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Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Higher education

Working at clearing anyone?

30 replies

DulcetMoans · 13/08/2018 23:03

I hate clearing!

I'm tired and there's too much to do.

(Noticed a few responses on clearing threads from people in the know. Thought there might be some mutual moaning to be done!)

Good luck everyone!

OP posts:

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Au79 · 14/08/2018 11:45

You mean, you are working in it yourself? Poor you if so.

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SilverBuckles · 14/08/2018 11:55

Yes, I have to do a shift in my Department on the phones. We all have to arrange holidays around Clearing. And it's generally the only time I get to write (MUST get this book finished).

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EduCated · 14/08/2018 17:48

Have got out of it this year, our department is normally called on to support the phone lines, but we’re in the final delivery of a big project so have been given a reprieve!

A little bit of me is sorry to be missing the action, but I have to remind myself that it’s actually pretty miserable on the day! In the past 3 years and, what, 15 hours or so of taking calls, I only ever made 4 offers!

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thejeangenie36 · 14/08/2018 18:48

If it makes you feel better Dulcet, a close friend of mind (admissions tutor at an RG University) is not only going to be made to be in work from 630 to be on the phones, but is being made to wear a bright yellow T shirt in order to be more easily identifiable to the central admissions staff!

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DulcetMoans · 14/08/2018 23:27

Getting in from 6.30am I am familiar with but luckily no one is making me wear a yellow t shirt!

Really need a job less focussed on clearing period for when child goes to school. I'll never see him!

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another20 · 15/08/2018 09:33

Hope you all get through the chaos. I hope you don’t mind me asking a Q? My DD school open at 9 for all the 200 girls to line up and collect paper results - I am worried that by the time the queuing / whooping / crying etc dies down and DD is back in the car clearing will be at least 2hrs underway and she may have missed out. She is looking to change course at this point from French to Drama which adds another element as her original PS will not be aligned.....do you think she will be at a disadvantage - is it first come first served at 8am?

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SilverBuckles · 15/08/2018 09:54

No it’s never first-come first served. Well, not in any Clearing recruitment I’ve been involved with. We actually do care whom we teach and there will still be a selection/interview process of some sort.

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DulcetMoans · 15/08/2018 11:14

It's not first come, first served. Not really, there is a selection process. But there is the chance that places can be filled I guess. They will have a set number of places to fill but that is likely to be a fluid number across the whole institution. EG. It's not 5 places in Drama and no more or less. If another area under or over recruits it could affect unrelated subject areas. It's a balancing act!

Most hotlines open at 8. She should be able to see her results on UCAS track from 6am. Likely to get emails from institutions from 7am. Really, she might know before she even goes into school and can act from there.

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EduCated · 15/08/2018 17:04

It is first come first served in the sense that once all remaining places have been filled, we won’t make any more offers (or once the powers at be feel we’ve made enough offers to be confident of filling the places). So best to get on it as soon as you can, as in, Tuesday morning, no leaving it til mid-afternoon/Friday morning.

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another20 · 15/08/2018 17:31

Thank you all for your insight and advice. One further quick Q. Once a verbal offer has been made what is the process and timescale? Do you have to accept it on UCAS within a specific time frame? Can you continue to call other unis (maybe unable to get through earlier) to have a couple of irons in the fire and a choice to make - or not. Also do you need to have your GCSE results and PS to hand - or will the uni just look these up directly?

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SilverBuckles · 15/08/2018 19:22

Once a verbal offer has been made what is the process and timescale?

Can't answer for the timescale, as there are any numbers of variables, but the offer will be made formal via UCAS. So then the applicant needs to accept it, and then get back to the university about accommodation, and so on.

But all of this will be communicated in writing by the university - generally by email.

I'm in a Department which is never in Clearing, but I used to be Head of somewhere where we went to Clearing a couple of times (we picked up students who'd done better than expected, in the days before Adjustment).

I generally aimed to have things mopped up by Tuesday of the following week at the latest. But we generally only needed about 4 or 5 extra students, and they were keen to come, and wanted to get it sorted.

But it could have changed - once admissions caps are off, there are many more applicants, and much more volatility in the system.

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another20 · 15/08/2018 21:29

Thank you Silver - volatile it certainly is .....the course she wanted to change to was listed this afternoon and has now disappeared from the clearing list.....!! So she needs to go searching and prepping again for tomorrow .... aaarggj

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EduCated · 15/08/2018 21:33

At my place you would get a verbal offer on the phone, followed by an email confirming that the verbal offer has been made, on the basis of the grades you say that you have.

As far as I understand, the information you’ve given will then be verified with UCAS and you will then receive the formal offer. I’ve never been involved past that part, so the rest is a mystery to me I’m afraid (and I don’t know how much it varies uni to uni)!

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Boyskeepswinging · 15/08/2018 21:41

@another
and don't forget that you can't actually refer yourself via UCAS until 3pm tomorrow. That's possibly the most challenging time in Admissions as you're still making offers and also confirming applications at the same time.
Some Uni's do give you a time limit on when you need to refer yourself (eg by midnight on Thursday) but this would be explicit in any offer made.
Good luck to everyone!

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Boyskeepswinging · 15/08/2018 21:45

@EduCated*
Once you have an offer you apply to the course via UCAS. The Uni Admissions Team then gives the application the usual checks (eg ensuring that you have the A levels you said you have). If successful your Track will be updated and you'll get an email from the Uni confirming your place and inviting you to apply for accommodation if it is part of the Clearing offer.

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SilverBuckles · 15/08/2018 21:50

@Another20 at my place we had emails regularly today updating us on the situation in my Faculty (devolved budgets so we have a Faculty-wide target to meet to make the money we need to teach the students).

The situation for what programmes are in and out of Clearing changed during the day, although it seems fairly settled now.

The volatility is in the HE sector overall - because there are no government imposed admissions caps and the need to bring in a specified become via tuition fees as these are no longer government funded. Not that we make any kind of profit from fees - in my field, they don’t cover our costs in teaching our undergrads - we make up the shortfall via International students and research grants.

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SilverBuckles · 15/08/2018 21:53

income not “become”

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theunsure · 16/08/2018 09:49

Yep, clearing worker here! I’m senior management but we all muck in today. It’s a long one fuelled by eating junk. I started off with yoghurt and green tea but already on the pringles!

If in doubt just call-we are all friendly and will do our best to help. We often offer below published clearing tarif and have wait lists.

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DulcetMoans · 16/08/2018 19:33

Just home after a long day of no day light and snack food.

Clearing is not is time for diets.

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CountessCon · 16/08/2018 19:37

I’m in tomorrow from 7.45, and given that I have a book deadline AND a lifelong phone phobia, I’m delighted with life.

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theunsure · 16/08/2018 19:47

@CountessCon

Snap with the phone phobia, but I manage to get over it just about when I realise the students are far more terrified the other end! I much prefer taking calls to making outbound though, I hate calling anyone even family!

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another20 · 16/08/2018 20:04

Hope you guys are putting your feet up? Been on the phones all day trying to secure a course and uni for DS. Have 3 offers now, one needs acceptance by 12 noon tomorrow - was wondering once the bulk of offers are given out today - is it likely that more will come back on the list tomorrow as candidates reject some of their clearing offers and maybe others chose to defer - or do the unis give out enough in the first instance to cover that?

Wondering if something else will come up that way? Or could you accept somewhere, continue looking and then reject that offer if a better one came along....does this happen? Or is that really bad form?

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mr405 · 16/08/2018 21:00

Hi another20

At the uni I work at we start closing courses once we've met the targets we've set, regardless if those applicants don't take their offer, so I really wouldn't advise waiting around to see if anything else comes up. I've known universities to up the grades they ask for to fill the final few places (with what they consider as better candidates) so it's risky! It's highly unlikely at already competitive or selective universities will suddenly have more places or relax the grade boundaries.

I would also advise against accepting and then ask to be released. First of all once you have accepted a place and confirmed you have technically entered a contract with the university. You need to contact the university to ask to be released and they legally can say no- although I've never seen it happen.

It's also a long process- you have to find a university to give you an offer, but they don't keep it reserved for you. They simply say they would accept you if you went back into Clearing. You then have to contact the first university, ask to be released and wait for this to happen- this can take a couple of hours, half a day or a day depending on the institution. Once you are back in Clearing you can contact the second university again, but obviously you run the risk that they have closed the course. If they haven't, it's the entire process again.

It's risky and time consuming and stressful. I would send tonight looking at his current offers, researching the courses and institutions and make a decision ready for tomorrow.

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another20 · 16/08/2018 22:04

Thankyou Mr404 - that is really helpful and yes we just need to make some sensible decisions and move forward - nothing is perfect - there are some compromises with each offer - but that’s the consequence of narrower choices with dropped grades - so he needs to absorb that and make the most of it.

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mr405 · 16/08/2018 22:24

another20 no problem. I understand, I also went through Clearing myself!

The most important thing is the course the institutions are offering him- is it what he wants to study? Has he looked at the modules and do they interest him? Can he do a placement year or year abroad if he wants? Then he can start looking at the institution- is it a location he is happy with? What are their graduate employment stats like? How do their facilities compare? What is the social life like, both at the institution and in the surrounding area?

Sorry if that is really obvious- I'm sure he is doing this anyway. I just think students can panic and rush with Clearing!