Clearing: half an hour to change my life

This time last year, I was in a full-time position at Costa in a small town. I had finished sixth form the previous year, but felt stuck with no aspirations for my future career. Then one day my friend recommended ARU and said there was a chance to apply through Clearing.

Apply to ARU through Clearing

UCAS deadlines for applications had long passed, so I didn’t think I had a chance of applying for university. However, my friend showed me you could apply directly to ARU for Clearing, avoiding UCAS completely. I completed my application in just over half an hour and received a confirmed place from ARU in a matter of days. The process was incredibly easy and was one of the best decisions I have ever made!

Even though the process was quick and easy for me to complete, I was still nervous about joining ARU, mainly because the year I had spent away from education made be worry that I wouldn’t be able to keep up. I didn’t know if I’d remember how to produce essays, especially to a university standard. However, in my first weeks at ARU, I was offered Study Skills Plus classes which included Harvard referencing and essay structure classes; this removed my worries of not being able to reach the standards.

Another worry of mine after being accepted was finding accommodation at ARU with such little time, I was concerned that a lot of the places would already be filled, and I would not have a lot of choice. However, ARU has a massive range of different accommodation on campus and off campus. By the following week I had a confirmed place and could not wait to begin my next chapter at ARU.

Now, writing this blog post about my clearing experience, I have just completed my first year at ARU. It has flown by, but I cannot wait to begin my second year.

I feel I’ve already achieved so much in little time. Becoming a Student Ambassador and Digital Ambassador has opened up lots of work and personal development opportunities too! They even supported me to go outside my comfort zone and do some public speaking, which has enabled me to speak to lecture-size groups with ease. This has made my confidence grow and has helped set me up with the skills I need to exceed my own expectations – and succeed in my future career.

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What is Clearing?

Clearing is an opportunity to reconsider your options, and join a university where you can study a subject you're passionate about.

You can apply through Clearing if:

• you didn’t apply before the UCAS deadline
• your grades are different to what you expected
• you’ve only just decided to go to uni
• you’ve changed your mind about what or where you want to study since you originally applied.

Find out more about Clearing at ARU