Applying for Clearing - Question

Nursing places very rarely come up in Clearing. Courses are vastly over subscribed and have waiting lists. Hospitals also know that people who apply through Clearing are usually people who havnt thought through what Nursing actually entails, or who have 'missed' Medicine, Pharmacy, 'other Science' etc and are grabbing at anything - they tend not to make good nurses.

Also, bear in mind that A level grades and being 'good at science' isnt enough. Nursing also requires 'evidence of relevant experience ' - to put it very bluntly, demonstrable ability to clear up other people's vomit and deal with upset/unreasonable people even when you are knackered. So, you are expected to have some work/volunteer experience in a relevant setting - something like an Aged Care Home. Mental Health daycentre, Special School etc -even if you apply during the main application period. Nursing training is an NHS job with training - it isnt a breezy 3 years as a student, you will be working with real patients from your first term and working long hours in a hospital setting as well as classes. So, if you really are thinking of doing Nursing, your best route would be to leave Uni at the end of this year, spend 2013/14 getting some relevant experience and applying in the normal UCAS application period for 2014 entry.