Navigating Clearing: Finding Your Place at University
Every year, thousands of students across the UK go through the Clearing process in order to find a place on a university course. In 2023, over 38,000 students secured places through UCAS Clearing. There are multiple reasons students go through Clearing, and they receive offers just as valid as students who don’t go through Clearing. While Clearing can seem daunting, going into it with an understanding of how it works and being prepared can cut through any stress or anxiety you might be feeling and help you reach your goal of matching with a university course. In this post we’ll provide valuable information on how Clearing works and how you can prepare yourself to successfully navigate it.
What is Clearing?
Clearing is a vital component of the UK university admissions process, designed to match students without university offers to courses with available spots. It comes into play after A-level/SQA results are released, providing a second chance for those who didn't receive offers, didn't meet their offer conditions, applied late, or decided to change their course preferences. Through Clearing, students can explore a range of courses and universities that still have vacancies, giving them an opportunity to secure a place in higher education. This process is facilitated by UCAS, the centralized system for university applications in the UK, ensuring a structured and efficient way for students to find and accept offers from institutions that suit their academic and personal aspirations.
Key Dates for Clearing
Clearing officially begins on 5 July and runs through 17 October. For students who took a gap year or applied to university while completing a College course, there’s no need to wait for Results Day, as they will already have the results of their course. Students applying directly from secondary school will need to wait for Results Day to find out if they meet any grades-based conditions attached to their university offer.
Results Day is different depending on what Results you are awaiting. A-levels Results Day (for those in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland) is Thursday, 15 August. SQA Results Day is Tuesday, 6 August. This is the day you’ll know for sure whether you met any grades-based conditions, but you shouldn’t wait until this day to start working on Clearing.
How to Prepare for Clearing
Research! Before you start contacting universities, you’ll want to research courses with vacancies. UCAS has a search tool that can help you find courses that have open places. Make sure you take a note of the name, phone number, course title and course code for each course you are interested in. Make sure these are courses you are actually interested in studying and at universities you are actually interested in attending. You don’t want to set yourself up for a difficult time somewhere you won’t be happy.
Make sure you have the following information to hand: your Personal ID number, your Clearing number, your grades/UCAS Tariff points, an explanation of why you want a place on each specific course. It can also be helpful to have your personal statement to hand, just in case you need to talk about your experiences and accomplishments.
If making phone calls gives you a lot of anxiety, you can practice contacting universities and draft a script of what you might say during phone calls. This can include questions about course content, accommodations, and support services. You can see an explanation of how one university’s Clearing conversation will go here.
Identify and make use of your support system. This can be family, friends, career advisors, teachers, religious leaders, or anyone else in your life who you look to for emotional support and guidance. When you’re feeling stressed, you can reach out for emotional support or encouragement. Remember that you’ll need to be the one to talk to universities about Clearing. Nobody else can do it for you.
The Clearing Process: Step-by-Step
Check Availability – find courses on the UCAS website and check that you meet their entry requirements.
Contact universities – find the Clearing contact number for each university. Make sure you are in a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed and have a pen and paper ready for taking notes.
Receiving and Accepting Offers – When you speak with a university on the phone, they will make you a verbal offer. Ask them how long you have to decide on the offer and add it as a Clearing choice. Afterwards, you need to log into UCAS and add that university and course as a Clearing Choice. Remember that you can only add a Clearing choice after you get permission from the university to do so. If the university gives you a specific course code, you must enter it when adding the Clearing Choice. Only one Clearing choice can be added at a time, so start with the course you are most interested in. Once you have added the Clearing Choice, the university will usually confirm in about 24 hours.
Clearing Tips
Stay calm and organised – Doing preparatory work ahead of time helps reduce anxiety on the day, and being organised can help avoid any extra stress or confusion.
Be flexible – Your first preference course may not be available. Be open-minded about course and university options and remember that there are usually multiple courses that can lead to the same career, so look at additional options to help get you to the career you want.
Have backup plans – Having backup plans in place makes it easy to pivot from Plan A to Plan B or even Plan C. This reduces stress and anxiety and helps ensure you will be able to match with a course that you’ll be happy to study.
Resources and Support
UCAS Resources – UCAS Ultimate Guide to Clearing, Clearing Guide for Parents
Mental Health Support – Charlie Waller Trust mental health resources for Results Day and Clearing, Mind
Conclusion
While there are a lot of moving parts to the Clearing process, it’s a valuable opportunity to find the right university course for you. By staying informed, prepared, and flexible, you can turn this experience into a positive step towards your future. Remember, thousands of students successfully secure places through Clearing each year, and you can too. Embrace the journey, seek support when needed, and take each step with confidence. Your university experience is just beginning, and Clearing can be the gateway to new and exciting opportunities. If you have any questions or want to share your experiences, feel free to leave a comment below – we’re here to help! Once you have an accepted offer, you can look into support during your university studies through My Academic Family’s Mentorship Programme or Coaching sessions.
