Guide to Clearing- Part 2

Hopefully you will have read part 1 to our Guide to Clearing, but if you have not – please see our previous entry before reading this one.

In our previous blog, I provided a five-step guide to Clearing. In that blog I also noted that I had spent multiple years in a clearing centre in a university. During this time, I noted several key rules and developments that will be a key for a student looking to go through Clearing to know. Many of these rules are not mentioned or made public during the Clearing period, and so by having access to these we can ensure that you are given a head start for Clearing 2025.

So, without further ado, here are some key tips for acing Clearing.

1.Apply early – places are on a first come, first served basis. Applying at midday means that places have been filled and the course may fill up. Most calls come through in the first 2 hours, so you should aim to call first thing. Yes, this can mean very long periods on hold but so long as you are calling within that timeframe your odds are good.

2.Grades are prone to inflation and change – Clearing places work on a stock market basis. Universities will not tell you this, but the more places fill up the higher the grades become. I once watched a clearing course go from BBB, to AAB, A*A*A over the course of 7 hours. These courses will naturally seek to take only the best for their last few places. 

3.This is also why universities will not tell you on the phone what the grade requirements are at that time. These are subject to change, and whilst your friend at 9am may have gotten in with BBB, this may not be sufficient when you call at 10:30am. This is why applying early is so beneficial. The earlier the call the lower the grade is generally accurate.

4.The university cannot provide an offer based on a potential remark or resit. I have had many students say that they were going to resit or contest the results that they received and therefore could they “reserve” a place – unfortunately we cannot guarantee that things will change so the university will not be able to make an offer on anything other than what you currently have. 

a.This also goes for extenuating circumstances such as bereavement which have NOT been registered with the examination board. If you have a circumstance that impacted your learning let the examining board know ASAP. Once the resit, circumstances or other element is officially registered the university can act.

5.Accepting an offer is an official process on UCAS – Any offer made during clearing has a 24-hour time window. After this, the offer expires. Clearing technically runs for a month though the vast majority of offers are made in the first 48 hours. Miss the window, lose the offer. Students would fail to go on to their UCAS portal and accept the offer, and then call back hoping to reclaim their place. Unfortunately tip number 2 on this list applies – the grades have inflated in the time since. 

Make sure you accept and act early. That is the running theme for all of my clearing advice. Yes you ring up multiple universities at once, but this becomes tricky so make sure you only have one or two on a phone waiting at any given time. Parents can act on your behalf provided you give verbal confirmation to the phone agent. Try to ensure that you are going for your favourites first though to meet the guide. 

We hope that you have a great results day and if necessary a productive and satisfying clearing experience. For those worrying about resits, our next blog due out around Results Day will offer additional assurance and guidance.

This Blog was Written By Dr Daniel Chesse

Do take a look at earlier blogs:

Preparing for University – Cardiff Vale Tutors

Beat the University Application Horrors At Halloween And Apply Early – Cardiff Vale Tutors