Student Blog Squad

My journey applying through Clearing

Hi, my name is Emily and I’ve just completed my second year here at Leeds Beckett University studying Social Psychology. Originally from Liverpool, I came to Leeds in September 2019 after applying to Leeds Beckett through Clearing. Throughout this blog, I’ll talk about my own personal experience of Clearing, why I chose Leeds Beckett and some advice on what to do if you find yourself unstuck on results day.

Phonecall

Why I applied through Clearing

During my time at Sixth Form, my teachers and careers advisors were always very ambitious for all their students, and really strived for them all to be successful. However, their idea of what success entails was flawed, in my opinion. They often encouraged people to apply for the Russell Group universities, despite the courses and learning styles at other institutions being a lot more suited to their needs. That’s exactly what happened to me. I wasn’t really educated about alternatives and, as a result, the more practical based courses and other universities were not something I ever considered. When I didn’t get the results I had hoped for on results day, I decided I needed to take a different approach to my future and started to look at universities that were more suited to me and the courses and style of learning I was actually interested in.

Why I choose Leeds Beckett University

I knew for a long time I wanted to live in Leeds for university. After visiting there, I really loved the city, the environment and the people and I knew some friends were wanting to go there too. When I found out I didn’t meet my offers for the universities from my UCAS choices, my first instinct was to see what Leeds Beckett had available, as I had heard some positive feedback about it from a family member who went there some time ago. At this point I had no idea how amazing my experience at Beckett would be, both in the Clearing process and my university experiences up until now.

The application process

I had briefly researched on the Leeds Beckett website, and I was convinced quite quickly that I should ring them up and see what they had available for me. After a very rude and abrupt response from other universities I’d rang, I was in a horrible mood and I was still very upset with my original results, but this changed when I spoke to Leeds Beckett. I spoke to a very nice lady when I called Beckett’s dedicated Clearing number and she reassured me a lot and gave me all the information I needed about the options I had. She told me about the Social Psychology course and said there were slots available and said she would put me on the cohort and send me an offer. In the next hour, the offer appeared on my UCAS and I was delighted to accept it. 

I was also extremely pleased that they used tariff points for the application process as it considered some of the extra-curricular activities that I had worked hard on.

After I accepted my place

A little while after I accepted my UCAS offer from Leeds Beckett, I received a phone call from Madeleine – a senior lecturer on the Social Psychology course. We spoke for about 15-20 minutes and she was the first person that day to congratulate me on my results and make me feel proud of what I had achieved. I told her about my aspirations and how I often like to learn and how I preferred to be examined. I was pleased to hear that my course had no formal examinations and that it was assessed by a mixture of essays, reports and presentations. I was also extremely excited when I found out that the course was quite small (only around 30-40 people) and that a lot of the learning sessions were in the form of group seminars and discussion rooms. It was a brilliant opportunity to collaborate ideas, have a chat about different topics and make new friends on my course. The content of the course was also right up my alley, merging some of my favourite aspects of both A-Level psychology and sociology and the topics were a lot more interesting to me than the courses I originally applied to!

I recommend Leeds Beckett

Overall, I am so happy to say I am a student of Leeds Beckett university and I would recommend the university to everyone. I was very tense and nervous at first because I thought I wasn’t going to university and it was heart-breaking to see my friends get precisely what they wanted, and I didn’t. However, after the whole process, I felt wanted, happy and I was astounded how I hadn’t even considered Leeds Beckett earlier. Would I recommend going through clearing to Leeds Beckett? Yes, although I think you should consider it in your original choices and, unlike me, research into alternatives to the traditional big red brick universities because those environments are not for everyone. However, if you end up in the same position as me, I couldn’t recommend the Clearing process at Leeds Beckett more. 

It was some of the best care and support that I’ve ever received, and I am extremely grateful to them for turning my results day into something I’m proud of and could celebrate.

Thinking about applying through Clearing?

Find out more about the courses available and more information about the Clearing process. 

Find out about Clearing

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