August 13, 2015, by International students
An international student’s top tips for Clearing and Adjustment
Congratulations if you’ve been confirmed by your firm or insurance choice! If you’re definitely going to either of those then you won’t have much to do except sharing the joy with friends and family. However, if you’re not taking your firm or insurance offer – whether because you exceeded or couldn’t meet the required offer or want to defer – make sure you pay attention when communicating with universities about Clearing and Adjustment. The application was daunting for me when I was doing Adjustment, let alone Clearing.
It was a difficult time with mixed feelings to accept the grades I was awarded. The memory is still fresh of when I stared at the letters on my screen which indicated my grades, followed by many urgent decisions that had to be made: getting a dissatisfying subject to be remarked and applying to other unis through Adjustment for courses with higher requirements. I decided to ring up The University of Nottingham, the more competitive university I regretted not to having applied to before and they were indeed happy with my grades. However, they were neither able to take me nor reserve a place for me at the time as I needed to wait until my GCSE Maths result came out to meet my firm offer (yes, you need to meet or exceed your firm offer fully to be eligible for Adjustment). After one week had passed, I received my last result, met my firm offer, formally entered Adjustment then I called again.
I was told by the School that there were no spaces left. I tried to email my correspondence with the school to the International Office and the admission officer helped me negotiate. He was magically able to issue me an offer! Unfortunately three days of my Adjustment period were UK holidays, which meant I got only two days to communicate with unis, request for my original choice university to release me and negotiate with UoN. I only got a few hours until the period ended to receive everything and officially accept the offer, and I was really lucky being able to manage all that just in time. I wouldn’t say the process was smooth or fun, but rather like a gamble wearing my patience thin!
Don’t be afraid though. As an experienced student I’d strongly advise you to be responsive and always have evidence of written communications with universities, also allow sufficient time to proceed with everything. Once your offer is confirmed, get ready to pack your bag and prepare for uni life!
I was actually still doubtful whether I’d made a right choice, but once I’d arrived at UoN, I instantly fell in love with the marvellous campus environment! The teaching is as outstanding as its reputation suggests and there are plenty of opportunities available to explore and utilise your individual talents. Everything I have been given makes me glad I applied to such a prestigious uni. Clearing and Adjustment isn’t negative, but really a new pool of opportunities.
Paula at Jubilee Campus
Paula Chung, an international student from Hong Kong studying BA International Media and Communications Studies at The University of Nottingham.
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