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Clearing Student Clare Set To Help Others Find Perfect University Place

July 29, 2004

When Kingston University opens its Clearing hotline on A-level results day, callers can be sure of a sympathetic ear from operator Clare Haylor. The psychology student knows only too well how anxious callers on the other end of the line will be feeling. This time last year, the 20 year old from Maidstone was one of 6,000 students who called Kingston's Clearing hotline desperate to snap up the final few places on its courses.

Now Clare, who has just completed the first year of her degree at Kingston University, has signed up to help other students through the Clearing process. She still remembers the day she picked up her A-level results. "I didn't quite get the grades I needed to study at my original choice of university so I really started to panic," Clare recalled. "I started scouring the official lists of course vacancies and, when I saw there were a few places left at Kingston, I got straight on the phone. I was really nervous and not sure what to expect, but the hotline staff made the whole thing a lot less stressful. I was especially worried about finding accommodation at short notice but the operators talked me through everything I needed to do. A few hours later, I'd found the perfect course."

Working on Kingston's Clearing hotline, Clare expects to deal with hundreds of queries - some from students who got far better results than they anticipated and others from those who did not do quite as well as they had hoped. "Hopefully I can use my experience to reassure students who might be worried, nervous or upset during my time on the hotline," she said. "I was in their shoes just 12 months ago, so I'll be thoroughly prepared for the type of questions they'll be asking. Besides that, I love chatting on the phone so I think I'm the perfect person to talk students through the situations they find themselves in. The advice I got from the hotline operators on how to complete my UCAS form and get a place in Halls of Residence was just what I needed, so I know how important my job will be steering this year's students in the right direction for their futures."

Students who call the hotline, which opens for business at 8.30am on August 19, will be offered all sorts of support. Callers with the grades needed to fill a course vacancy will be transferred directly to academic staff. There will also be plenty of help on hand for those callers who do not quite meet Kingston's course criteria. Alongside its mainstream degree programme, Kingston also offers two-year Foundation Degrees in subjects as computing and aircraft engineering and runs HNDs with partner colleges in South West London.

Kingston University