Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Higher education

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

Original poster

Accommodation for clearing/insurance

56 replies

Spendylots · 08/10/2023 09:16

We are pondering choices for DD for 2024 entry.

Predicted AAA
Preferred choices all AAB and ABB

Concerned we can’t find a suitable uni she likes that offers BBB or lower, having visited a few. So we are thinking about clearing if it all goes wrong on results day.

Thinking she may go with AAB as firm and ABB as insurance - with the insurance one guaranteeing campus accommodation.

Does anyone know of any good unis where you’d be likely to get campus/uni accommodation in clearing ?

For example, I know Reading don’t even guarantee accommodation for insurance places.

OP posts:
randomsabreuse · 11/10/2023 21:37

Glasgow (like Edinburgh) fine for accommodation this year (unlike last year)

HoratioVelveteen · 12/10/2023 13:12

A colleague of mine, whose DH works at a Uni, told me that what Universities have started doing is keeping some accommodation back for clearing students. That way they can offer a guarantee of accommodation to encourage a student to accept the clearing place at their Uni. The clearing students then leapfrog the insurance students for accommodation places. The University has made it clear that they'll only guarantee accommodation if a student had firmly accepted their offer so they're sticking to their policy.
It makes me wonder whether it's better to take the risk of clearing rather than accept an insurance offer with no accommodation.

Original poster
Spendylots · 12/10/2023 13:40

HoratioVelveteen · 12/10/2023 13:12

A colleague of mine, whose DH works at a Uni, told me that what Universities have started doing is keeping some accommodation back for clearing students. That way they can offer a guarantee of accommodation to encourage a student to accept the clearing place at their Uni. The clearing students then leapfrog the insurance students for accommodation places. The University has made it clear that they'll only guarantee accommodation if a student had firmly accepted their offer so they're sticking to their policy.
It makes me wonder whether it's better to take the risk of clearing rather than accept an insurance offer with no accommodation.

Oh now that is really interesting!

OP posts:
CousinGreg55 · 12/10/2023 14:04

I've thought this. Unis want to attract the clearing students so a guaranteed halls place is a huge incentive to pick them over another in the panic of clearing.
I mentioned above that my son had a guaranteed halls place at Surrey going through clearing and whereas insurance students there weren't guaranteed and some didn't get accommodation.
I did notice when he was going through clearing that others were the same, I think Exeter were offering guaranteed halls to clearing students and they don't to insurance. There were others but I can't remember which ones.
They have already got the insurance student in the bag whereas they have to offer the clearing students an incentive to pick them rather than somewhere else.

Original poster
Spendylots · 12/10/2023 15:09

Is it just me or does that really put you off the uni? It sounds immoral?!

I know they are businesses but it doesn’t speak to student welfare much.

OP posts:
HoratioVelveteen · 12/10/2023 16:21

I completely agree @Spendylots
It's very difficult to find out which universities guarantee accommodation for all first years regardless of how they got there.
Nottingham Uni is the only one we've visited so far that have given this guarantee.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread