August 7, 2017, by Liz Cass
Why I chose Nottingham: Amy
As part of our round up of good news and as thousands of teenagers prepare to get their A-level results we’ve asked five current students to share their experiences of life at Nottingham. In the first of these blogs Amy Russell shares her experience of Clearing.
I have just turned 21 and I am going into my 3rd year studying International Relations BA. I am heavily involved in the Student’S Union (SU) as I am employed b
y them as one of the SU Officer’s Receptionists and I am also involved with Polsoc and a few other societies. I achieved AAB at A level and I lived in Manor Villages as a Living Out Student in first year and now in Lenton.
My first choice offer was to study International Relations in St Andrews but the entry requirements were 3 As and they wouldn’t make an exception when I got a B in Geography. I had my insurance choice to study it at University of Leeds however the night before the results came out I had just decided I really didn’t want to go there anymore.
I would be moving a long way from home, as I come from Northern Ireland, if I came to the mainland like I wanted and I just wanted to study somewhere that felt welcoming and felt more comfortable.
After I had gotten my results and confirmed I could not have my place in St Andrews I decided that I would look what the grades were for Nottingham in Clearing. I had visited Nottingham for an open day and had received an offer from them however had turned it down because the offer was for the 4 years Masters equivalent of my course and the grades were also 3As and I didn’t want to keep two offers with such high grades however I had really liked the University and the course.
The entry requirements were ABB when I looked online so called up the clearing helpline and was offered a place.
There was a stressful few days transition as I had to first reject my offer with Leeds before I could be offered a place at Nottingham however it did work out. I was also really worried that I hadn’t made the right decision. When I visited Nottingham it had been a very rushed trip where I flew in and flew home on the same day so I hadn’t had the chance to see the city beyond the university campus so I was worried I wouldn’t like the city and I had general nerves I had about whether the offer would go through ok as well.
There was no university accommodation left within my price range by the time my offer had been approved and accepted so the university recommended being a living out student in Manor Villages where I was placed in a building with 15 other freshers almost all who also came through clearing and many of who I live with to this day and remain close friends with.
Despite all the stress of Clearing I am really glad that I did it and now feel very at home and happy in Nottingham and in the School of Politics.
Obviously going through clearing was quite stressful, especially considering I already had an offer, however I feel like the risk really paid off and I am now extremely happy in Nottingham. My advice to anyone going through clearing would be to follow your instinct as well as your head, you want to select the course and the university that is right for you and it will be entirely worth the stress and the risk to end up happy with your choice.
Clearing course listings for EU and UK students will be released on the evening of Wednesday 16 August. Our Clearing hotline will open at 8am onThursday 17 August. Places are still available for qualified international students (outside the EU) on many of our undergraduate courses starting in September 2017. Visit our Clearing pages.
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