Tehya O’Connor
- Course
- International Relations BA
- Subject area
- International Relations, Politics and History
My clearing experience
I didn’t consider Loughborough until after my A-Levels, however I sent an email asking if I could do a self-guided tour around campus and travelled down with my parents to visit. I loved the campus and decided in July to apply through clearing. I used the university websites to compare courses and UCAS, however wasn‘t as excited about any other universities so decided to apply for Loughborough.
Once I opened my exam results, I went straight to the clearing room at my school. The experience was quite good for me as I had already planned to go through clearing, so I wasn’t as stressed as expected. The person on the phone with me was lovely, she congratulated me on my exam results and asked me the necessary questions. I think we were on the phone for about 15 minutes, and I was out of the clearing room within half an hour of opening my results.
I felt fairly prepared and went through some potential questions I would be answering. My school was very supportive with me too, so helped me to stay calm.
I would definitely recommend Loughborough for university, my time there has been amazing so far and as someone who was really nervous to start, it’s been really nice to settle so well into uni.
My Loughborough experience
I loved all the sport that Loughborough has to offer, I have always wanted to work in the sports industry and thought that any course at Loughborough would help with this goal. All the lecture halls are nice and well presented. The sports facilities are of course really good and in great central locations around campus.
I joined Rutherford IMS netball who made it to the IMS netball finals which was an amazing experience. I have also recently joined the CVA as I am going to be one of the Media, Marketing and Communications volunteers for the rugby team for the next year.
My advice to future students
Clearing is an amazing chance to apply to a great university whether you have changed your mind about a course or haven't applied to Loughborough in the first place. In terms of the actual process, I'd say to try not to stress too much, there are so many options available, so it’ll work out how it’s meant to for you.
Go through some potential questions you might be asked, have your GCSE and A-Level results ready with you and don’t panic once you’re in the clearing room, make sure the course you’re applying for is definitely suited to you, your skills and makes you excited to start university.
The UCAS website is really helpful to compare courses and required grades. If you know anyone at the university you’re interested in, that would be the best way to learn more about your potential future experience.