Over the Clearing weekend Lauren and I were in Brindley, welcoming walk-ins. We saw students from as far away as Kent, Worcester and Dover, and students from a little closer; Lichfield, Wilmslow and Shrewsbury. As well as calling our coffee-fueled experts for advice on the Clearing hotline, applicants and their families came to see us for tours and course information before they made their final decisions — or before they decided if university was really for them, after all.
Whilst Siân did all the meeting, greeting and admin, I got to do the campus and accommodation tours with our prospective students and their families. And I go all out! I had quite a few engineering students this week, so I got to go over to Dwight and get in the race cars. One student didn’t decide to come to university till a month ago when he started following Staffs Uni Engineering on twitter – then on A level results day, he and his family came along, and got accepted for a place here!
A lot of the students who came to see us were understandably nervous — some of them were coming from other universities, some of hadn’t got the results they wanted, some were changing courses. The great thing is, we had academics from every faculty here ready to give them information. They told potential students what to expect, what was expected of them, and if they were here to apply, helped put them through the application process.
Some lecturers took candidates on a tour of the areas they’d be working, giving them an in-depth look at labs, workshops, etc. It was really cool seeing these guys come back, looking excited and assured, where they’d been looking so anxious before.
After being around campus some of us went down to the halls and the Reslife offices. This year, every clearing student is guaranteed university approved accommodation. And wow! They are brand spanking new for 2016 and amazing. Everything glimmers and shines . . . and the outdoor area is to die for. All the students fall in love with the social spaces, extra wardrobe spaces and the BBQs go down a treat. Siân and I even got cheeseburgers!
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