chemistry-heavy modules, which I am not too keen on).
I investigated not only other universities, but other courses that were similar in terms of topic and modules.
Many degrees share overlapping modules and I looked into other potential courses that were like mine as an option. I even looked into psychology courses as I had always had a keen interest in psychology, since doing it at A Level, and it was one of my initial choices when thinking of what I wanted to study at uni. So, I considered studying psychology if the opportunity presented itself via Clearing. With a few extensive Google searches, I managed to compile a list of potential universities and courses I was interested in and found all the available hotline numbers on websites such as ‘The Complete University Guide’ or directly from each university's own website.
Preparing my call list
I created a document with all my university choices and their courses of interest. My list was prioritised by universities close to home because one of the most important things for me was to go to a university close enough to home so it’s not too far to travel when going back. I also saved the universities’ Clearing helpline numbers on my phone so I wouldn’t have to search for them on Results Day, causing me to go into a panic.
Come Results Day, I was utterly nervous. My insurance choice was Huddersfield, which was also the university I had planned to call first as it had many courses with overlapping and similar modules to my initial first-choice course.
When it came to it, I needed to apply through Clearing. I called Huddersfield and talked to the helpline staff. The staff were kind and helpful, we discussed my options, and a few questions were asked. Due to the predicament at the time with A Level results, I was able to be accepted onto my initial course and be enrolled as a student in Huddersfield on the same day. This may not be the same for every student. Some of my friends’ Clearing outcomes took a few days to finalise, but the staff are all friendly and are ready to help you sort out your enquiries and application.
Overall, I want to remind you that Clearing is there to help everyone in their application journey. Yes, Clearing may seem daunting, but it was the best decision I made.
My initial hours of Results Day started with absolute nerves, but I went from that to being happy and excited to have a place at a university, doing a degree I wanted.
My main advice is to research and prepare beforehand. There are many websites providing in-depth information about Clearing and UCAS also has its own Clearing tool to help students apply.
If you go through Clearing and ultimately decide that it isn’t for you, that you want to take a gap year etc, that is totally fine as well. I wish the best of luck to all students for your Results Day and hope you all have an amazing summer!
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