If you used Clearing in 2023, how did you find it?

Probably one of my worst weeks on the planet. Rejection after rejection. I had the grades for their entry requirements and was constantly told there was no space. I was not too much of a fan of my firm choice. I wish I went to a larger university, further away for me to experience a new lifestyle and while also being ranked fairly high for me to be proud of. Didn't really get that. Applied to Leicester because it was decently ranked and it was closer to home but I've lately regretted that choice and wish I was a lot more ambitious. I hate to be that guy who brags, but a lot of my friends and classmates got lower grades than me and still managed to secure a place in great universities like Birmingham, Nottingham, Edinburgh, list goes on. I can't help but feel jealous. I've sent dozens of emails, almost at the triple digits. Ever since results day I've been consistently contacting places but met with the same answer. It's late September now, and my chances have shrunk to essentially 0.


They made clearing look simple, yet I had the exact opposite experience. To be fair, I did try go through clearing for Computer Science, which is obviously pretty competitive. But ugh, it's so frustrating because I worked so hard for my A-Levels. I bounced back from a BCD to an A*BB and I feel like I haven't been properly rewarded for my efforts. I've spoken to multiple teachers, my Computer Science teacher which I have the most respect for in my school told me to go to Leicester with a positive mindset, which I will take his advice on, but it is hard to know that I more than likely will not be getting the university experience I wanted.

why not just take a gap year if its that deep and reapply
better off going to a uni you like than you dont like esp with grades like those

I could, but I am afraid of certain risks. A couple of places I'm interested in are increasing their requirements, like Liverpool, and a couple had lower requirements for clearing like Nottingham, so I might not have much of a chance if I applied again directly. After contacting Nottingham a while back asking if I would get an unconditional if I applied, they said their computer science course filled up since the initial January UCAS deadline, so if I were to reapply, chances are I wouldn't get the place due to the competitiveness of the course. I'd need AAA, since I essentially have AAB, chances are I wouldn't be given an offer. Leeds, Liverpool, and some other places do have the same entry requirements, and I assume their computer science courses are just as competitive as Nottingham's.

I could retake my Computer Science exam as I was a couple of marks off an A, but my sixth form doesn't offer year retakes, and I'm not sure if I'd be able to study successfully/consistently for one year at home, and the risk of potentially studying for nothing but the same grade or worse is a fear I have. I hate to be that guy who also acts like his parents control him, but my parents also do discourage me from taking the gap year because of that risk, and in general spending a year consistently working a part-time job and studying at home every day. I suppose it could affect my mental health, but I suppose maybe my parents might now want me in the house all that time either. My comp sci teacher told me it could be negative too, and maybe I'm less prepared for my first year without all the stuff I got from A-Levels fresh in my brain.

ah ok good luck
leicester is still p good uni btw so dw