I missed out on both my firm and insurance choices, but Clearing helped me find the right course, at the right university, in the place I never thought I’d stay - home.
Hi, my name is Aarya and I am a philosophy student at UoN. I came to the University of Nottingham through Clearing, and I’m so glad I did. I love my course, the campus is beautiful, and I've had the most incredible experiences that I wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere else.
Aarya Handa philosophy student
My Clearing story
When results day arrived, I didn't receive the A level grades that I was expecting. I missed the offer requirements for my firm and my insurance choices, which was a pretty big blow considering I performed really well academically throughout sixth form.
Results day
Results day felt pretty hectic - after receiving my results and realising I needed to go through Clearing, I immediately started calling universities to see what my options were. It was a stressful time, and I was worried I wasn't going to find a course that aligned with what I wanted to do, but I was soon reassured when the offers I secured were a lot better than expected from high calibre universities.
Once I’d received my offers, I was able to go home and de-stress and think about what I wanted to do. After narrowing it down to two universities, my firm choice and Nottingham, I finally chose Nottingham. I can honestly say I don't regret my choice at all - Nottingham is my hometown, so it felt nice to have familiar surroundings and be near family and friends.
Applying through Clearing
I applied to Nottingham through the Clearing hotline, and the support they offered was amazing. The confirmation of my offer came back quickly, and the information about my course and next steps was clear.
Life on Campus
I moved into halls in my first year and was lucky with my flatmates. They soon became my best friends.
I am absolutely loving my course and student life as a whole; I am in the Philosophy society and the Buddhist and Meditation societies as well. For downtime I like to listen to music, I’m learning Mandarin, and I love to do yoga. Volunteering is also a big passion of mine, so I volunteer for several literacy support projects to help children improve their reading and writing skills.
Lessons from Clearing
Even though I didn’t expect to go through Clearing, I still prepared for the possibility and had a list of universities, the courses on offer and the entry requirements needed which helped me massively.
My advice to anyone preparing for Clearing is don't rush into making decisions, take your time to make the right choice for you. There’s a certain level of stigma attached to Clearing where people think that it indicates you didn’t work hard or you’re not smart enough, but that’s just not the case. I have friends who didn’t even apply through UCAS and just went straight into Clearing to widen their options.
Whatever happens, don't compare yourself to other people - it's your journey and you should explore all your options. Look at me - all roads led back home, and it worked out perfectly.
