Hi! My name is Diop and I came to Bournemouth University through Clearing.

Initially I had chosen BU as one of my five uni choices and I was accepted on a conditional offer. I visited the uni for an Open Day and was really impressed with all the facilities and very excited about the prospect of joining. However, my parents tempted me to go for Loughborough and Birmingham as my firm and insurance choices. I always felt something wasn’t quite right about going to any other uni as I had a feeling of ‘you belong here’ when I visited BU.

I ended up not quite getting the grades to go to Loughborough or Birmingham, so on the same day I called up BU and I was offered the initial course they offered me. In a way it is bad to say that I’m happy I didn’t get the grades to go to Loughborough or Birmingham, but since coming to BU, I have been able to continue my football dream, met people who will be friends for a lifetime and just had the most amazing time ever. My main advice would be that if you don’t get the grades to go to your firm or insurance, don’t be too upset as everything happens for a reason and just make the best of the situation.

Once I sorted out BU through Clearing, the process for accommodation was very simple. However, my friend and I wanted to be placed in the same accommodation and we ended up waiting too long, so I would suggest ensuring that you try to find a house on the accommodation portal as soon as possible. Luckily I chose for BU to select accommodation for me, so I was placed with four random people. At first it was a little awkward, but as the weeks went on everyone got to know everyone and the atmosphere in the house was always positive. You will always have your friends that you already know, so it would be a good idea to live with random people in your first year so that you can get to know various different friendship groups and meet as many people as possible.

By Diop Evans

You can find out more about Clearing on our website.