An inspirational guest blog by our very own Ebony Harding. 

Everyone has a different Clearing experience. Some people are prepared for Clearing and get what they want out of it immediately, and others are genuinely surprised by their results and may need to go through Clearing unexpectedly. For me, I was surprised by my results to an extent. I knew I could’ve done better, but it made sense to see where I hadn’t, but I wasn’t mentally prepared to go through clearing at all. Luckily I had a mum who worked in a university and knew precisely how Clearing worked.

A couple of days before results went out we sat down and wrote a list of other universities and courses I’d be happy to enrol on with all the contact information I needed as well to make it even easier. This was the best thing I could have done as it gave me a clear view of who I needed to contact and it saved so much time on the actual day. I was quickly able to enrol BU within an hour of results going out despite it not being my firm choice.

Coming to university knowing that I came in through Clearing was initially the most nerve-wracking thing in the world. I had all kinds of questions in my head about whether I deserved to be at uni or whether I would fall behind in class or even if it was apparent to other students that I hadn’t got in the “traditional” way. Very quickly I realised two things – 1) lots more people than you would think also come in through Clearing and 2) no one actually cares how you got into uni, they just care what you do once you are here!!

I came in through Clearing and eventually got involved in the student’s union which changed my entire university experience. I became a society president, was then elected as a full-time officer for the union, now work for the university and have just been accepted onto a Masters course here at BU. I don’t think any of that would’ve been possible if I had dwelled on the fact that I came in through Clearing and saw it as some kind of disadvantage.

5 years after my Clearing experience I realise that while BU wasn’t my first choice, I can’t imagine having the university experience I’ve had at any other institution, and it’s now obvious to me that BU was the best choice for me and that my Clearing experience became one of the best things that could’ve happened to me. If you are considering Clearing and on the fence with a decision, I say do it!