Clearing: how to book a campus visit

Are you weighing up several clearing offers? Perhaps you’ve found the perfect course, but aren’t sure you’ll like the university itself, or the city it’s in? Either way, paying a visit or two to prospective universities will put you in a much better position to make an informed choice.

Booking to attend an open day is straightforward. Students are often informed about when they can visit when they go through clearing, and many unis allow you to book online. Some pull out all the stops to entice potential students. Queen’s University Belfast not only wooes the next set of first-years with free or subsidised flights to its clearing week, but also promises personalised one-to-one tours of the campus. “From the moment students arrive on campus during clearing week they’ll be treated like a VIP,” says Anthony McGrath, domestic student recruitment manager at Queen’s. “Clearing week can be stressful for some students, but we try to make it as exciting as possible.” Other institutions, including the University of Plymouth, offer visitors free accommodation the night before open day.

So what to expect during the big day? Clearing open days vary from uni to uni, but generally you’ll be going on a tour of the campus, meeting the course leader, scoping out the accommodation, and getting the low-down from the current crop of students.

Lucy Lisanti, 22, who studied anatomy and human biology at the University of Liverpool, recalls visiting the university with her mum. “We were taken on an excellent campus tour with one of the student ambassadors, followed by the head of the course giving us a personal tour of the lecture theatres and laboratories. It was incredibly useful and put my nerves at ease.” The head of the course even handed Lucy her email address, promising to guide her through any questions. “The entire drive back home consisted of me raving about my love for the course, university and city.”

Following the open day, students may still wish to consider other universities and visit their open days. Or maybe, like Lucy, they’ll accept the offer the minute they can get back online at home.