From Clearing, a First to getting a job - feel free to ask me questions ! :)

Hi Cheese!
I want to know how did you adjust to uni life during your first year? Is it a lot different from high school?

Hi there @pmrse
Great question!
During my first year I ended up going into catered accommodation so I could get used to the demands of my course and not have to worry about cooking etc.
In Sixth Form, you may have been part of a form group or tutor group but at Uni you usually get assigned a Personal Academic Tutor (PAT) who you can go to for help/advice during your studies. I found them to be really helpful for things like CV/job interviews or help. E.g. my tutor showed me his CV and it was a big wake up call for me because mine was far too long and I didn't have much experience compared to him!

Equally at Uni you can use the Library facilities and there is usually a careers and employability centre. I really used mine at Uni because you can do practice interviews/assessment centres for jobs in future. My favourite part was going to CV/Cover Letter workshops. There was an Advisor who would go through your CV/cover letter and give you tips on what to change or what was working well. Really useful free service, definitely use!!

There is a lot more independence than at Sixth Form so you have to manage your time well! I found that doing 2-3 societies was probably the most I could manage on my course but I often went to events with friends in my Halls or from other societies that friends went to. Still plenty of time to have fun !
For my course (Chemistry) I found that the first year isn't actually just a recap of what you learned at the end of Sixth Form but it's a lot of new content. This is something I wish I had known when I started
My course had a lot of contact hours, work to do for tutorials/labs and so this meant that there was quite a lot to do! The first year might not count towards your degree grades, however the content is the fundamental basis of the next few years so it is still important to get a good understanding and work towards good marks as it will still be on your degree transcript!

One thing I found as well is that you have to be proactive. If you don't understanding something, you must ask the lecturer/Professor. Actively seek assistance and don't be shy about it! This is for your benefit, you are paying for your University education
Another thing is that if there's something about your course that you think could work better, you can always get in touch with your Academic Representative and raise it to them to get this discussed with the people that make the course. You can even volunteer to be a Rep and do that yourself. I did this during the pandemic and found I was able to highlight issues with some of my modules and raise concerns of my peers which did actually enact real positive changes that really affected my degree + graduation.

Furthermore, a great thing you can do at Uni that is different to other education is sometimes you can get a job working in the summer or for Outreach opportunities. When I was there I worked on UCAS visit days as a Student Ambassador, you can earn some money and it's not strenuous work not far from campus so easy to do alongside your studies/work. I also did some demonstrating to some visiting school groups and worked for the accommodation department in the summer. Great way to make some money and also demonstrate some employable skills for when you graduate

Thanks for answering! This is very useful. I’m so excited to be in Uni but also nervous at the same time.

Do you have any tips on how to get the first class honours? I know it might depends on each degree and Uni but is there anything that you think I should know?

Hi, what was the clearing process like for pharmacy? Am I right in thinking you had to go through an interview for pharmacy? I'm wondering what it's like to go through clearing for a course that requires an interview.

If you have a question about your Firm or Insurance choices, Clearing or other UCAS-related issues then please ask your question HERE or post in the Clearing FAQ threads.

Hi guys! I'm Cheese I'm a Vegetable and I went through Clearing to get my University place studying Chemistry at the University of Southampton
In 2021 I graduated on my 4 year course doing MChem Chemistry with a First Class Honours degree!!


The same year I got a job as a scientist in a pharmaceutical company! I've been there for 2 years now and it's been so much fun. Going through clearing absolutely did not stop me in my career journey and I have been loving life
I don't want to derail this thread too much about scientific graduate roles so if you have questions about that specifically, maybe shoot me a PM

If you have questions about chemistry as a course, you should ask it here. Similarly with Southampton as a Uni, use the relevant threads on the University of Southampton's forum

This thread is here to help dispel some of the myths surrounding clearing, I am also here to answer any of your questions about going through Clearing, what it is, any worries you have or just any questions about University in general
There are loads more of these threads which you can find listed below. They are for different subjects and different Universities so please take a look! If you would also like to offer a helping hand, just let us know!
Useful Links:
Big Fat List of Clearing Threads on TSR
Clearing FAQ 2023
Uni transfer FAQ
Get help from Unis about Clearing on this thread
UCAS applications and Uni Group discussion thread

The Steps of Going Through Clearing:
Step 1: on results day both firm and insurance uni choices reject you. Or you may have released yourself into clearing after careful consideration that you no longer wish to go to your firm/insurance options and that another opportunity has been found better suited to you! You are in clearing and are given a clearing number.

Step 2: phone up unis you want to apply to and see if you can get a place. This involves stating your clearing number, name, phone number and grades and saying why you want to go to said uni/do said course.

Step 3: if they offer you a place, consider it and wait for an email with confirmation of a place for which you can apply to using UCAS. If successful skip to 5.

Step 4: if unsuccessful repeat step 2-3.

Step 5: consider all places offered by researching and doing a pro/con list for each. Then enter your chosen uni + course into UCAS using your clearing number after you have confirmation of a place being offered by a uni.

Step 6: time to celebrate aka pizza time, you earned it!! you're off to Uni

Hi I haven’t got a clearing number , I recently decided to do physiotherapy so haven’t applied on ucas yet I’m going to call and see if I can get in on clearing this year how does it work?

Hi is MChem lucrative money wise with job prospects? Many people say it is amazing.