August 9, 2017, by Liz Cass
Why I chose Nottingham: Anjni
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 second of these blogs Anjni shares her experience of Clearing.
I achieved the grades AAB in my A-levels. I have just finished my first year as a Biochemistry (MSci) student and I will be studying abroad in my second year.
I came to Nottingham through Clearing. Originally, I had selected King’s College London as my firm choice. However leading up to results day, and even before my exams, I realised that I didn’t really want to study there, but it was too late for me to change my choices through UCAS.
On results day, I had obtained the grades needed to secure my place at King’s, but it was a place I didn’t really want to go to. However I didn’t quite qualify for the Adjustment process, so I made the decision to release myself into clearing in the hopes of getting into a different university, even though my school advised me to take the offer I already had and not to throw it away. They said it was unlikely that I would be accepted through clearing and that in going down this route I may end up with no offers at all.
Nottingham had been on my list prior to this and I had researched the courses which interested me whilst applying to UCAS. Even though I hadn’t been to an open day I had family who had studied there so I had seen the campus and knew of Nottingham’s renowned reputation. I had been drawn to the place but with my parents wanting me to stay in London I hadn’t chosen it as my firm.
However on the day, once I had released myself into clearing, Nottingham was the first place I called up. It was very risky, and at this point I was very nervous because even though I had the grades to secure a place, there was a part of me that was thinking “This is crazy. I had an offer elsewhere but gave it up, what will happen if they say no?”
It is a tense process, more so if you find yourself in this position without anticipating it. Therefore it is essential that you do your research beforehand on the universities and any courses of theirs that would potentially interest you, just in case you were to end up in such a situation unexpectedly. But more importantly to go with your instincts and apply for whichever course at whichever place you want to go to. Although listening to others around you is important and can be extremely helpful, it can also cloud your judgement and can give you too much to think about, leaving you confused and even more unsure than when you started off.
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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