My Clearing journey to University of Wolverhampton

A blog post by pharmacy student Peace Onuoho on her experience of coming to the University through Clearing.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget the feel of the excessive tears flowing down my face on A level results day. The university that I had my mind set on going to had given me a completely different course to study following my results not being what I’d anticipated. I wanted to study pharmacy and they had offered me microbiology. My insurance university choice was also for a completely different course that I didn’t really want to do.

My heart had been so set on one thing that I hadn’t given room to think about the “what if”, and I’d recklessly not planned a solution to it.

I realised I hadn’t considered… what if I didn’t get the grades I was predicted to get? What if I decided to choose a university closer to home? Are there other universities that do the same course but with lower grade requirements?

I suppose you could say I had naively put too much faith in my predicted grades and first university choice, despite my lack of work and research. I ignorantly just hoped that the Lord would see me through, thinking that I don’t really have to put in the work; everything will go smoothly and there will be no rain, just roses and lilies. (Even with my logic, having lived in the UK and experience of the British weather, I should have realised that at least one of those statements were false).

When I finally stopped my crying and after I had licked the wounds of my not-so-great A level results, I spoke to someone, who I now know God placed in my way, and she directed me to the University of Wolverhampton website. It was as simple as her saying “What about Wolverhampton? They do pharmacy.” At the time, I had never heard about the University, never mind knowing it had the exact course I wanted to study. The weird thing about it is that I don’t think the person I was speaking to had much of an idea about it too.

So, imagine this POV, I’m scrambling on my phone to the University website. My heart beating rapidly as I type in my course in the search engine and my eyes flicker earnestly to the grade requirements… I fit the category!

After rejecting the adjusted offer by the other university, I was placed into Clearing and I spoke with the Clearing team at the University of Wolverhampton and was accepted just like that. I’m not exaggerating when I say my heart was at peace. I remember thinking, I’ve been through all of that crying but it’s all worked out; I’m going to be studying pharmacy, the course I’d been determined to study. I was happy to be going to university and felt blessed. I’m sure if I had found the University of Wolverhampton earlier, I’d have avoided the heartache I had felt on that day. Everyone talks about relationship heartaches, but no one mentions the true daunting feeling you get when being faced with the ultimatum of doing a course you really don’t want to do and doing a course you don’t really want to do.

That was almost three years ago and I am now laughing as I’m typing at:

1) The type of things I stressed over as an 18-year-old (I genuinely thought my life was over) and;

2) How weirdly great everything comes together in the end

Now as a third year pharmacy student at the University, I often come to a halt in thought and just wonder “how would I have coped anywhere else?”. I believe I’ve grown at the University in a way I don’t think would be possible elsewhere. If there is anything I will take from this university – and the city of Wolverhampton – when I graduate, it is how they accepted me and continued to accept me in more ways than I could ever have imagined at a West Midlands university.

For anyone who already has the results of their qualifications, applications can be made through Clearing from Monday 5 July. Our Clearing webpage provides further information on all the courses we have available in Clearing.

Applications can be made either by calling our Clearing Team on 01902 51 8585 or through our social media channels on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.  

For anyone who is awaiting the results of their qualifications, they can register their interest and book a phone call with a Clearing Adviser on results day, Tuesday, 10 August.  

For more information the next Open Day is on Saturday 14 August.