Consider your options through Clearing
Recognising the importance of making the right decision when going through Clearing, Solent University's trained advisors will be on hand to offer advice, support and campus visits when students receive their A level and BTEC results next week (Thursday 16 August).
Staff and students will be at the end of a phone, on Twitter, Facebook, email, live web chat, Instagram, Snapchat and Whatsapp, to advise and support.
Rebecca Hollington, Solent's Recruitment Events and Prospects Manager, who heads up the University's Clearing hub, has the following advice:
"There can often be a lot of anticipation, worry and pressure for students who find themselves in Clearing, but the reality is that there are plenty of courses at a large number of universities and the choice and freedom to carefully consider options is definitely there.
"I would encourage students to really shop around and have a good look at different universities, perhaps ones that they hadn't even considered before! Take the time to visit those that you are considering to make sure that it feels right and is somewhere that you're happy to call home for the next three years (at least!)."
Before making a final decision, prospective students will be able to taste life at Solent with a Clearing Open Day on Saturday 18 August from 10am-2pm. Visitors will be able to look around the campus, talk to current students, plan accommodation, check out the facilities and take a look at the city.
Other events around the Clearing period include: Drop-in sessions on Thursday 16 August from 4pm-6pm, and Friday 17 August from 12pm-2pm and 5pm-6pm. Campus tours are also available on Thursday 16 August from 1.30pm-4pm.
Some of the advisors manning the Clearing hotline came through the Clearing process themselves.
BA (Hons) Sports Journalism student, Harrison Read, 21, decided to go to university after taking a year out: "I finished college and went straight into the workplace, but I decided it wasn't for me and that I wanted to go to university, after finding a course that I was really invested in…it's been one of the best decisions I've made!"
He wanted to train up as a Clearing operator after his own experience in Clearing: "If it wasn't for the person who helped me go to university I wouldn't be here now. I just want to help prospective students who are quite unsure or don't know what they're doing when applying to university, and help make it a bit simpler for them."
For those who haven't yet decided whether university is for them, advisors will also be on hand to discuss the career opportunities that specific courses offer.
The Clearing hotline is open from 7.30am to 7.30pm on Thursday 16 August, 7.30am-6.30pm on Friday 17 August; and 9am to 5pm on Saturday 18 August. It is closed on Sunday 18 August, but will then reopen from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday throughout the summer.
You can call us on 023 8001 1722; email us on ask@solent.ac.uk, live chat to us at www.solent.ac.uk/clearing, contact us on Facebook (/solentuniversity) or Twitter (@solentofficial), Snapchat (solentuni), Instagram (solentuniofficial) or on WhatsApp 07712 402 951.
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