Nicola Vince

Why was Kent a good option for you?

I loved the campus and the city of Canterbury. For me, it was really important to feel settled while away from home for the first time, and I found my second home at Kent. The course was supportive and the tutors were understanding of all of my needs from academic to personal.

How did you feel at the time?

I was so upset to have missed the grades I needed to go to my chosen universities. I don't feel that my school had prepared me to know much about Clearing, so when results day didn't go as planned I felt scared and alone without options.

What advice would you give to someone going through Clearing?

Before I went through it, I wrongly believed that I would be unable to apply to good universities or courses through Clearing. I was so surprised and thrilled to see my ideal course at such a good university available to me. I would encourage anyone in this position to be open minded and as calm as possible. It is easy to believe that you have failed but you haven't, and you can and will find an option that suits you. I wish I had had a plan B for Clearing prior to results day as I think this would have taken a lot of stress away when it did happen. I would encourage others to have a list of things that are important to them, eg campus uni vs city uni, to help narrow down suitable options in Clearing.

Tell us about your career since graduating from Kent.

I gained a first-class degree in applied clinical psychology from Kent in 2016. I was fortunate enough to go straight into an assistant psychologist role in Canterbury children and young people's mental health services (CAMHS). I have since worked across several mental health settings including with eating disorders and now work as a therapist in Thanet CAMHS, which I love.