Hi I’m Alex and in this blog I’m going to tell you about my experience applying through Clearing, how I didn’t get the grades I wanted and
how I used Becky the Chatbot, Leeds Beckett’s online chat platform to do this.
I DIDN’T GET THE RESULTS I WANTED
I initially applied to York University to study Politics and International Relations. I knew that was the subject that I wanted to do so the night before results day I made a list of all the places that did Politics and International Relations just in case if I didn’t get in. A friend had applied to Leeds Beckett and got an unconditional offer to do this course as well. She said that they were a good department with experienced staff and so I added Beckett to my list.
When I got my results, I didn’t get what I wanted. Although I did well in two subjects the third let me down. York was off the table and it was time for plan B.
APPLYING THROUGH CLEARING
I knew that in order to get into Leeds Beckett I had to get a verbal acceptance and then follow up with UCAS for it to be guaranteed as a place. I went online to the Leeds Beckett website and Becky the Chat Bot popped up. It asked me what my results were to see if I could be accepted. It was really easy to use, I put in my results and it said that I would be able to get a place with my desired subject. I put the information into UCAS and I had my place accepted. I felt a huge sense of relief!
An hour after I had my verbal acceptance, I got a phone call from the head of Politics and International Relations, Sophia Price. She wanted to check if I had any questions as I hadn’t visited the department or talked to any of the staff. I said that I was planning on visiting the university in the coming weeks, so she insisted on meeting with me personally.
SUPPORTIVE STAFF
I turned up at the university and was taken on a tour of the library, the Students’ Union and a few of the lecture halls. After the tour was over, I called Sophia and told her we were here. She came down from her office to talk to me. This was the head of department and she probably had 100 other things to do like planning the next years course, but she sat and talked with me and my parents for an hour about what the course was like, what the lecturers were like, societies and extracurricular activities. She really reassured my parents who were worrying about what the next few years might be like for me at university. This level of support from the university was greatly appreciated.
I have really enjoyed my first year at Leeds Beckett; the course is great, I have made fantastic friends, joined different societies and made the most of every minute!