Before University

Although many students receive the grades they require for the course of their choice, there are some students that do not. They may either obtain lower grades than required or achieve significantly better grades than they hoped for. It is for these reasons that the process is available.

The clearing process is a way in which students can continue their aspirations to attend University. Clearance is not only about making available places available to students who need a place as they did not get the points they needed, but also making alternative options available to students who may have achieved better grades than they originally expected.

Students are allowed to apply for Universities that have empty places available for courses they teach. This is feasible because in any specific year, a University may not completely fill all the places that they have available either due to reduced applications or the non-achievement of grades. For this reason Universities make these places available through clearing.

Students who can participate in the clearing process are those that:

• Have not confirmed any university places through the application process, but are still part of the process
• Have not made the grades required for the offers from the application process
• Have no offers as they have been declined or not confirmed

If you have any concerns over your eligibility, please contact the UCAS advice line for further information.

The Clearance Process is managed by who automatically send clearing forms to eligible students.

The clearance process is as follows:

• Upon receiving the Clearing Form from UCAS, complete the form. You will also receive a clearing leaflet to advise you of process and information sources.
• Find out which Universities have places available (details can be obtained from the sources listed below). With clearing, you can also change the subject you originally chose, should you wish to.
• Contact the universities that have available places for the courses that you would like to undertake.
• Having spoken to the University, they may ask you to send them the Clearing form. If they do this, you can take this as them making an offer to you. Ensure that even if you are offered the first one you choose, it is correct for you, do not be concerned about ringing other universities. Take the time to review the same information as you did with your provisional universities and courses.
• Confirm with UCAS that you have accepted a course. They will confirm this in writing to you

The day after Examination Results are released, the clearance advice lines are prepared for the influx of calls. They will provide advice and information specific to the needs of the caller. This is a great source of information as they will not only be able to point you in the right direction, but they will also be able to explain the options available to each individual situation.

These are not only provided by , but also the BBC, and specific Radio Stations, to name a few. More details can be obtained from the Internet

As well as the information available through the UCAS website, you can also review clearing information listed in newspapers. They will suggest additional sources of information and help to find the course and university most suitable for you.

Examples of newspapers that have clearing information are The Mirror, The Times and The Independent.

The local will have a database of places available which can be queried by a variety of criteria, such as course title, points, universities, locations, etc.

More advice can be obtained from your local or careers centre.

Note: Please note that even if you did not get the grades you expected, you may still be able to attend one of your provisional Universities if you contact and explain your personal circumstances to the as they may be sympathetic to you and have something suitable available.