Clearing 2023 - getting prepared short idiots guide to Clearing

[Ginola2345]

Long back story but DD will require a massive improvement in her results to be offered either her firm or insurance choice.

I have taken results the day off work to celebrate, relax or help with clearing. I don’t want to panic DD but if she misses out on both her firm and insurance I know she could would go into Clearing but I don’t know much about it.

Basically, in short what do we need to do first in 5 easy steps and what info do I/we need to have to hand to be ready to move quickly incase we need to? What I need is a short easy to understand ‘idiots guide to Clearing’ or 5 point brief instructions in bullet point form.

I have just googled and seen lots of links taking me back and forward I saw something about UCAS Extra and how do I find Clearing Helpline Numbers is it the normal admissions numbers or are these numbers different etc.

OK so look at northern unis which will offer that subject at a lower grade - off the top of my head that might be Sheffield Hallam, Leeds Beckett, Uni of Northumbria (in Newcastle), Hull uni maybe? Does it need to be a city?

Sheffield Hallam for example wants 112 UCAS points (=BBC) for geography. SHU is a well-rated uni tbh and I know a lot of people who have really enjoyed their time there.

My son wants to study human geography too.
Firm offer Cardiff BBB
back up is Manchester metropolitan BCC.
His dilemma is what to do if he gets, say BBC - not enough for Cardiff, but possibly good enough for somewhere better than Manchester Met.
Or obviously if he gets lower than BCC.

Thanks so much. So for example - if backup choice want ABB and you get say - BBC - is it even worth calling them if they are Russell Group? Or is it HIGHLY unlikely you'd get a place?

I just don't really understand the typical route if you lose out on your First and your Backup choice.

Looks like Leeds Beckett and Machester Met as well as maybe Sheffield Hallam would be people to call on clearing day, but how do you deal with DD thinking they are 'all shit'? She's bright enough to get the grades but crap at exams. She thinks she 'should be' at a RG uni but I just don't think she will pull it off. The self-esteem thing is hard isn't it?

By 'backup choice' do you mean your insurance? If so then they will have considered your grades and if they have not confirmed (which they may do, even with some missed grades, as indeed the firm may), then IMHO there is no point ringing.

Or do you mean as a clearing option? Again IME there is no point ringing unless your grades fit. I recall calling one particular uni that wanted BBB on clearing for DD and she had BCC - they said at once, no, and couldn't negotiate. Tbf the person answering the phone doesn't really have any leeway.

So if the clearing offer is ABB and you have BBC then no, don't call that uni, as it's a waste of time.

Those unis (yy Manchester Met is a good shout) are not shit. They offer a rigorous degree programme and she will have a good time. My DD did much better at Leicester, with a slightly more relaxed vibe, than she would have at Warwick; less "oh yes I have read all the reading list over the summer" and more "blimey the essay is due in tomorrow and I've only just finished the text"!

I mean I am not advocating the latter as a way of going on, but DD felt a bit more clever in that company than she would have at the RGs she originally favoured. Did her self-esteem a lot of good actually.

@SlightlyJaded

I would have a proper look the day before results, when unis will know how many places they've got to spare, and what grades they are asking for. Everything is up in the air at the moment and you can drive yourself mad looking, but it will be clearer on 16th.

For now I would just make a list of courses she would consider, ie that are better than not going to uni or having to retake. Include ones that look like they want the same as her insurance as their requirements may shift if they need to fill the course. And then check through them all on both UCAS and the unis' own websites next Wednesday to see if any have spaces. From there you make your list of who to call if the news isn't good.

Cardiff's standard offer is AAB-ABB but according to UCAS they have a human geog course in clearing at ABB-BBB. And if PP's DS has already been offered BBB, they might well let you in with BBC if they have spaces. But you need to wait and see what they will actually accept next week. Probably still worth a call if she is a grade adrift but not if she is way off.

Btw UCAS says Loughborough has geography BSc and BA courses in clearing at 104-136 points, which is BCC-AAB, a weirdly big range there, but they might be worth a look. BCC is way lower than even their usual contextual offer, so who knows what is going on there. A great uni though.

Keele might also be worth a look, another good university that often has very gettable clearing spaces. I don't know that they do geog but I bet they do.

If she thinks all the options are shit (my DD would say exactly the same in this situation), then she has to decide whether to a) not go to uni, b) hold her nose and go to a "shit" one, or c) retake and reapply. But remind her - the grade boundaries will be low this year, lots of people are likely to miss their offers and unis still need to fill their courses, so she has every chance of getting into one of her choices or another non-shit uni 😂

Thank you again. Yes, I meant her insurance offer. But because her insurance (Newcastle) still want ABB, we need to plan for her missing out on that also.

Started looking and, as you quite rightly pointed out, driving myself mad. @pintery can I ask why you say the grade boundary will be low this year? Because of allowances being made for Covid carry over? Or something else?

I've scribbled down Loughborough, Cardiff, Machester Met and Leeds Beckett - and although of those Loughborough or Cardiff are far better Unis - DD is being annoyingly swayed by the fact that her boyfriend is at Leeds and this is started to really annoy me. She would actually pick Beckett over Loughborough just so they are together. I think I might need to take a step back and breath when the day comes because it is her decision and I can only guide and support. But bloody hell, I'm stressed.

@SlightlyJaded
Well I am just assuming that because of the disruption due to covid and the fact that this cohort didn't do GCSEs, that the overall standard will be lower. So if the top 10% are supposed to get an Å, in 2019 the cut off for that might have been eg 90% but this year it might be 85% (these are made up numbers).

Does anyone know if the phone numbers of who to contact at the universities will available on Clearing or do you have to look up individual universities ?

You need to look up individual universities, but it will be very, very obvious on their websites!

A few options for you currently in clearing for human geography according to the UCAS website.

I haven't worked out grades, but might be worth a try on results day.

Lancaster: https://digital.ucas.com/coursedisplay/courses/b74e6069-8df3-10d7-12ec-cd45eafe200f?academicYearId=2023
Leicester: https://digital.ucas.com/coursedisplay/courses/bdb9d9d7-0451-3593-87b5-f010f3a2f2cf?academicYearId=2023
Huddersfield: https://digital.ucas.com/coursedisplay/courses/58c709a2-c3e6-4590-8a3b-4333c5b13c99?academicYearId=2023&courseOptionId=a261ff6b-f77e-4078-a7f4-189389c782ac
Leeds Becket: https://digital.ucas.com/coursedisplay/courses/197a9ffa-64f5-cbbf-f538-6c6352dd72b4?academicYearId=2023
Machester met: https://digital.ucas.com/coursedisplay/courses/2244a1b5-a797-195c-f7a0-ca77f9733e75?academicYearId=2023

In general, something like human geography will likely be a bit less competitive than "pure" geography, which may help.

Depending on results of others who've applied, her firm or insurance may let her in even if she misses the offer.

Do you need to phone the dept of a particular subject or find the number for the admisssions team ? Thanks.

Can anyone tell me - my DD's insurance is AAB. If she gets ABB, for eg and they won't take her then is it worth her looking at other unis in clearing whose standard offer is AAB. Or should she be looking only at unis who offer ABB for her course?

@Postapocalypticcowgirl thank you so much. She has been at Boomtown Festival all weekend - the final hoorah before the stress sets back in. She is on her way back now: soaking wet, sleep deprived and jaded. We will get stuck in tomorrow. I'm actually feeling completely sick about the whole thing, but your list is helpful - thanks so much.

Yes for sure it is worth looking at other similar unis. Some may have struggled to fill for whatever reason and be accepting lower grades.

I've posted this before but the standard offer at DD's eventual uni for her course is ABB (or maybe AAB) but for her it was BCC in clearing. The following year is was CCD!

DD strongly suspects that she's missed her A-level grades. She has an offer for A•AA (A-star, A A (formatting never works for me). Having looked at the clearing courses for her Firm Choice, they are offering the same course but for ABB...if she doesn't get her grades can she still apply through clearing for the same course (providing she has the ABB)?

Another question...DD is Autistic and just cannot speak on the phone; I'm assuming that as long as she is next to me, I can call Unis on her behalf?

No worries, fingers crossed she gets into her firm or insurance anyway!

For clearing enquiries there will normally be a clear number or numbers on the uni website. I don't think there's any benefit to trying other numbers and trying to skip the queue- as it's very likely you'll just be directed back to the main system.

Rejection from UCAS isn't automatic- if she has been rejected, it's because admissions tutors have looked at her application and decided not to offer her a place. There won't be anything specifically stopping her from applying via clearing, but if they've already chosen to reject her then it'll be a waste of precious time, if she's looking to apply elsewhere during clearing.

If she's got ABB, then it's very very likely the uni will let her in regardless, if they are genuinely offering places at ABB via clearing. However, worth bearing in mind that may be an advertising tactic, or may be contextual offers etc.

If you need to call unis on results day, then I think it's very likely they will ask her to confirm who she is and her disability, and that she's happy for you to speak on her behalf- could she read this from a preprepared script? Otherwise, because she's over 18, I think they'll say they aren't allowed to discuss her application with you, without her consent. Another option might be for her to send an email giving consent.

One thing I would say is that clearing can be quite difficult and stressful to manage, and it's not the right option for everyone to find a new course via clearing, maybe not have accommodation on site, and so on. I understand that people with autism cope with challenges differently, but is clearing definitely the right choice if she misses her offers? Would it suit her better to take a gap year and reapply in a calmer way?

Here for info

Yes @brooksghost agree with @Postapocalypticcowgirl it's pretty likely that she will be accepted if she gets ABB or above. My dd is also v anxious on the phone (most likely ND) and I did lots of the calling, but IIRC they wanted to talk to her in the end.

Her actual offer she took was right at the end of the day and we were exhausted, but they were so nice to her when I handed her the phone (had it on speaker to support) and so impressed with her GCSE Eng grade (which they all asked for) she was really put at ease.

hi everyone having been through this last year, in answer to a few queries, parent can call on behalf of DC- no problem. No way my DD could have got over the trauma of the morning to make calls. I had to
pass phone over once or twice but no one seemed to care that it was me not DD. Also super important is the availability of accommodation. Having thought we'd cracked it getting onto a clearing course all went wrong when there was simply no accommodation available. So check course yes, but at same time check accommodation and it's availability. For example Bristol's accomodation woes have been publicised but last year UWE was also struggling. In contrast Sheffield last year guaranteed everyone in clearing accommodation.

Has anyone who has been through this been at the school?

Ds has been asked to go in, at 8.00am I think

Not sure if it’s just students but I assume so

DS school seem to be saying check UCAS at 8 then come into school to get results. But school is 40 mins away and there will presumably be a queue. So if he goes into clearing, should he crack on with phoning for clearing places first or go and get his results first? Do you need your exact marks if you're in clearing?

He will need his results before he can phone clearing. We are planning to get to school for 8 and check UCAS in the car before DS goes into school to get his results

Jesus, it's brutal! Makes sense tho, we'll do the same