Clearing and Foundation Years: Removing the Stigma!

If A-Levels don’t go your way, you do have options. Why not check out the courses offered through Clearing at Swansea University or consider doing a Foundation Year? I did, and I truly recommend it. Here’s why:

1. There is No Shame or Stigma.

It is merely a chance to allow your life to take a new direction. See it as an opportunity rather than a negative. So much emphasis at school is placed on getting the top A-Levels or getting into Oxbridge, and whilst getting the best grades you possibly can is important, it is not the be all and end all. You are not defined by your A-Level grades. There is no shame or stigma amongst students about taking this route. Nobody has ever looked down on me or treated me differently because I did a foundation year; if anything, they respected my dedication in fighting to achieve my end goal, medicine.

2. It Is the Best Thing I Ever Did.

I would not be a medical student now without having done a foundation year at Swansea University. Yes, it was a change in trajectory, but it allowed me a chance to refocus and reconsider how I could achieve my end goal, being a doctor. Doing a foundation year taught me the skills of being a university student and gave me an extra year to settle in at and get used to university, whilst also meaning that I could progress through Applied Medical Sciences as a Pathways Degree and eventually get into Graduate Entry Medicine.

3. You can Still Move on From School Life at the Same Time as your Peers.

Many students will panic and think that just because they have missed their A-Level grades they will have to re-sit, take a gap year, or change their desired subject area. Well, you don’t have to. A foundation year is a great chance to move on from your hometown and school at the same time as your peers, without the fears of being left behind that people commonly experience

4. Why Not?

As my Mum always tells me, everything happens for a reason. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be. I truly believe that a foundation year at Swansea University was the route I was meant to take, and I would not be the person I am today without having done it.

Hope – Swansea Student Ambassador - Second Year Graduate Entry Medicine.