Explored: the many routes to university

Is your child unsure which way to go? Tom Crookston talks to four students who took very different routes to university

Published: 13 August 2006

Study for retakes

Amanpreet Bal, 19, had always wanted to pursue a career as a dentist, so she was very frustrated not to get the grades she needed for Birmingham University. She has just completed a year's study to retake two exams at the Mander Portman Woodward (MPW) tutorial college in Birmingham.

I was predicted three As at A2 level and had an AAB offer from Birmingham to study dentistry. My hopes were high, so I was really upset when I missed out on the grades. I realised that it was partly due to lack of effort - I took things for granted and underestimated the jump from AS to A2. My parents were disappointed but they helped me try to get a place through Clearing. There are few places for dentistry though, and the university advised me that if I did retakes and improved my grades I would have a good chance of getting onto the course. I decided to repeat chemistry and do a short retake course in biology at a private tutorial college. There's more independent study and one-to-one teaching at MPW, and I also spent four weeks on work experience training as a dental nurse. I'm predicted to get As in both subjects this year, and I can't wait to start university.

For more on retakes, see the Clearing guide inside The Independent on 15 August

Study a foundation degree

Nick Pepper, 21, graduated from De Montfort University (DMU) with a degree in media production. He had originally intended to study IT and communications, but by the time he got his A-level results he had changed his mind.

My dad is a careers teacher, so when I decided to try and find a course through Clearing he was really helpful. I had already applied for a different course at De Montfort through UCAS, but I found out there was a place to study media production from the newspaper and that's what I really wanted to do. They were really helpful when I rang them to apply and when I arrived, the campus was fantastic. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made. It's a very technical course, but you get to cover a broad range of areas, from TV production to website design - and DMU has its own TV station, Demon TV, which broadcasts in all the halls and the student union. Being involved in that has been great, because it means you get to apply what you've been learning in class to something practical straight away. As the station's head of sport I've been responsible for broadcasting university football matches, and even making a DVD of the local derby against Leicester University. My advice to anybody considering clearing would be "don't be afraid." If you're prepared to try something different then you could end up doing something absolutely brilliant.

Go through Clearing

Richard Howe, 21, enjoyed a gap year spent in his native Australia so much that he took a second one. It gave him time to work out exactly what he wanted to do and since starting his foundation degree in music and multimedia technology at Thames Valley University he hasn't looked back.

By the time I finished my A-levels I didn't know whether I wanted to go to university - but I definitely wanted to take a gap year. I travelled in Eastern Europe for a few months and then went off to Australia to get a job. My results weren't exactly what I'd hoped for and I had no career ideas. I ended up working in bars and labouring around Melbourne, having a great time and spending my spare time making music. By the end of my second year I had made up my mind that it was what I wanted to do, and my parents were over the moon when I told them I wanted to start a degree. It was only when I was in an interview for a different course that I found out about the foundation degree. It's an ideal course, really comprehensive and covers everything from digital imaging to studio production, and at the end of the second year we can join the final year of the university's main music technology degree. I'm much more focused now and I'd strongly recommend looking into a foundation degree.

For more on Clearing, see the Clearing guide inside The Independent on 15 August

Take a gap year

Greg Purssord, 20, missed out on his A-level grades to get into medical school two years ago and took a gap year trip to China to volunteer in a hospital. He is about to start second-year medicine at Leeds University.

In medicine you can never have too much experience and having spent a month at a hospital in Shanghai I've learned some really different things. I had always wanted to travel, but hadn't planned on taking a gap year because I knew I had such a long university course ahead of me. I needed two As and a B for my first-choice course, but I didn't get the highest marks at AS level and missed out by one grade. The head teacher and my chemistry tutor were really helpful, but there were no places available through Clearing, so I re-sat one of my chemistry modules and then flew out to China in April. Being at the huge hospital was a great opportunity to get a new viewpoint, not just on modern medicine but on traditional Chinese treatments as well - I'd recommend a gap year to anyone. It was interesting, exciting and made me certain that I wanted to be a doctor. I've just completed a one-year clinical sciences course, from which around 20 students every year pass into the second year of the medicine course at Leeds.