Personal stories from clearing

Results Day 2023 is here and at perhaps things didn't quite turn out how you had hoped. :s-smilie:

Maybe you had your heart set on a specific course or university but now you're exploring your options through clearing instead.

Here at TSR we want to spread the message that your results don't define you. It can be difficult when things don't go as planned, but taking a different path can lead to unexpected positive places! :yep:

This is a space for people to prove just that. If you went through clearing, how did it turn out for you? What was your personal experience of switching paths? What message do you have for students who are in that position now?

(edited 8 months ago)

Reply 1

04MR17

Volunteer Section Leader

invites you to #BeResultsProud this year. Please share this hashtag all over social media. If you wish, tag The Student Room too (find the handles at the bottom of the page). Find out more about this campaign here.

Reply 2

04MR17

Volunteer Section Leader

On results day my firm uni left me in limbo - they had not made a decision on my application yet. (thanks Durham...)
At the time I hadn't even realised this could happen, unis have days to go through results for a reason. :grumble:

I came to

for help, @claireestelle gave me some advice and I ended up very happily going to Keele (my insurance choice) :bl:

The day wasn't helped by my entire cohort being moderated down in one of my A Levels, meaning I was thinking about lots of options as they were putting in for a remark.

I hadn't realised that things may still be uncertain at the end of results day. I'd had 2 months of uncertainty building up to this day and thought it was supposed to be over on that Thursday morning. Now I help out on :tsr2:

in part because they helped me when I needed it... 6 years ago now. :daydreaming:

Reply 3

CheeseIsVeg

Personally I got my results in 2017, I had a bad feeling about my grades as I really didn't do so great in a particular maths exam. I'd prepared a list of unis with chemistry in clearing and thought about how I'd rank them and which I'd want to genuinely considered.
It was tricky for me as I was the first of my siblings to go through this experience and there was a lot of unknowns in the family! I also found it difficult to deal with the nerves because everyone around me was insisting I would do really well but I knew that I'd not performed that great in the exams.

On the day, I got my results from college and I had missed all my grades so I knew I was in clearing. I think my parents were quite upset initially so it was hard for me to deal with at first.
I tried to stay calm and I ended up calling unis on my list and getting a few different offers to consider. In the end I picked Southampton because I'd visited before and enjoyed the Open Day. I also really liked the choice in modules you had on the course which was really beneficial for my degree in the end. Overall we all celebrated that day and ordered pizza :woo:

Honestly it was a really great choice and I really enjoyed my time at Southampton! I ended up achieving a first class degree and have begun my career as an industrial scientist! I have learned so much and have definitely been very proud of my achievements.
One of the things I took from this is that there was a huge stigma surrounding clearing and one of the reasons I help here on TSR is to try and dispel these myths and show everyone that you can still achieve your dreams and #BeResultsProud even if those letters on the piece of paper weren't what you were expecting.

Best of luck to everyone today!!