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Level results day - coping with Clearing


14 August 2008

A Level results day - coping with Clearing
A Level results day - coping with Clearing

It's A Level results day once again - and for every successful student who got the grades they wanted, there will be others who didn't make the grade.  For anyone needing to get through the Clearing process, Karla Fitzhugh has vital advice on what to do and how to do it.

 

Insider's Guide to Applying to University

Karla Fitzhugh

Extract from chapter 8 - Clearing

 

In any given year, a university may have unfilled places left on the courses that they teach. This is usually because some of the students who were offered places didn't get the necessary grades or withdrew their applications. To take advantage of these remaining available places, you can use the Clearing process.

 

WHAT EXACTLY IS THE ‘CLEARING PROCESS'?

‘Clearing' is a service run by UCAS for people who haven't been able to secure a place at a university or college during the current year. The process allows students to apply for the empty places that are still available. It starts on the same day that A level results come out (in early August in Scotland and mid-August for the rest of the UK) and runs until the middle of September.

 

Clearing could be described as ‘the final round' of the UCAS admissions cycle, and it's effectively your last chance to find a university place for the current academic year.

 

Every year approximately 100,000 students find themselves eligible for Clearing, although many of them decide to go straight into the world of work, or to wait and reapply for courses the following year. If you decide to go through the Clearing process you'll be in good company: over 35,000 students gained a university place during Clearing last year, so they made up just under 10% of all first year undergraduates.

 

Many students are mystified by the Clearing process, but it's actually fairly straightforward once you get started, as we're about to see.

 

Darren Barker from UCAS says:

‘The UCAS Clearing process is here to help students if they haven't received the grades that they were expecting. Clearing is a structured and well-organised service, backed by a knowledgeable team of advisers whose experience and understanding make the process simple to use. Last year, over 38,000 people found places at university or college through Clearing. Going through Clearing doesn't mean in any way that a student has failed. They may have had offers from a university or college that they didn't meet; it simply might be that they applied late, or, they may decide that they don't actually want to go to their first choice university anymore.'

 

You could begin to do some Clearing research long before the A level results come out, to give you a head start just in case things don't go so well. Go back over your original applications and personal statement, think about your choices, and find out about alternative courses and locations that you might be interested in.

 

MARK FULBRIGHT GRADUATED WITH A 2:1 IN BUSINESS STUDIES

‘Not getting my grades came as quite a shock but I didn't have time to be upset or worried, I was just thinking about moving on to the next stage. My friends and family encouraged me and I was happy I could go through clearing. I bought the papers the day the results were issued, looked at websites, made a few notes and started calling institutions that had courses I wanted to do on offer. I spoke to someone who took my details and got the course tutors to call me back.

 

I liked the sound of the Business course at Bradford University; it was what I had applied to do at other places and it seemed like a good choice. Luckily, I was right and it proved to be a good place for me to study. The course was taught well and I made some good friends there. ‘

 

Your Clearing passport

As soon as you're eligible for Clearing, UCAS will automatically give you a Clearing number, which you can get from their website using the online Track facility. Make a note of this number. They will also post you a Clearing passport form in mid-July containing the Clearing number, which should arrive before the end of August. You need to keep this form somewhere that it won't get lost - it's the all-important paperwork you use to secure a place on a course. Along with the passport, you will receive a UCAS advice leaflet that explains how Clearing works and what you need to do.

 

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY THROUGH CLEARING?

You are eligible to use Clearing if you have applied through UCAS for a university place in the current application year (and have not withdrawn your application), and if you meet any of the following criteria:

  • You hold no offers.
  • Your conditional offers have not been confirmed because you didn't meet the conditions (usually this is because you didn't get high enough grades).
  • You have declined any offers you were given, or you have failed to confirm your offers in time before the cut-off date.
  • Your offers have not been confirmed and you have also declined any alternative offers from the same university.
  • You have applied after the end of June deadline (or the start of June for Route B Art and Design courses), so UCAS was unable to forward your application.

UCAS's Darren Barker says that ‘UCAS is the only way that applicants can enter Clearing, because they would have to have applied through UCAS in order to get a Clearing number if they become eligible. This number is required by the institutions who are offering places over the Clearing period. The Clearing number can be found on Track, the system used by applicants to check the progress of their UCAS application.'

 

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