Chelsea Garner had assumed Clearing was just for those who had not achieved the necessary grades.
But when she changed her mind about moving away to university late in the application cycle, she found herself among that pool of students searching for a place.
"Being in Clearing seems to have a mis-perception of being a negative thing, yet you never know in what circumstances you may unexpectedly find yourself there," said Chelsea.
"My advice would be not to panic, as with the abundance of opportunities and available courses within Clearing, you are certainly going to find something that is right for you."
The 19-year-old, of Rock, near Kidderminster, had originally planned to study further north.
But when her parents decided to move from Birmingham to Worcestershire, Chelsea decided she would prefer to move with them and not go away to university.
Therefore she started looking at studying closer to home.
As it was too late to change her choices with UCAS, she was advised that she would need to wait until results day then ask her firm choice university to release her into Clearing.
But, for the former Birmingham Metropolitan College pupil, the process of getting released took some time.
"Being in Clearing was unexpected as I assumed it was only for those who didn't achieve their conditional grades of either two choices and didn't consider the possibility of finding myself there due to changing my mind too late," she said.
Chelsea found the University of Worcester's Law course on an advertisement and rang the Clearing hotline.
"The lady on the phone was so pleasant and understanding of my current situation," said Chelsea. "It was the only university out of all those I tried that said they could guarantee me a place and would wait for me to be released.
"The University of Worcester was the only university during the Clearing process that was actually concerned about my current situation and had an appealing personal touch, something that I was really drawn to."
Chelsea visited the University a few days later and spoke to staff.
So far Chelsea has excelled, achieving a First Class mark in her first year. She was successful in gaining work experience with Harrison Clark Rickerbys, a leading local firm, which led to a job over the summer assisting the Corporate Department in Worcester. She was also awarded the LLB Prize for Community Engagement by the exam board.
Following her degree, Chelsea hopes to train to become a qualified solicitor, practising corporate or commercial law.
The University of Worcester has places available through Clearing for well-qualified applicants.
The Clearing hotline " 01905 855111 " is now open for those collecting BTEC results and Access qualifications and will remain open as A-level results are released on Thursday, August 17th.