Different Alternatives

Beste

Although Clearing has become more and more popular there are still many enquirers who question what Clearing actually means. Clearing is for potential students who have been unsuccessful in their main 5 choices on UCAS, or students who have been successful but have had a change of mind on what they actually want to study or where, or even people who have just decided to get into higher education in late July! The process starts with a phone call, then providing there are spaces on the programme of interest, the applicant is assessed for entry criteria and either made an offer there and then or submitted a Clearing application form sent to the faculty for a final decision.

It can be a very stressful period and nerve racking wait while applications are being processed. It’s important to keep calm and be patient and try not to panic. The most important thing to bear in mind would be that an unsuccessful application does not imply that it’s no longer possible to route onto higher education degree and there are always alternative options available.

Working within the Recruitment platform for the University of Greenwich, I have had a great amount of mature applications seeking to enrol on an undergraduate degree. A number of these enquirers are new to the system and are clueless of where to start. Undergraduate degree entry requirements usually include Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications. Level 2 qualifications are General Certificates in Education and do not make up UCAS points, Level 3 qualifications are A level and BTEC equivalences and make up UCAS points. UCAS points are calculated through the use of UCAS tariff tables and accordingly benefit to gaining entry onto an undergraduate programme.

Those who did not continue education after school and do not hold these qualifications may consider doing an Access to Higher Education course. Access courses are usually offered by local colleges and have a wide variety of options available. The most common ones I have had enquiries about have been Access to Nursing, Access to Social Sciences, Access to Sciences, Access to Business, Access to Humanities.

Those who have level 3 qualifications but maybe do not have just enough to the standard expected for the undergraduate degree they want, may consider doing a Higher National Diploma (HND)/ Foundation Degree. These qualifications are equivalent to the first two years of an undergraduate degree which you may find can be cheaper and lead to the same outcome. In most cases the HND/ Foundation Degrees are two year programmes and can be used towards a top up programme or direct entry to 3^rd year on a Degree programme.