The Clearing Process

1st August 2018

Choosing a course at degree level by the age of 18 can be tricky; it’s making a huge life decision. And like any 18 year old I was extremely confused about what I wanted to do at university. I was sure that I wanted to go to university as I had seen my older sister enjoy it so much. My family helped me browse through courses that I thought would be suitable for me. I studied Government and Politics, Psychology and English Literature at A level and with this in mind, I came across a course called Speech and Language Therapy. It seemed interesting and so without doing much research, I just applied. I applied to my local university, which was The University of Manchester as well as one away from home; the University of Sheffield. I was so fortunate that I got a place in both! However whilst sitting my final A level exams I would often ponder whether this was the right decision for me. Honestly, I couldn’t really see myself as a Speech and Language Therapist.

Clearing

When I got my exam results, I made the brave decision that I no longer wanted to pursue Speech and Language Therapy. Fortunately my family were all extremely supportive about this and so I made the decision to go through the Clearing process. The Clearing process is basically where all universities advertise via UCAS all available courses that have not yet been filled. For me this was the best decision that I ever made! The range of courses was truly overwhelming and I applied for courses like Physiology and Criminology. At the end I came a across a course that I had never ever heard in my life or known anything about; Computer Security with Forensics. Yet it stood out to me and it seemed so interesting. I hadn’t even done IT! I spoke to my family and they were all very supportive so I made the brave step to apply for Sheffield Hallam University.

My course

Before starting university and moving away from home I was quite worried about the fact that I had absolutely no knowledge of computing. However my worries were addressed by my tutors as they told me that the course was designed for people who had no computing knowledge whatsoever and that I’d be just fine. 2 years down the line I absolutely love my course – I am so glad I chose it! I have made amazing friends at university and learnt so much! I am currently undergoing a Cyber Security work placement at the BBC and I couldn’t be happier. Although Clearing seemed like a very scary option it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me!

Roha is a student ambassador for Hepp

Categories: Student Ambassadors.

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