We are here to help…

Rima

Hi All,

It has been about a month since Clearing has started and we have already taken many applications. We even been able to offer some places to applicants that have met the entry requirements. This is one of the things I love about working in Clearing, being able to tell someone either over the phone or face to face that we are able to offer them a place at University of Greenwich. It gives me a sense of achievement that I have helped someone find a place at university.

A lot of people think Clearing is only for people that have not met the entry requirements for a course they wanted to get on, this is not correct, Clearing is also for people that have just changed their mind about the university they want to go to or for people applying late because they may have just decided they want to go university. Clearing can be a stressful time when calling universities and checking to see if you meet their entry requirements or if there are still places left available on courses, however we have a very friendly team of Clearing advisors who are there to help and try and make the Clearing experience as easy as it can be.

We are available from 9am-5pm on the phones as well as in reception (Greenwich Campus, Queen Mary Building) and also Live chat and on main results day (15^th August). We will be extending our opening times so we are available even longer to help with finding people a place in university as it can be a very hectic day.

So whatever your reason for being in Clearing contact us to apply for a course or for information about Clearing and we will be happy to help J

Rima x

How to prepare..

Michael

With A level results day nearing, nerves may be at an all-time high among many people who are expecting results. Hopefully you will manage to get the grades you were expecting, but for those of you, who like me, don’t quite reach your required grades, then clearing may be the next step to take.

If you have some kind of feeling that you may not meet the grades that are needed, then it’s always best to have a copy of the Daily Telegraph to take with you, as this will have a list of the different universities that are taking people through clearing, as well as the courses available, and the entry requirements.

Clearing can be a daunting experience, but we have a large team of trained students on hand to take Clearing applications. They are trained either on phones, on our online chat feature, as well as our reception desks which are on both the Greenwich and Avery Hill campuses.

We will hopefully be able to give you an offer for a programme, but if we are unable to, we will do our best to suggest alternative pathways to getting into University.

If you have any questions about clearing, or how to apply through Clearing, you can call us on +44(0)20 8331 9000 or email courseinfo@gre.ac.uk and someone will be able to assist you

Contact us via Live Chat :)

Victor

Hello everyone,

Yet another week of summer and respectively Clearing is starting! :) This would be my first blog which would be surprising if you have in mind I have been working for the Enquiry Unit and Clearing for the last almost three years. I just had my graduation ceremony last Thursday and am well excited that I am graduated.

I have been working on our Live Chat service from the start of last Clearing. A lot of you choose to use this method of communication with us as you find it more convenient. If you ever want a quick and friendly response to any of your questions feel free to go to our web site and click the Talk Now bubble that will pop up at the bottom of your screen.

Last week I spoke to a few of you that unfortunately did not manage to achieve the expected results. A note to any people like that: firstly do not panic.. this is not the end of the world.. there is almost always an alternative. Secondly, unfortunately you will not be able to apply for the same course through Clearing if you have applied for it in Main Cycle with us. There are however almost always similar courses and foundation years that might be worth considering.

When people hear foundation courses they normally get confused from my experience. This is a fully legitimate way to get your undergraduate degree. What this means in most cases is that you will do your first two years of your chosen programme at one of our partner colleges and then upon successful completion you will be able to transfer into the third year of the course at one of our University main campuses. At the end of your last third year you will receive a certificate from the University of Greenwich as well. Partner colleges are also a good option as class sizes are usually smaller which would mean that you will receive more face-to-face interaction with your tutors and individual support if needed.

So basically even if you have not achieved the grades you thought you would, there might be an alternative for you, so do not hesitate to contact us. As explained by my colleagues there are many ways to get in touch with us, so why not just give it a go!

Results and Accommodation

Kelly

There have been two hot topics of conversation from the calls I have received recently from prospective students who have already made applications to us; results and accommodation.

So you have your results for your BTEC qualification or Access course but your offer is still showing as conditional with us on UCAS Track?  That is because not all BTEC qualifications are automatically fed through UCAS to us and Access course results are not provided to UCAS at all.  But never fear; you can send us your results and we will process them and update your offer accordingly.

The easiest way to notify us of your BTEC or Access results is via e-mail.  You can include a scanned copy of your transcript or results letter or even a photograph, just make sure all the text is clear!  You can then send this, along with your full name, date of birth, UCAS personal ID, Greenwich Student ID and the course you applied for to:

qualifications@gre.ac.uk

Once this has been received we will update your offer and you will be notified of our decision through UCAS Track.

I've had quite a few calls from prospective students who have applied for accommodation through the Accommodation Portal but have not heard anything back from us.  This is perfectly normal and we will begin to correspond with applicants, via the e-mail address you included on your accommodation application, over the coming weeks depending on your situation.  Offers to prospective students who have qualified on a course of study at the university will be sent from mid-July onwards. Offers to prospective students awaiting examination results will be sent when they have qualified for their programme of study starting in mid-late August when A Level results are posted.

We cannot always provide you with the hall and precise type of room that you prefer but we will do our best to allocate accommodation that matches your preferences as closely as possible.

The offer letter sent via email will include information about the hall you have been offered. If you wish to accept the offer of a room, you must click the Acceptance Link provided in the letter and must pay a £400 deposit. A deadline date by which you must have completed both of these steps will be included in the letter. If your deadline date falls on a weekend, you are advised to accept the room before the deadline expires and pay the deposit on the next working day. If you do not accept the room and pay the deposit, the offer will be automatically withdrawn.  Deadline periods for replies to offers, etc. can be short so please ensure you check this email address daily.

Remember, if you have any queries, you can always get in touch with us via:

Phone: 020 8331 9000

E-Mail: courseinfo@gre.ac.uk

Livechat on our website: www.gre.ac.uk/study

Drop in to our reception in the Queen Mary Building, Greenwich Maritime Campus, Old Royal Naval College, Park Row, London SE10 9LS

Find us on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/uniofgreenwich

Find us on Twitter @ www.twitter.com/uniofgreenwich

Unexpected Journey

Deavon

Hi everyone,

Whoa, reading the advice my colleagues have given you guys has given me some tough acts to follow! So you know what, I won’t follow and instead leave a trail ; )

I am being cheeky because I kind of borrowed a line from Ralph Waldo Emerson, the quote being, ‘Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail’ However, I think for people attending university and especially for those applying through clearing this saying is particularly relevant.

During main cycle applicants may choose universities because that is where their friends are going or choose subjects because that is what their friends are studying. Yes I know I made a sweeping statement, but as the legendary Bob Marley sang, if the cap fits where it … and by default if it does not, then we’re all good ; ) However, what is not sweeping is that clearing is a lottery and can be daunting because you literally do not know where you will end up or what course you will be studying! The path is not clear and it is for you to create that trail.  

But that is also the beauty of Clearing and also a reality of life. The beauty is you have another opportunity to attend university, so please don’t be daunted by the prospect, embrace it, shop around and ‘keep your head up’ (a little Tupac) even if the ‘shopping’ is not going as well as hoped! As for reality, many of you are in clearing because you missed getting the results required for your firm or insurance offers. Sometimes life means we have to adapt to circumstances that were not our ideal scenarios and it is having the ability to respond to difficult situations that actually helps shape you. Yes I am talking from experience, but the least said on my hectic life, the better ; )

So I suppose what I am saying is that in addition to all the excellent information my colleagues have given you, stay calm in Clearing and keep everything in perspective. Good luck : )

Summer and Results

Binal

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer and beautiful weather so far. We have long waited for the summer and it is finally here, just like results day will be in a few weeks. So why not be prepared, beforehand?

Having experience working on two results days, I can tell you it can be extremely busy, so why not have a checklist for yourself or have a few different courses to fall back on. For example if the program you wish to apply to is not available or unfortunately you do not meet the requirements for that particular course, you can always ask to check for another course.

Or if you have applied to a course within our university and have been made unsuccessful for this academic year, not to worry, you can still apply to a similar course. This applies to most courses expect for the nursing programs, where you can still apply for the next academic year for the intake in March 2014 in September 2013 through UCAS.

So why not head to http://www2.gre.ac.uk/study/courses/clearing where you can browse through a list of available courses and select either the undergraduate or foundation section. Once you have selected your course you can see the list of modules you would be studying for the duration of your entire degree, to provide you enough information to select a course that best suites yourself. For the most up to date information on availability of courses, you can contact us on 020 8331 9000.

If you applied through the main cycle of UCAS and have received feedback from us, regarding UCAS points, for example you could look further into our foundation degrees, extended degrees or HNC/HND which generally ask for lower UCAS points. All these qualifications can take you towards completion of an undergraduate degree.

Wish you guys all the best on your results and just to remind you we are always only a call or chat away  =)

Come to Campus & Visit Our Clearing Reception…

Laura R

Hey Guys,

So this is my first blog for the Clearing 2013 Diary – exciting!  We are all systems go at the moment with Clearing which is still in its early stages. We are getting a steady flow of applications at the moment through Clearing and it is great to see we have so much interest in the University.

Did you know that as well as our telephone and chat systems you are more than welcome to come and visit us at Queen Mary Reception (Greenwich) from 9am- 5pm, Monday to Friday, where myself and my colleague Rima are currently based.  We are happy to help with any of the following:

• Clearing applications (undergraduate)
• Pre-entry guidance for applicants for the next academic year
• Assist with UCAS applications
• We are the central meeting point for campus tours
• We keep the public updated via the social media sites; Twitter, Facebook, LiveChat and Foursquare.
• We work closely with the international team

So if any of the above sounds like something you may need assistance and advice for, feel free to come down in the specified times and see us.

From results day (15^th August) there will be another reception opening in Mansion Site on the Avery Hill campus (this is as well as the Greenwich one remaining open).

However, if you would rather enquire over the phone or via our LiveChat system, that is completely fine too and these services remain open (9am-5pm, Monday-Friday) :)

We look forward to seeing you, take care.

Laura R

Time to plan ahead..

Ezgi

Hello Everyone!!

So we are slowly but surely approaching the big results day J.. However there is still time to plan ahead!

I am sure that many of you have started thinking about your options and have questions about the Clearing process. At the Enquiry Unit we are a very friendly team of trained student-staff members. We understand the experiences you are going through and are here to help you and answer any questions you may have. As well as giving you a student’s perspective on University life, we can tell you about the application process for clearing and provide advice on any other questions you may have such as student finance. If you have any questions, do give us a call on 0208 331 9000.

Clearing is open to those who are interested in studying full time Undergraduate degrees or Teacher Training (including Primary PGCE Part Time). To apply for a programme through Clearing you must ensure that you are not holding any offers and do not have any pending qualifications.

If you have not yet made any applied on UCAS/GTTR but are interested in applying for a programme this September, there is still time to make an application. Applications can be made on UCAS (www.ucas.ac.uk) or GTTR (www.gttr.ac.uk). When you fill out your application form please ensure that you include ALL qualifications from GCSE’s onwards. This is important as all qualifications are taken into account when an application is reviewed!

Please be aware that it can also take up to 48 hours for us to see view your application once you have submitted it.

Once that is all done, give us a call to find out about which programmes are available through clearing.

As well as general undergraduate degrees, we also offer a range of exciting foundation degrees, HND’s and HNC’s.  To check out which programmes are currently available, please visit the link below:

http://www2.gre.ac.uk/study/courses/clearing

We look forward to hearing from you J

Some advice

Nicola

 So it’s early Clearing and that means we are getting prepared for the main Clearing rush on the 15th August. If anyone is unsure of what Clearing is or has any questions about the university now is a good opportunity to contact us as the phones are quieter. The Clearing line is open 9 till 5 Monday to Friday you can contact us on 0208 331 9000.

As this is my fourth Clearing I thought I would share some tips with you so you have a smooth Clearing and can make the best decision for your future.

• Do your research.... it’s never too early to look at your options and possible courses. We have a range of foundation degree HNDs and degree courses available. If you don’t know the difference between these courses we can explain this to you.
• Clearing is not just for young applicants and A –level students. Mature students you can still apply for courses!!
• Look at the student union website to see what we can offer in addition to excellent lectures. Check out www.suug.co.uk to see the society and find out more about being a University of Greenwich student.
• Try out our different types of communication. Have you heard of Live Chat? Do you know about our Clearing reception? All throughout Clearing we will have all of these methods of communication available for you. So if you don’t want to talk on the phone you can use live chat to talk direct to us over the internet.
• If you are still unsure of what course is right for you, speak to friends and family. It helps to start talking about your options now as you will have more time to think and make the right decision. Going to university is one of the biggest decisions you will make so you don’t want to rush.
• The most important tip is to always have your UCAS Personal ID when contacting us - we will need this with nearly every enquiry.

Nearly all the operators you will speak to in Clearing are current students and graduates so we have lots of experience and first-hand knowledge of Greenwich life. We can talk to you about the facilities available, what it’s like in the student halls so what every your question we are here to help.

We are all eager to help and share our experiences with you!

General enquiries

Towsyn

Hey everyone, Towsyn here.

Early clearing has been fun so far. A lot of happy people out there all excited about coming to the University of Greenwich. If you haven’t got a university place yet, don’t fret as we have a few spaces available in certain courses.  Even if you are unsure just give us a call. This piece will address a few FAQs.

• During the clearing process, you must not have any pending results. Make sure you have all of your results before you call otherwise we can’t make a clearing application for you.
• Also make sure that you have not been referred to another university (you cannot be waiting on a decision from other universities; you have to have declined or been unsuccessful for all the courses you previously applied to).
• You can make as many Clearing undergraduate applications as you want through clearing but only can only apply for one GTTR programme at a time.
• If you have previously applied for a course at Greenwich in the UCAS main cycle, you are not allowed to apply for the same course through clearing, but you can apply for a different course.
• The entry criteria on our website are only for reference purposes, it is possible that they will be modified everyday through the clearing period.
• Make sure you have your UCAS personal ID number ready when you call.
• Processing time for applications is between two to four weeks but can be much quicker only taking minutes sometimes for a decision.
• Nursing courses only admit home students because of the NHS bursaries available.
• Our undergraduate midwifery, adult nursing, mental health nursing and paramedic science programmes are currently closed for September 2013 entry however we still have places left on the children’s nursing and learning disabilities nursing.
• We also have March and January entries for all our nursing courses so don’t worry if you’ve missed the September intake. Applications for these will begin in September through UCAS main cycle and the submission deadline is in January so be sure to apply early.
• To find out more about your University start date, please see our website: http://www2.gre.ac.uk/students/new 

This information is all on our website but I just thought I’d address the questions that most enquirers ask when they ring up.

Toodles

JJJJ

Daily question challenge

Elizabeth

It’s my first time working at Clearing and my first day of work was on Monday 1^st July 2013 which included learning about the systems and procedures compulsory for this period. At first it felt like it was a lot to take in, but I guess that was just nerves because I did not want to make a mistake, especially on an application. However, after putting what I learnt to use this was no longer the case.

By day four of Clearing I was used to the structure and the procedures that must be adhered too. I kind of have a habit of asking too many questions and I hope it’s not too much at times for everyone. I think just being reassured by another person helps me stop second guessing myself. Hopefully by the 15^th July, all the questions I will have asked will become very useful. Plus I am going to set a personal target for the maximum number of questions I ask in a day to a maximum of ten.

When making my first clearing application I was nervous and happy at the same time. For the reason that I did not want any errors to appear on the submission and I was cheerful because I was making my first ever clearing application. After inputting all the information required, the next step was to have the request approved by a supervisor and to finish, the form was sent to the school for a decision to be made. It was great contributing in some way to helping someone a step closer to reaching their goal which was fantastic.

A new week begins and I decide to officially start my daily question challenge. As the clearing days continue I am becoming even more confident with the procedures. So far during day one of the challenge I have asked seven non-application check questions. Day two I asked eight questions and yes I know it is one more than day one.

It’s now Wednesday 17^th July and I feel making an aim to not ask a certain number of questions was actually really helpful. I noticed at the end of the day I had asked five non-application check questions. The questions included whether the education department accepted IGCSE’s in place of GCSE’s for PGCE primary and graduation times. In addition to writing this blog I have learnt more than I thought I did.

As a result of setting this personal challenge for myself I have decided to continue with the task because it has actually become a very useful for me.

Who said degrees are expensive?

Abigail

Hello, I have had a lot of phone calls coming in regarding the price of fees, how you can pay and when you have to repay. The prices of our undergraduate programmes can be found at http://www2.gre.ac.uk/study/finance/undergraduate/fees

But that isn't something you have to worry about now, thanks to the Student Loans Company who help full time students with:

Tuition fee loans that pay for your course

•  Maintenance loans for living costs

• Maintenance grants to cover living expenses.

• You will also be able to get extra help if you have adult or child dependents  or have a disability or specific learning difficulty.

You do not have to pay back any grants, and loan repayments do not start until you have finished your course and earning over £21,000 a year. Every month you pay back 9% of any income over £21,000 if this amount falls below £21,000 your repayment also stops.

You can find more information at https://www.gov.uk/student-finance/overview about eligibility, and how to apply.

The University of Greenwich also have a range of bursaries that you may be eligible for which you can find at http://www2.gre.ac.uk/study/finance/undergraduate/scholarships.

If you need any further information don’t hesitate to call us on 0208 331 9000. We’re here to help J

TEAMwork

Uzo

Hey everyone,

This is my first blog for the clearing diary and also my first blog ever, so here goes.

Clearing? Never had much knowledge about it prior to working with the Enquiry Unit and this meant a lot of things would seem all strange or brand new. But then this is entirely what typifies my approach to life i.e. embracing new challenges even if I have no clue about it.

First few weeks in the clearing season have gone pretty smoothly for me owing to the awesome assistance and seamless collaboration from the entire team. I believe that’s the winning formula for any team or unit, where everyone contributes immensely without hoarding anything that would take things to the greater levels.

Simply put, there is no “I” or “Me” in this system there is only “We” and “Team” and the reason is quite simple:

“I” = Isolation

“Me” = Morbid End

“We” = Winning Edge

“Team” = Together Everyone Achieves More

This attitude and mentality of the entire unit has eased my transition from the phone hotlines to the chat division. The switch didn't feel or seem much different except for the beautiful beats created by fingers on the constantly smacking the keyboard in response to the ever demanding questions from our applicants. If you ever wanted a way of improving your people skills, then chat is where you need to be!

The whole concept of “you cannot please everyone” just doesn't exist here. You just have to find a way around the impossible and please everyone. 

So how do I handle cases of bad news or stuff applicants might not want to hear? Do you lie? Absolutely not, it’s about the truth as always but I believe you have to find awesome ways of delivering it and making everyone a winner by suggesting new routes and viable solutions to problems. Everybody should leave the chat happy. If you ever run short of ideas or ways of dealing with difficult situations, you still have your TEAM to fall back on always.

So if you are not comfortable with calling us via 0208 331 9000, our dedicated team is still available to work with you through the chat system on www.gre.ac.uk (just click the little pop-up on the bottom right corner of your screen and start the chat”)

Cheers!

Uzo

Live Chat

Blaze

Hello all!

This is my first blog for the Clearing diary 2013! I cannot believe that this is my fourth year working during clearing… I am getting old!

Today is the first day when all of the early clearing team are working, so it’s a brilliant time to call us with any questions about the university and the clearing process! It is also a great time for me as I get to catch up with all of my work friends and colleagues.

My job at the moment is currently working on LiveChat – if you visit our website www.gre.ac.uk between Monday to Friday (9-5pm) you will notice a chat option pop up on the right hand side of your screen! If you decide to use this option, which I would definitely recommend, you will be chatting with members of the trained Enquiry Unit team! So it is a great (and cheaper!) way to ask questions quickly and speak to the team directly about anything concerning the university.

The chat system is also excellent as we are able to make applications for clearing over Chat! If you are a little bit phone shy like myself Chat is a great way to contact us. Particularly during the period when A-level results are announced and the phone lines become busy Chat is another way of processing applications and jumping the queue…so spread the word J Just bear in mind that applying over chat is the same as applying over the phone i.e. you will need to have a clearing reference number from UCAS or GTTR or alternatively have your id number and have no offers with universities, and have no pending qualifications.

So come on chat with us now!

Blaze J

Clearing…

Avneet

Clearing is a great opportunity for students who either did not get the grades to get into the university they wanted, have got the grades but are not interested in the universities they chose originally, want to transfer from university to university, have decided last minute to go to university or have completely changed their mind about the course they wish to do. The best thing to do in any of these situations is to pick up the phone and call us on 02083319000. You can find out which courses are open in Clearing and we can make an application for you if you meet the criteria. Also keep in mind that we can only make a clearing application if you have a UCAS application. If you do not have one already then you can follow this link to apply- http://www.ucas.com/apply. All you need to do is give us the UCAS personal ID number and we can check your application, match it with the criteria and make an application. It is quick and simple.

If you are just starting to do your UCAS application then I would like to give some very important tips; make sure all of your details are correct, all of our qualifications are included, have a strong personal statement which included your interest and work experience (if any) related to the degree you want to apply for (for help on writing personal statements, please follow this link- http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/undergraduate/filling-your-application/your-personal-statement) and finally you need positive references, preferably academic but if that is not possible then from a work manager or a superior. For help on filling in your application, please follow this link- http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/undergraduate/filling-your-application.

If your results are not what you expected them to be then do not worry. We offer foundation courses through clearing as well. A foundation degree is for 2 years, usually in one of our partner colleges. Please follow this link to find out more about our Partner
College Network - http://www2.gre.ac.uk/about/partner/pcn. After finishing the 2 years, you can do a top-up of the degree or something related to the programme. When you finish the top-up year then you would end up with the same qualification with the same amount of time.

There are so many options and opportunities. So give us a call on 02083319000 and we will try and do the best we can to make sure you get what you are looking for.

Avneet x

Our Partner College network

Terry

Hello and welcome to Clearing,

This is my first blog for the University of Greenwich and we have just entered our second week of Clearing. We are now receiving a steady pace of clearing applications as well as general enquiries involving the University and the courses we offer.

In regards to the courses we offer, something that many people are not aware of is our partner college network. From the University of Greenwich’s early days it has worked closely with its local colleges, since this begun these collaborative efforts have evolved into a Partner College Network. This began with eleven institutions working together within the Network.

The network works on a broad range of objectives which involve the delivery of higher education within further education and joint work on a range of initiatives related to widening participation and access. Our partner colleges also offer a range of:

•  HNC’s (Higher National Certificate’s)
•  HND’s (Higher National Diploma’s)
•  Levels 4 and 5 of a honours degree
•  Some honours degree programmes 
•  Growing portfolio of Fds (Foundation Degrees)

If you haven’t quite got the right qualifications for one of our degree programmes then partner colleges are always good options. I will give you an example from my field of expertise, the course entitled Creative Industries: Acting, Foundation Degree is one of the many foundation degrees studied at Bird College this is a two year full time course (three years part time) and the course itself is equivalent to your first two years of a degree. This means that once the foundation degree is completed, you have an option to transfer over to our BA Drama programme to complete your third year and therefore graduate with a full degree.

The reason that Partner Colleges are a good route to take is mainly because their entry requirements are lower as they are lower levels of study. So if you find that you do not meet the entry requirements for the course you have always wanted to do it is not a problem at all just call us at the Enquiry Unit on 0208 331 9000. We will give you all the information you need to get where you want to be, it is never the end of the line when it comes to education.

For more information on our partner colleges and what we have to offer you can find it on our website at (http://www2.gre.ac.uk/partnercollegehandbook/home)

See you at my next clearing blog

Terry :)

Useful email addresses

Shanice

Hi all, This is my first official Blog Ever!!! And the first time I’m writing for the 2013 Clearing Diary, so I’m going to start with a bang LOL.

Since Clearing has started I've had over 100 calls and I do my best to answer them effectively and efficiently at the same time but with all the calls I've had to realise that if you are ever in doubt about the status of your application or your having issues with UCAS, DON’T hesitate to give us a call at the Enquiry Unit (0208-3331-9000) as we are here to help you and put your mind at ease. We can find out the status of your application, we can help you if you’re a postgraduate or part-time student applying on our website (https://nelson.gre.ac.uk/pls/prod/bwskalog.P_DispLoginNon) and if you're stuck; trust me the list goes on and on and on but here at the Enquiry Unit we don’t mind what your enquiry is and in my case I’m just happy to help as I know that times like this can be stressful as you await whether you have got into university as I was in your position 2 years ago, it sounds sooooooo long ago as I write this but I understand which is why I do my best to help as much as I can.

Top 3 Calls 
I would like to share with you some of the calls that I recieve and how I answer them:

If you need to send your qualifications or certificates to the University of Greenwich, the email address that you will need is (qualifications@gre.ac.uk). You should include photocopies of your certificates/qualifications; Hardcopies are a big No No!

If someone wants to apply to Adult Nursing for a September 2013, sadly this course is full even in Clearing so what you would need to do is apply in September when UCAS opens again for the March 2014 or September 2014 intake.  You can start your application now but you won’t be able to submit it till mid-September.

If you have a conditional offer with us but you no longer want to accept the place you can email in to us asking us to decline the place (courseinfo@gre.ac.uk). Make sure that you include your personal info and your ID number.

I hope this helps, but stay tuned into my next blog where I will reveal my next 5 top calls :)

Shanice
xxx

Calling all mature students …….. It’s never too late!

Laura C

Clearing 2013 has officially begun! Many people associate clearing and university applications with students who have just completed their A Levels/BTECs but it’s also for mature students!

The majority of older generations have the belief that they have missed their chance to pursue the career they've always wanted but our answer is it’s never too late!

Going straight into a three year degree is not the only way to gain a degree! There are other ways of getting the career you’ve always wanted:

• HNC/HND – these qualifications are Higher National qualifications that can be taken as a stepping stone onto a degree programme. If you pass your HNC/HND at the required pass mark, you can continue onto the degree programme relevant to you HNC/HND. With some of the HNC/HND’s you can even get direct entry to the second or third year of the degree!
• Foundation Degrees – a foundation degree is equivalent to the first two years of a full three year degree. If you have passed with the required pass mark and would like to top up your foundation degree to a full three year degree, you can gain direct entry to the final year of the degree!
• Extended Degree – an extended degree is a four year degree instead of three. The first year of the four years is considered as “year zero” where you will gain foundation knowledge of the subject area to prepare for the next three years.

All of these routes can allow you to gain a degree and even continue onto postgraduate study!

The best bit is………University of Greenwich has these qualifications available with some of them STILL available through clearing!

So if you’re a mature student and are thinking about getting a degree but not sure about you’re options, you can have a look on our website on www.gre.ac.uk or give us a call on 02083319000 and we can help advise you J

And mature students don’t forget you can still be eligible for student finance! Go to the student finance England website where there is a calculator to see what you could be eligible for on www.gov.uk/student-finance/overview

Clearing 2013

Hello everyone and welcome to clearing!

This will be my first of several blog updates in regards to clearing, and also my first day back in the office after 3 weeks off; but more about that in my other blog soon to come.

Just a quick piece of information to those of you who didn’t make an application earlier in the year, if you want to study a full time programme with us, you will need to make an application through UCAS (www.ucas.com) or GTTR (www.gttr.ac.uk) if you are applying for a PGCE programme. You will automatically be in clearing if you are making a new application now. So you are aware, it takes 24 hours from submitting your application form for it to go live.

This means that in the 24 hour period after submitting your application form, we will not be able process an application for you. After this period, we will be able to process an application for you, so feel free to give us a call on 0208 331 900, or alternatively, you can use our Live Chat application which can be found on our website.

The best of luck to you all!

Michael

International Students

So, we are officially on our third day of Clearing 2013 and it’s been very quiet so far! We have, however, received lots of calls and chats regarding Midwifery, Adult Nursing and Child Nursing, but unfortunately all of those programmes are now closed for 2013 intake :( If you are desperate to get onto one of those courses, however, don’t panic! You may not have to wait until September 2014! We also have a January 2014 intake for Adult Nursing and a March 2014 intake for Midwifery, Adult and Child Nursing; for 2014 entry please make a new application through UCAS from this September :)

Unfortunately, as all of our Nursing courses are NHS funded, they are currently unavailable to international students. Equally, international students are unable to study our courses part-time. Of course, there are still hundreds of courses available to our international applicants, both full-time and distance learning, undergraduate and postgraduate. One query we frequently get over the Clearing period is, “Do my international qualifications meet your entry requirements?” For any international students reading this, the thing to do if you’re unsure of your qualifications is contact NARIC; they’re an organisation who look at international qualifications and equate them to UK qualifications :) They can be contacted here: http://ecctis.co.uk/naric/ and also on 0870 990 1561 (0044870 990 1561 if you’re calling from outside of the UK).

Another thing to consider as an international student is your IELTS test. If English isn’t your first language and you haven’t been formally educated in English, we usually require that you do an IELTS test and score 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in each module (for undergraduate courses) or 6.5 with no less than 6.0 in each module (for postgraduate courses). This can vary depending on the course, however, so make sure you contact us to double check :) For IELTS testing centres near you, please refer to their website: http://www.ielts.org/

For further information, please feel free to call us on 020 8331 9000 (0044208 331 9000 if you’re calling from outside the UK), email us at courseinfo@gre.ac.uk or talk to us on our LiveChat application via our website :)

Ensure you have all your results..

Kelty

Hi guys!!

Welcome to my first clearing blog! SO clearing officially started yesterday, and we’re now receiving a steady intake of calls, which is always good!

One important thing that you should keep in mind before calling us to make an application is that you have to have ALL of your exam results first!! If you’ve taken your A Levels this year and are still waiting on the results, unfortunately you will have to wait until you get your results before you can make an application :(! But you are still MORE than welcome to give us a call anyway if you want information about a course or anything else you can think off, it’s only the application part you have to wait to do :)

If you’ve already got your results or you are a mature student, feel free to give us a call and we’ll see if we can take an application from you :).

I would recommend calling even if you don’t think you’ll meet the requirements as you’ll be surprised how many different routes there are to get to where you want to go :).

For exampleeeee, if you really wanted to do BA Hons Architecture or a BA Hons in Criminology, and you don’t meet the requirements for them, you could do the BA Hons Business Administration (Extended), (which typically has a lot lower entry requirements) and as long as you pass the first year, after a discussion with the relevant programme leaders, you can switch over to the first year of the programme you wanted to do :) Think of likeeee a foundation year :)

Anyways, that’s all for now! IF you want to talk about anything I’ve said in this blog, or anything else feel free to give us a call on 0208 331 9000, or if you’d prefer you can go onto our website and use our ‘LiveChat’ option :)

Kelty x

Welcome to Clearing 2013

Rima

Hi All, it is the 1^st of July, which means Clearing has officially begun. There are many courses still available for Clearing at the moment so if you are interested, give us a call in order to make an application. There are a couple of things you will need to know before you apply:

First things first, you need to make sure you are eligible for clearing, to be eligible you will:

• Need to have your UCAS/GTTR personal ID
• Need to have all your qualifications (no results pending)
• Not be holding any other offers from another university

If all the above applies to you then you will need to see if the course you are interested in is still available, this can be done by having a look at the list of programmes that we have available for clearing, this can be seen here http://www2.gre.ac.uk/study/courses/clearing or alternatively give us a ring on 0208 331 9000 to see if the course you are interested in is still available.

Once you have seen what course you are interested in applying for, give our friendly Enquiry Unit a call on 0208 331 9000 and they can make an application for you if you meet the entry requirements.

If you have any other questions about clearing or the application process, give us a call and our friendly student staff will be happy to help.

Someone in our Enquiry Unit will be blogging every day in clearing so have a look back here for more clearing blogs which will include updates, clearing tips etc.

Wish you all good luck for Clearing and a wonderful summer!! J

Rima xx

Welcome to the Clearing Diary

A little bit about who we are.

We are a trained team of Recruitment Assistants who have all had firsthand experience of the application process and know exactly what it feels like to apply to university. More importantly we are all University of Greenwich students, with differing ages, programmes of study, undergraduate and postgraduate, who are either currently studying or have just graduated so the good news is we can tell you all about the Greenwich experience.

Having been through the process ourselves we know it’s tough. It can be an agonising waiting game of not knowing exactly what’s going to happen next. Whether you've applied to UCAS during the year and are awaiting exam results or are going through Clearing for a last minute place at University we’re happy to help you into Higher Education and as fellow students of the University, we are able to offer you individually tailored information and support to help you get your dream University place.

As a team we will be blogging every day to keep you up to date with our Clearing experiences and letting you know anything and everything important about Clearing. If you have any questions just pick up the phone and talk to us on 020 8331 9000 or email us Clearing@gre.ac.uk or you can leave us a comment. We are here to make your application to Greenwich as smooth as possible and no matter how big or small the question is we would love to hear from you.