This will be a good year to be a student looking to go to university, even if you don’t hit the required grades. With fewer young people (due to demographic changes) and no imposed limit on student numbers, universities are likely to have many places to fill through Clearing, building on last year’s record numbers.
This year, teams of friendly admissions staff – many of them recent students – will be on hand to soothe concerns and suggest courses to the tens of thousands expected to fall short of their offers or have a change of heart.
And a record number are also using Clearing for their initial application to university; the total number of students using the service shot to 64,300 last year, compared with 38,000 10 years ago, says James Durant, professional development executive at Ucas. “Clearing has transformed into a respected and important route into higher education,” he says, “and almost all universities use Clearing for some of their subjects.” Last year, the Russell Group universities – a self-selected association of 24 public research universities in the UK – announced 22,500 courses were available in July; 19 of those institutions, including Bristol, Exeter, York, Manchester and King’s College London, used Clearing.
Get in early
The list of vacancies, available from early July on the Ucas website, will be continually updated this year; and students getting their results on 18 August will be able to make their choice on Ucas Track from 3pm – two hours earlier than in previous years. “About half of those using Clearing will be placed by the Monday after results day,” says Durant.
Applying after exams has grown in popularity, says Hannah Morrish, education community manager at online community The Student Room. “This option has given students more time to think about what they want to do,” she says.
Meanwhile, a survey by The Student Room shows that more than half of A-level students believe exam reforms have made them more likely to miss their first choice of university this year.
For student Maduvanthi Pathmanathan, who missed her grades last year, it was a simple case of following advice and going through Clearing: she wrote down her options and was accepted into four respected universities, before opting for law at the University of Essex. “That week was probably the most intense I’ve ever had,” she recalls. “But today I can say that I definitely belong here.”
Clearing facts
- Ucas expects about 30,000 courses to advertise vacancies in Clearing this year, including those with the highest entry requirements. Last year, more than 37,000 courses were listed.
- A record 49,100 students found places through Clearing after missing out on their first offer – up 3% on 2014. In total, a record 64,300 students found places through Clearing in 2015.
- Clearing isn’t only for people who don’t get the grades for their first offer; a record 15,200 people applied to university directly through Clearing in 2015 – up 10% on 2014.
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Nineteen of the 24 Russell Group universities used Clearing last year – Oxford and Cambridge never do.
More than half of students say they’ll use Clearing if they miss their offer.
Nearly half of those using Clearing are expected to be placed by the Monday after results day (22 Aug).
Source: Ucas /The Student Room
