What I learned from going through clearing (and why you’ll be fine)

It’s one I went through myself, over 40 years ago. Of course, back in my day there was no internet. Instead, the available courses were printed daily in national newspapers. Each day, the list of options grew shorter, and the process involved frantically calling university hotlines, hoping for a place.

Despite technological changes, the experience remains strikingly similar, especially the emotional element. For many students, their plans are about to undergo drastic changes. It’s a moment filled with uncertainty and anxiety.

You might be at a low ebb and you’re trying to make big decisions quickly. You may have planned to attend a specific university, anticipated better grades, or imagined studying alongside friends.

I was set to go to Aston University but ended up going to Sheffield Polytechnic. That shift meant not only changing academic plans but also scrambling to find accommodation and accepting that I’d be starting fresh - without the familiar faces from school.

But Clearing has evolved. The sheer number of students going through it today means it is very much a normal route into university (around 70,000 applied for a place through Clearing last year). Still, there’s a silence around it. People rarely talk about Clearing. That lack of visibility matters.

After going through Clearing, no one ever asked me about it again. It wasn’t a topic of conversation on campus. It never came up in job interviews. While that anonymity can be comforting, it also means there are few role models to help destigmatise the experience.

If you search online for famous people who didn’t go to university, you’ll find plenty. But try searching for those who went through Clearing—there’s no one.

Technically just by writing this I’m now the most famous person to go through Clearing! It’s time we talked about it more openly, so students know they’re not alone and that success doesn’t hinge on a single moment.

My advice to students who may be going through clearing is not to worry. Clearing isn’t a failure – think of it more as a change of path, a pivot. It’s one that thousands go through every year, and it has become a normal part of the university journey. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone, ask questions, and explore new options.

The path you take now will lead to unexpected opportunities and friendships. And once you arrive at university, no one will ask how you got there. What matters is that you did and that’s something to be proud of.

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Adrian Dutch is Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Bedfordshire. He joined the Higher Education sector 16 years ago after a global career in advertising and marketing. Back in 1983, he went to university via Clearing and became the first in his family to graduate from university.

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