Are you kidding?! If you’re in Clearing because things didn’t go to plan, that’s okay. You’ve got a great opportunity to take control and explore your options. You might even have done better than you’d thought in your exams, and you want to change your mind about where you’re going to study. Either way, it’s a positive thing.
Are you nervous about finding a university place through Clearing? Well, don't be. In fact many savvy students use this route to either re-evaluate their university choice, change direction to a course that's a better fit or even wait until Clearing opens to initally apply for a university place.
Whatever your reasons for applying through Clearing, we've got you. Below we cover some common myths and questions you might have before entering the Clearing process.
Clearing myth busters
See question 1. 😊 Our students come from a range of backgrounds and circumstances and that’s what makes our community so wonderful. If you come to Nottingham through Clearing, nobody will know unless you tell them and if you do, they won’t care!
That’s not true! University is a totally new experience for everyone, whether they came through clearing, they passed their exams with flying colours, they changed their mind at the last minute and chose a different university...it doesn’t matter. So, if you come to Nottingham through Clearing, you’ve earned your place just like everyone else.
Not at all. Clearing is the perfect opportunity to re-think your direction if you want to. It’s your choice.
Actually, you can. If we’re offering a course in Clearing that you meet the entry requirements for, you can apply for it. The lovely people on the hotline won’t know or care that your previous application was rejected – they'll work with you to see if we can make you an offer.
That’s fine. We understand how stressful Clearing can be and you have our full permission to cry through the entire phone call. We’ll take some deep breaths with you, and we’ll walk you through it all. Don’t worry!
You have two options here.
First, you can fill in the online application form - it's usually a lot quicker than calling, and we assess it in exactly the same way as our phone applications.
Or, you can just keep trying. The lines are going to be busy so make sure your phone is fully charged and you’ve got all the details you need. That way, when you DO get through to us, we can make it as easy as possible to get you sorted.
We do our best to help all students get a place in university accommodation, including students who come to us through Clearing.
To help you feel more secure, we have an accommodation guarantee in place until August 22. So, as long as you have applied for your accommodation by this date, you are sure to have a place to stay. Find out more about our guarantee here.
Even if you apply outside of this guaranteed window, we will do everything we can to supply you with accommodation, and our applications for accommodation will remain open.
Yes, you will. We'll give you some time to think about our offer, so you can take a breath and make a calm decision. This also gives you time to browse our website to find out more about the subject, the campus, our student societies...all the things that could make Nottingham your new home from home.
It is true that our phone lines get busy on results day, but that doesn't mean you have to sit on hold while you wait for the lines to free up.
You can apply online instead, using our online application form, which asks the same questions as you'll be asked on the phone.
We assess all applications, online form or hotline, in exactly the same way. And since we assess applications in order they're received, getting in there faster with an online application might even put you at an advantage.
It might be tempting to apply to as many universities as possible, but it's much better to do your research early, so you can go into Clearing with a plan of where and what you want to study.
That way, you'll get a place on the course that's right for you, and not just any old course at any old university.
We release our full list of Clearing courses the night before results day, including what entry requirements you'll need, so you can start shortlisting nice and early. In fact, you can see some courses as early as July, but these can change by the time results day rolls around.
It's important to remember that you can only apply for one course at the University of Nottingham at a time in Clearing. If you're interested in multiple courses, you'll have to decide which one you will enjoy the most before you apply.
How Ashley found her place at UoN through Clearing
Ashley's Clearing story
My Clearing journey is a little different in that I had already started my first year at another university, when I realised it wasn’t for me and I wanted to change to the University of Nottingham.
