On Results Day, the very last place I expected to be was scrolling through UCAS Clearing. My plan had been completely set: take a gap year after A-Levels and think about university a whole year later. But plans changed, and because I made a massive last-minute decision that I actually wanted to go to university straight away, I found myself heading into Clearing.
Going to Arts University Bournemouth wasn’t my first choice – it wasn’t any of my choices at all. To be completely honest, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after A-Levels. Nonetheless, I applied to my universities of choice to do Psychology or Psychology with Marketing. I had no idea if this was what I truly wanted to do, but I applied anyway as I had enjoyed Psychology at A-Level and loved the idea of applying Psychology to Marketing.
I applied for a gap year during my A-Levels, but after they finished, I decided that I actually wanted to give university a go as soon as possible. When I opened my results, I didn’t get the grades I was hoping for to get into my original choices. It felt like a massive letdown at the time, as if I had completely messed up my chances of studying Psychology. Looking back now, it was actually the best thing that could have happened. At that moment, I knew it wasn’t the end of the world, so I went straight to UCAS and applied through Clearing as soon as I got my results.
The Clearing process was rather easy. As UCAS already knew my A-Level results and how many points I had, it added everything up and gave me recommendations of the universities I could apply to. I typed Psychology into the search box and looked through the options. After some searching and analysing whether those universities would be right for me, I realised that none of them felt correct.
So, the second course I searched for was Marketing. Through this, I found that AUB was offering BA (Hons) Content Creation with Marketing. This course caught my eye immediately. It couldn’t have been more perfect. Previous to my first choice of studying Psychology and Marketing, I was very interested in studying Media or Film. However, those didn't include the psychological aspect that I craved learning about, but Content Creation with Marketing at AUB pretty much encapsulated everything I wanted to learn and more. So even though I didn’t get into my first choices, and I chose at the very last minute to not take a gap year, Clearing really helped me find my path easier. It led me to study everything I have always had an interest in, and I now see it all as a blessing in disguise.
Since applying through Clearing, AUB has been extremely helpful at making me feel comfortable and at home. The University would send me updates and reminders of everything I needed to do before coming here, helping me with all the processes like paying for and moving into my accommodation.
I have just finished my first year and university life has definitely been a very big change and a scary shift from the norm, but it has genuinely been one of the best experiences of my life so far. I have met new friends and I’m doing a course I actually enjoy. I don’t think I would have had such an amazing university experience if I hadn't applied through Clearing to go to a university I had never even heard of before looking.
The university experience has lived up to and even surpassed my expectations. It has definitely been scary and stressful because it’s all a completely new experience, but I don’t regret a single thing. I’m so happy that I came here because I really feel like I have found a part of myself that I never thought I would find, and I don’t regret a thing about coming here.
Finally, my advice for people considering applying through Clearing is, if you have any doubts about it or if you’re worried that you’re not going to get anywhere with it, just try it. Clearing gives you so many options and shows you so many courses that you may have never even thought of before. It can open your eyes to the heaps of possibilities of courses and areas you can study, and you may even find a direction for you that you never knew existed. Clearing helped me find the perfect course for me and it shouldn’t be a bad or scary thing to be that person who applied through Clearing. It’s an opportunity to find a course you really, truly love.
