Please explain how Clearing works…

[MonkeyTennis34]

DS2 will be getting his A level results in August.
In case he needs to go through clearing, how does it actually work?
Is it all done online?
Will it be sorted on the day (Thursday) or does it take the Friday too?

It's explained here https://www.ucas.com/applying/after-you-apply/clearing-and-results-day/what-is-clearing.
Universities will keep clearing open as long as they want to and have spaces,but obviously the best courses and chances will go earlier.

@Onthewaytothemountains
Thanks but that link isn’t working for me…

I advise him to look at possible clearing options as soon as possible (many unis release info before results day). This means he can target his phone calls on the morning if he needs to.

Be realistic – our experience was that the people staffing the clearing phones had no discretion to offer (for example) on BBC when the clearing offer was BBB. Which is fair enough.

Clearing almost certainly will be a stressful experience and your DC may need some support (mine is ND so definitely did) but can have really good outcomes. I just wish all unis would list their clearing offers on the home page of the website on results day! Some were easier and some harder to find.

try the link without the full point

https://www.ucas.com/applying/after-you-apply/clearing-and-results-day/what-is-clearing

Ah thanks, that works now!
I’m surprised to see it’s still conducted over the phone…sounds very stressful with so many students phoning in?!

Where will the clearing g be published? Is it individual uni sites or is there one umbrella site?

Unless it has changed since I did it with DD offers are listed on individual uni sites. Yes how good would an overall site be – tho I guess as offers are removed all through the day it might be impossible to organise and keep current.

Yes very very stressful. But maybe it’s better (DD was 2019)

Universities want to speak to students and it’s an opportunity for the student to ask questions and make sure they are making the right choice.

It doesn’t have to be stressful. Have a list of universities you want speak to and phone them in order of preference. Have all of your results handy ( including GCSEs) and keep calm. The people on the phone really want to help you.

Individual universities, it’s an ever changing picture so the only realistic way to manage it is through their own website.

yeh if you are well prepped actually it won’t be stressful. DD was not expecting to miss her grades as much as she did so we hadn’t really looked at possibilities – which was foolish tbh. But agree, the uni wants to help you and needs to ask the student a load of questions.

Be realistic – our experience was that the people staffing the clearing phones had no discretion to offer (for example) on BBC when the clearing offer was BBB. Which is fair enough

yep, often the first person you speak to won’t be a
academic or admissions tutor. They will have a set of criteria in front of them and will be acting as a filter in the first instance. There is no negotiation at this point. If you don’t have the grades then they won’t be able to put you through to the academic or make you an offer. It’s not their fault either (speaking from experience and having angry parents shout at me or my staff!)

It's definitely worth your son having an idea of preferences on other options.
DD had applied to her chosen RG uni for a popular course. She missed her required grades by 1 (AAB needed, ABB got). First port was to ring the original uni to see whether they would accept it (no).
Tutors at college were then able to look to see other unis that were offering the same course on clearing, and there was another extremely close that did offer it. DD then decided to go back to the original uni, and see what other courses she could access with her grades. They told her there was a chance she could do an internal transfer onto the specific course if others dropped out after it started.
She then took an hour out, and decided that for her, the uni she went to was more important than the exact course, and took the original uni, new course. She was going to try for the internal transfer, but in reality was too overwhelmed with settling into uni to consider it a month after starting.

@anon2022anon
Did your DD stick with her course or eventually transfer?

Stuck with her course. The original course was undoubtedly harder, and she didn't feel comfortable stepping up when she was already finding it hard- settling in, new friends, being an adult and looking after herself.

Hi OP

Few things

-institutions will often publish their Clearing offers early, even in July

-there is an embargo in place on discussion of results before A-level results land so if you ring up pre-emptively or in advance you may find they can only speak in general terms at that point

• results getting released to universities the prior weekend and we have some flex at this point around whom we accept (so it's not always "3 As or bust")

• results released to applicants 8am on the 14th and Clearing hotlines open then too

• you will mostly be speaking to a call handler and they try to triage queries and can refer on to an academic if needed

• many places also have other folk you can talk to on the lines, such as accommodation team, finance or student ambassadors, should that be helpful as you make a decision

• after you decide what you want to do, you need to go back the UCAS site which normally opens mid afternoon to progress your application and get a new offer for you to accept

• many places run Clearing visit days the following weekend - Sat 16th or Sun 17th - in case you want to look round - ask about this

• Clearing stays open as long as the university wants to recruit to that course, so some courses "dip into" Clearing for a couple of hours only, others remain in for several days

I hope that helps!

ooh yes DD went on a Clearing Offer Open Day on the Friday and it was really good, really helped her make her decision.

Clearing can be good for missed offer, but equally for uograding to a ‘better’ option that appears in Clearing.

You can start looking at Clearing in uni websites in the weeks before, but unis know results a few days before kids, so from day before results and on morning of results, each uni shows what’s available. It’s worth creating a list of possible places.

For anyone with kids in yr12, track clearing in uni websites this year and screen shot what’s available on results day morning. By 10am or lunchtime, a lot will be gone and you won’t be able to see what was available. It can give an indication of what might happen following year.

Biggest thing is to check UCAS at 8am which updates to show if confirmed at firm or insurance. Be aware this won’t show actual result. The single most important thing is to get actual A level results as close to 8am as possible. Expect to go to school or college and if anywhere says results not available until later,challenge them on this as without knowing your grades you can’t go to Clearing.

The other big thing, is expect to go to school or college and find out actual marks and grade boundaries if you’re a near miss, so you can see if putting in for priority review of marking is needed. These can come back in 48 hrs and mean a missed uni place is restored. But you need to speak to a teacher to see how close to the boundary they were and what the risk of dropping to lower grade is. To be reinstated on course of choice through remark upgrade, time is tight, so be ready to put in for review if marking on results day if needed. Don’t delay.

If going to clearing to get a ‘bargain’ upgrade or because original offer missed, check when ringing what position is re uni accommodation and that they will confirm offer by email. Ask how long they will hold the offer. Be prepared to rush off to look at somewhere that day, if needed.

So essentially kids need to be up and getting results early on, not lounging in bed or delaying looking. Parents can help them check out Clearing options in advance so there is a Plan B in place - it’s v difficult to make a Plan B when faced with disappointment if you didn’t already have one. And the early bird will catch the good Clearing worms - best places will have their places gone by 9am, so be prepared.

And know Clearing can take several days. Sometimes unis won’t make a definite revision for a few days. Don’t plan to be abroad or leave your kid with these big decisions alone. Def be in the Uk and having access to school or college in results day is v important.

And hopefully none of its needed as results are exactly what hoped for….but we know 80% of predictions are too generous, so def be prepared.

If there’s a considerable distance between a desired uni and home, how essential is it to be able to get physically into the school versus being able to get to view a clearing place, would you say?

Schools often give results out at 8am. They can usually tell students grade boundaries and how close they are to grade above. They can advise on next steps. This is useful.

You’d want to ring places in Clearing and have an offer in hand, before deciding you want to rush off on a long journey. Often people take somewhere they’ve previously visited, but not always.

Speak to your school or college about arrangements. Are they open at 8am to issue results? Do they email them? Will representatives from each dept be on site to advise?

Rishing off to visit somewhere isn’t that common.

Yeh agree with @WombatChocolate it’s not about lots of visits on clearing day.

Might be worth looking round some possible cities or towns in the week or weeks before if that’s important. But if your DC has done their initial research anyway before UCAS app, they will now what kind of place and what kind of uni they would like to go to.

Thanks all for ALL that info.
I’m already feeling nervous for him!

Just to add it’s not always on a phone call. It’s an online form where I work, some places have chat bots.

top clearing tips - ucas ID number written down somewhere on paper (bit of paper in the phone case is good) so they can get it easily if on a phone call. Powerbank charged in case of low battery/failure to charge overnight. Pen and paper to hand to jot down any info - they won’t actually remember it themselves.

I agree about going into school but do think that in general the clearing process should be done at home or with a parent/carer there. It’s all well and good a teacher saying oh uni Y in London is a good fit with your grades, but if you couldn’t afford to subsidise living in London it’s a moot point.

RE clearing visits, they aren’t usually on the day, but plenty on Friday or Saturday. If you had a local clearing option you could try and see it self guided on Thursday afternoon, but other options can be done the following days. Universities also mostly now have extensive online and virtual tours that are worth a look if a visit isn’t feasible or you’re trying to narrow it down.