I missed my grades, but ended up exactly where I’m supposed to be by going through Clearing.
Hi, my name is Fatima, I’m an international student from Pakistan and a third-year law student. I joined the University of Nottingham through Clearing, and it was the best decision I have ever made!
My Clearing story
After applying, I travelled to the UK with my dad to visit the universities I’d applied to. At this point, the University of Nottingham was not somewhere I’d considered.
When visiting the universities, I found some weren't as diverse as I’d hoped for. This was something I was looking for as part of my selection criteria, so that I could find people I could resonate with.
Regardless, I enjoyed the visits and ended up choosing my first choice university. However, on results day I’d missed one of my grades - they wanted three A’s but I got A*AB, and so I couldn’t get on to the course I’d applied for. This motivated me to go through Clearing at Nottingham, and although they also wanted the same grades (AAA), they were more lenient and allowed me onto the course with the grades I had, which was amazing.
I used UCAS to shortlist the universities based on my grade requirements, good sports facilities, the diversity of students, and I also wanted to be on a campus. Nottingham fit all of these criteria perfectly, and here I am.
Results day
On the day of Clearing, tensions were high. I called Nottingham, who asked me to go through their online process, and they came back to me within a day. This quick response meant that I could start my visa process and start my course on time.
The visa process was great; I got my CAS in two to three days and my visa in about two and a half weeks. It was a smooth and really quick process overall.
A campus that feels like home
On arrival, my dad was snapping photos of me at every corner of the campus, it was really exciting. Living in Ancaster Hall meant I was able to quickly bond with my flatmates over shared dinners and Law Society socials. I joined the Women in Law society, the Pakistan society and even started Zumba - the gym had all the classes I loved.
I very much feel part of a community here. Everything is within walking distance - lecture halls, libraries, cafés and the lake.
Lessons from Clearing
Looking back, my advice to anyone applying through Clearing in September would be don’t wait until the last minute to shortlist, and remember everything happens for a reason. You might end up somewhere even better.
