Are you ready?

Sade

Clearing is very much upon us with less than 24 hours away to A level results! For those of you that are nervous for results day I would urge you to keep calm and relax. My colleague Ann previously wrote that taking time to enjoy hobbies, socialising and enjoying the lovely UK weather we have recently been blessed with having is a good way of passing time before results day; I must say I agree with her.

Here are a few tips for to prepare you for clearing:

Do your research

If there is a course that you want to apply for, then it may be beneficial to also look for alternative courses that may also lead on to your chosen career path. Some Courses may be closed or unable to offer you a place based on your application. So it is always a good idea to be aware of other courses that may be of interest to you.
You can check clearing course place via http://clearing.telegraph.co.uk/
Or the universities clearing website http://www2.gre.ac.uk/study/clearing.

Keep calm and remain focused

There will be those of you that are elated, happy, and ecstatic that you have achieved great results. However, there will also be those of you whom are disappointed, sad and tearful that have not done as well as anticipated. We all know emotions will be running high on results day. We have all been there: receiving bad news throwing ourselves into bed promising to never leave our rooms again as the world has ended!

• Please note that there are chat and phone staff that are all current university of Greenwich students, that can relate to the frustration and upset that can be caused by results day.
• Remember it is ok to be upset, cry but don’t be discouraged. Gather yourself and call us, we are happy to help.

Be prepared

Be ready with your UCAS ID number and be ready to confirm personal details. It is ok for parents to be there for moral support, whilst you are on the phone with us.  However, we are unable to give out details on applications to friends, parents, uncles, siblings etc. unless they are the nominated person listed on your UCAS application, we may ask to speak with you to confirm that this is ok.

Documentation

Once you have made a clearing application be mindful that we may send you a transcript request via email. Here we will ask you to submit certificates or/and transcripts papers to support your application. Please pay close attention to what is requested and which email to send your transcripts to. Mistakes may prolong the application process.

I would like to congratulate you on making it this far; well done the best is yet to come! :)

Sade.xx

Packing

Carney

So, you’re coming to university. Great! But you’re worried about what to bring with you? Well, here are a few general tips and hints:

• Aim to travel light. You're moving into a small room with very limited cupboard space - and you'll be moving out again in June. One large suitcase of clothes, a couple of boxes of other stuff and a bin liner of bedding is about the right level.
• Don't splash out on expensive stuff. You'll find perfectly decent duvet covers, kettles and stationery at the likes of Ikea, Argos and the big supermarkets. Most stuff won't survive your first year so there's no point spending tons of cash on it.
• Before you go out and buy anything, make sure you've checked what the uni will be providing. You don't want to turn up with a lot of stuff that's already been laid on.

You can see a full and extensive list of what to bring with you to university here on save the student: http://www.savethestudent.org/accommodation/what-to-take-to-university.html

But if you’re staying at home, then your life is somewhat easier! You don’t need to go out and buy a ridiculous amount of stuff to personalise your new flat. But then, you do have to consider expenses. Expenses such as travelling to and from university, bills and other expenses that might occur when living at home. You also have to be more willing to try and put yourself out there when living at home. You have to be careful not to become too complacent as you may miss out a lot!

Either way, regardless of whether you are living in halls or at home, stay calm, write up a list of everything you need to do and buy, that way you will be properly prepared for this new adventure in your life.

If you have any other questions or need help with anything at all, you can give us a call on 020 8331 9000 or use the Live Chat service on our website. Both services are staffed and operated by current students, who will be able to empathise with what you’re going through and help the best they can.

Good luck with your applications.

Carney

Distraction Technique

Ann

For many applicants to university, you will be waiting for results or a decision on your application. I thought that I would write a diary entry about things you can do to pass the time while you wait. 

I started by doing a survey about hobbies within the Clearing team. This revealed that we all have a really wide range of diverse interests, which was no surprise really. Our hobbies range from cricket to crochet, gardening to gaming and Pom dancing to paintball. 

Obviously, hobbies are a great way to pass time and have fun doing something that you love. They can also be a good way to make new friends when you first arrive at Uni. We have many clubs and societies across all three of our campuses. During your induction week, groups at our Freshers' Fair will be enthusiastically signing people up to join sports teams, interest groups and societies. 

The current categories for societies are:

Academic, Activities and Games, Campaigning Awareness & Support, Cultural, Religious & Beliefs and Music, Performance & Media

Information about all the societies and sports teams we run can be found at suug.co.uk/activities/ and gkunions.co.uk/activities/.

Alternatively, you can start your very own society. The first step is to find five other students that have the same interest, and follow the instructions on the Student Union website here suug.co.uk/activities/new/ and gkunions.co.uk/activities/execresources/.

So while you are waiting for those all-important results, why not pass the time by relaxing with your favourite hobby? If you find yourself with time on your hands, why not try practising cooking some meals before you come to Uni? I’ve included a recipe below from the BBC Good Food website for you to make your own Pot Noodle. It’s very easy and much tastier than any supermarket version.

 

The recipe is for Smoky Bacon Pot Noodle, but I have cooked this as a vegetarian meal, and substituted Quorn pieces for bacon. You can use any vegetables you have in the fridge if you don’t have the exact ingredients. 

You can find the recipe here: bit.ly/1lmT22Q

We would love to see photos of your prepared meals, so why not post them on our Twitter page using #UoGuniprep? We're @uniofgreenwich and you can find us here: twitter.com/uniofgreenwich

Bye for now and good luck with your results! 

Ann

Accommodation - You can still apply!

Melissa

After all the initial excitement of applying and accepting your place at the University of Greenwich, you may also need to apply for accommodation.

At Greenwich, we have three campuses; Greenwich, Avery Hill and Medway, with accommodation at all 3.  There is also a great inter-campus bus service, which runs regularly, so you don’t need to worry if you are offered accommodation at a different campus – I lived at Avery Hill and studied at the Greenwich campus for the duration of my course.

There are many room types available including en-suite and shared facility rooms, as well as disabled access and studio apartments.

Although the initial deadline for accommodation applications has passed, if you accept a place through Clearing, you will still be able to make an application for accommodation, but it is recommended that you do this as soon as you have received your login details for our student portal (portal.gre.ac.uk).

Accommodation is not assigned on a first come, first served basis, but is subject to availability. The accommodation office will do all they can to provide you with a room in halls, or university approved accommodation, although they cannot guarantee you will get your first choice of campus, halls or room type.

For more information on each of the campuses, including a price list, facilities and more photos of the different room types, you can check out our clearing guide to accommodation here:

http://www2.gre.ac.uk/study/clearing/joining/accommodation

Good luck with your clearing applications and enjoy your experience at the University of Greenwich!

Lots of love,

Melissa

Xoxo

Left to right: an en-suite room at Cutty Sark halls, Avery Hill student village, and an en-suite bathroom at Avery Hill

It’s not all doom and gloom!

Aimee

Clearing is well underway and as the summer goes on we are receiving more and more clearing applications! 

We hear from so many of you each day, all with your different reasons for wanting to undertake a degree. The programmes that we offer here are so varied and diverse- and there are a number of different career pathways you can take as a University of Greenwich graduate. But what about pathways into higher education?

Young and mature students alike may experience difficulty during the application process if academic qualifications don’t meet the entry criteria. This can be disheartening- however, there are many options that can assist you on your journey into obtaining a degree.

Foundation Degree

More and more subject areas are now offering foundation degrees. Whilst the programmes are provided by the University of Greenwich, they are studied at our partner colleges. Foundation degrees often have a different entry criteria to the bachelor degrees, which is perfect for those who have been out of education for some time or have not achieved the grades that they were expecting. These programmes are studied for 2 years full time, and offer a recognised qualification in their own right. There is also the option to make a fast-track application to third-year entry degree programmes on successful completion of the foundation degree. This means that you would still have obtained a full bachelor’s degree within three years. For more details on how foundation degrees work, give us a ring on 020 8331 9000 or check out my colleague Manpreet’s blog from earlier this month!

HND and HNC

Higher National Certificates and Higher National Diplomas are level 4 and 5 qualifications respectively. HNC’s are equivalent to the 1st year of a degree programme, and HND’s account for the 2nd year. Again, on successful completion of these programmes you can apply for either 2nd or 3rd year entry into a related programme- this is subject to academic approval. An advantage to HND’s and HNC’s again are that they tend to have a lower entry criteria- and are often cheaper to study!

Extended Degree

Extended Degrees offer an additional year to the normal 3 year full-time undergraduate degree. Extended degrees tend to have lower entry requirements, so you complete a foundation year as it were, which is referred to as ‘year 0’. What is handy is that you do not have to apply to continue into year 1- the only condition is that you have successfully completed all modules to progress into the next year of study.

A selection of foundation degrees, HND’s, HNC’s and extended degrees are available through clearing at the University of Greenwich. For more information or to apply, contact our clearing hotline on 020 8331 9000.

If none of these programmes suit you, do not despair! You may want to explore the idea of Access to Higher Education Diplomas. These programmes incorporate level 3 qualifications (equivalent to A-Levels or B-Techs), with level 2 qualifications (which for some programmes can be equivalent to your GCSEs in Maths and English). Always check with the university that your degree programme of interest accepts access courses prior to applying. They are usually studied for one year full time. Access courses are not offered at universities, however you may want to research into what courses are available at your local college.

Good luck with your applications!

Aimee

It's the little things

Kaya

Hi everyone. We are now a few weeks into clearing with results day creeping up on us quickly. Having been in the same positon as many of you waiting for my results a couple year back, I understand the stress and the excitement one goes through. This year is my second clearing so I can give you a heads up on what to expect over the next coming weeks.                                                 

We have hundreds and thousands of students contacting us during clearing, with various different questions and results. As much as all us staff can find clearing a little stressful, dealing with both happy and sad applicants, we all do enjoy it and gladly give our time to you and the university for the summer months.

There are a few things to remember that can make your application run a bit more smoothly when speaking with us:

• Our team of operators is made up of students currently studying at University of Greenwich, so might have been through the process of clearing too. We do understand the pressure that you may be under and we’ll do our best to help you, so we appreciate it when you’re polite, even in the face of unexpected or undesired news.
• Don’t ever give up on your ambitions to go to university and study your passion, even if we are not able to take your application (there are so many universities out there). We will always do our best to help you find other opportunities, so try to remain open to alternative routes to your goals.
• Remember to have your personal ID ready, but do give your operator a chance to introduce themselves. It means that both you and your operator are ready, engaged in the call, and it’ll mean you’ll be less likely to need to repeat yourself.
• No one can know everything, so whilst our operators are very knowledgeable, there is the odd occasion where we need to refer to someone else. We’ll always ask if we can put you on hold and we’ll let you know what’s going on if it takes longer than expected to resolve your query.
• Last but not least, whilst we know it’s disappointing when you can’t be made an offer or you don’t meet your conditions, the rules apply to everyone. No amount of pleading, bribing or bargaining, will get us to bend the rules for an individual applicant. Our team work to an entry criteria that we are required to stick to and this means that we can’t make special exceptions. Even for offers involving cake.

Whilst this may seem a little harsh, I hope that it gives you a little insight into the clearing process from our point of view. We are here to help you and look forward to hearing from you. (:

Please call us on 020 8331 9000 or message us on chat at www.gre.ac.uk/clearing, if you have any enquiries or want to make an application.

Lastly, good luck! University is one of the best times of your life.

Kaya x

The Release Request Process

Poppy

Having gone through picking a university myself, I understand that it is a very important decision when choosing where you want to study for the next 3 years, minimum. So before you want to be released make sure this is really what you want to do, because at one point the University of Greenwich was where you wanted to go. Will you regret being released from us? You really do need to think carefully about this!

However, if you are 100% that you want to be released then you need to be aware of the conditions of release before requesting it.

• Firstly you must be holding an Unconditional offer that has been Firmly Accepted (UFA)
• If your offer is a Conditional/Firm (CF) unfortunately you will have to wait to be released until you have provided the University of Greenwich with the results of your conditions.

One thing that a lot of people are unaware of, but should be, is that by making a university your Unconditional/Firm you have now entered a contract with that university. So the release process may not be as easy as you think.

So if you have an offer that is Unconditional and has been Firmly Accepted with the University of Greenwich and you want to be released, the process is as follows:

·         You will need to fill out the online release request form at www.gre.ac.uk/releases

·         You will then receive an email saying that we have received your request, this does not mean that you have been released!

·         The next step is that you will have to wait for a member of the faculty to call you as they will need to discuss your reasons for wanting to be released

·         After the phone call the member of the faculty that you spoke to will confirm their decision with the Admissions team. If they agree to release you from the University of Greenwich, UCAS will then be notified.

There are a couple more things to be aware of when requesting to be released. It cannot be requested over the phone, or through an email or our live chat. If you do have any questions about it, you are more than welcome to contact us through these means, but we cannot release you this way. We also ask you to be patient throughout this process it does not happen straight away, it can take up to 3 working days. So we would like to ask that you wait to contact us if you don't hear from an academic immediately. If you haven't heard, we can check to make sure that your request has been received, however, we cannot speed up how quickly your request will be dealt with. We do understand that it can be a stressful time and will try to help as much as we can and will try to do it as quickly as possible.

Good luck with your applications!

Poppy J