Emily Hartill

Media Production - BA

After applying to universities that were far away from home, Emily decided to apply to one closer to home through Clearing so she could continue caring for her disabled mother.

‘I applied through clearing because I wanted to continue living at home and care for my disabled mum. All of the universities that I initially applied to go to were far out of my area, which meant I needed to go through Clearing if I wanted to stay living at home and go to university. Around the time I was looking at going to university, my brother got a job, so he wasn’t able to look after my mum as much. This was another reason for me to stay. I wanted to be at home, not only to support my mum, but because  she supports me with my own health troubles too.

I got my results and went straight through to the Clearing hotline. I had heard of Clearing, but I didn’t actually know much about it. The day after calling BCU through Clearing, I was offered a place on my course which relieved me of all the stress that had built up. Not only was I relieved to get a place at BCU, I was relieved as the course itself was closer to  what I wanted to do. The media courses at the other universities that I had applied for were far less practical than the one at BCU. I really wanted to do camera work, which is something I now do regularly on my course here. Clearing actually helped me get onto a course that was far better suited to me.

Throughout the Clearing process, I felt relieved more than anything, mainly because I was getting this second chance. If Clearing wasn’t an option, I would have ended up living far away from home, which would have ripped my life apart. I am grateful I still have my friends and family close by and can see them on a weekly basis.

At first, I found it quite stressful getting everything ready to apply through Clearing. I had to email my college to see if they could assist me with completing the application form, which was a worry as I didn’t know if they would reply due to it being the summer holidays. I was really happy when everything fell into place, I really appreciated the support that my college gave me alongside the support from BCU with directing me to the right place.

I’m proud of myself for getting into university. I was bullied a lot throughout primary and secondary school, so my main motivation was to do this for myself and to show that I am capable to those who bullied me.  

To everyone applying this year, don't be nervous because you will find that the process is really quick, easy and rewarding. It took me about twenty minutes when I applied, so it’s not worth getting yourself overly stressed over, take a breather, sit down and go for it.

The great thing about university is that there's people from all walks of life, different personalities, and they're all together in one community. You don't see that often, especially where I'm from. My uni experience so far has given me hope for the future that we're all going to be more connected together. Compared to the schools I have been to, I love that at university you see people with different coloured hair, people with loads of tattoos and I especially like that people with disabilities are seen a lot around campus. So go for it, you can be whatever you want to be. I am really happy to be starting my journey in the media industry.’