A-level results are imminent, and already there are reports that the last-minute "clearing" process that matches applicants with places is going to fall far short of meeting the demand. Today's Times has three "case studies" of what you can do if you don't get the place you were hoping for. One of them is remarkable:
Rob Mortell is a veteran of the clearing process having gone through it twice. He exceeded his A-level predictions of three Cs with AAA. “I did some fast reassessments and decided not to stick with my plan of going to Bournemouth to study business.”
Mr Mortell, 24, contacted Cardiff University to study medicine. “It was not based on any desire to be a doctor — I watched too much ER!”
He secured an interview and was successful. But after two years he applied through clearing again for law. He phoned Leicester and Sheffield one week before the start of clearing and Leicester told him to “keep in touch”. The next week he was given a place. Mr Mortell praised the opportunities given by clearing. “You have to be confident and focused to get what you want.”
Yes, the "confident and focused" Mr Mortell is now on his third choice of subject. He deprived an aspiring doctor of a place at Cardiff, and chances are he's now in the process of doing the same to an aspiring lawyer at Leicester. (Well, what odds would you give of him making it through law school?) At 24 he's spinning his wheels, presumably racking up massive debts that may or may not be repaid if he ever actually makes it into the workforce.
In the unlikely event that Mr Mortell ever reads this, I'd just like to say that he's a complete wa**er -- and if he assumes that means something other than "waster", that's fine with me.
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