Guide to Clearing- Part 1

Exam season is over, and of course, for many of you this includes the trepidation of Results Day. On the day, many of you will arrive at your school, collect your envelopes, and reveal your results. For many of you, this will be a time of incredible joy and relief – you got what you wanted, you got what you needed! The next step of your journey is set whether that be to a new school or sixth form, or onwards to university. 

“But what if I do not get the results I need?”. This is a common concern, particularly for A Level students. Well, this blog is here to give you a quick guide to university “clearing”. Clearing is the process by which students change their university choice, apply to a new university, or even apply to university for the first time. Many of you may feel embarrassed or even that by applying to Clearing you are joining a small pool of “rejects”. This is far from the truth. The 2024 Clearing cycle saw just under 500,000 students be accepted to join a university course (UCAS -Statistical Releases- daily clearning analysis 2024). This is remarkable given that the same year saw 919,143 students conduct their A Level assessments. Whilst a number of applicants would be deferred candidates from previous years, it is clear that clearing is a common route into university.

Now, this is where I can offer my own insight. I worked for multiple years inside a university clearing centre from which I have created this ultimate guide to Clearing. 

So, here is a simple 5 step process to follow:

1. Choose your course – for many of you, you may wish to remain on the same course. There is no rule requiring you to do this. For those wishing to change course or apply for the first time you need simply decide which course is best for you.

2. Consult the UCAS Course finder – UCAS

1. 1. An additional nifty thing about this search engine is that not only does it show which courses are open for clearing – you can even input your UCAS points from your results to see which courses are available to you. This list is currently live so please take a quick look in advance of results day. NOTE: This list on the day can become outdated.

3. Pick the university – ideally, you should have visited this university before. However, again this is not a requirement. I had housemates who joined the university without having ever visiting and were delighted with their choice. Nevertheless, consider if this is the right location for you, is it a campus university or not?

1. 1. My advice is to have in your head a “back-up” list of universities that you would like to join (or even ones to avoid!). This list should ideally be prepped in advance to ensure that you have a rough list to work from first thing in the morning. 

4. Phone the university – each university will have their clearing phone number on their website. You will need your UCAS number to hand (just in case), and your qualifications. You will need to provide these to the call agent, who will then enter your details. The agent will need to put you on hold while they await a decision on your application from a senior team member. Once this is complete you will have your final decision. 

5. Celebrate – hopefully you will have gotten a place with your clearing choice, or one of the others on the clearing list you have created from the search engine and university list. 

This key guide should help you navigate Clearing. To get some key tips and tricks please read the all-important part 2 to our Guide to Clearing.

This Blog was Written By Dr Daniel Chesse

Do take a look at earlier blogs:

Preparing for University – Cardiff Vale Tutors

What To Do If You Don’t Get The Exam Result You Wanted – Cardiff Vale Tutors