Satouka Basso, found her place studying Anthropology with us through clearing and encourages anyone who is thinking about entering clearing to ‘do it!’
‘I’d been thinking about going back into education and the pandemic allowed me the space to prioritise and allowed changes in my life that made it possible: I had started working from home, I had a supportive working environment, I had moved out of London and got my funds together. But by the time I had got all my ducks in a row it was September. Was I going to wait another year? I checked the Kent website and that’s when I first heard of ‘clearing’. ‘Clearing’ was everywhere! I clicked on it. It was basically for people who wanted to apply later, and that was me. I read the FAQ’s and just thought ‘I’ll give it a go and see what happens’.
‘The BSc in Anthropology met all my interests. I really liked the curriculum.’
The portal for admissions -Kent Vision was really informative, easy to navigate, all the communications came through there which I found really useful as it kept me regularly updated. And I was really supported throughout the process. The Head of Admissions in the School of Anthropology and Conservation was instrumental. I communicated with him and he was so transparent and encouraging. He helped me to get my personal statement together, about why I wanted to come back into education, and his responses were always really quick.
When I finally arrived on campus in October and saw that he was one of the lecturers in my first year that was really nice, we’d been speaking regularly over the week it took me to get everything done, my certificates uploaded, my statement written, and it was so nice to see a friendly face. The faculty were all really great, and very approachable. When I introduced myself and explained I had come through clearing they pointed me to online recordings of lectures where I could review their presentations and invited me to reach out for anything I needed.
I’m in my thirties, so I’m older than most of the other students but its given me an interesting perspective. I know who I am, I’m not here to ‘find myself’ and the educational aspect is what motivates me rather than the social (although if the social is important to you, there is so much to engage with!). But I could see other mature students in the cohort which was great -it really shouldn’t be something to stop you! I absolutely know already that I want to take the MSc in Osteology after I graduate looking towards a career in forensic anthropology/ bio archaeology or possibly maritime archaeology.
If you’re thinking about clearing, my advice would be –do it. The process is straightforward and easy to navigate, you have to do all the steps but I felt incredibly supported through them all.
If you can do it now, why wait to do it later?
My two Clearing Top Tips would be (from a mature student perspective):
1) Get your ducks in a row! Make sure you have all the application requirements (documentation, statements, finances etc) so as to ensure a nice swift and easy clearing process. It can be stressful applying last minute so having everything prepared can help lessen the stress.
2) Have a supportive environment. Share with your friends and family, let them know about this journey you’re going on! However, steer clear of nay-sayers that might cause you doubt. This is your choice and you don’t need that kind of negativity!‘
Satouka Basso is studying for a BSc Hons in Anthropology
Apply through Clearing here.