How many days to block out for going through Clearing?

[RedSeaQuestion]

We want to take a family holiday at the end of Aug but DC1 gets her A-level results until 15/8 and if she doesn’t get the grades for her uni offers she will need to go through Clearing. How many days should we stay in the country near computers for clearing? Do people normally find a place within a couple of days? And does clearing stay open over the weekend after a-levels?

Yes, most people find something within a couple of days, but there is tail of people for whom it takes longer and the clearing process stays open for them. As for unis staying open over the weekend, I think the answer is no, they would come back to it on the following Monday.

To be honest I’d say a day. That would be enough if needed to look at what is available and ring. Then it’s a case of waiting for a decision (which is normally quick) but you could go away by then as long as you can check emails.

We had this situation last year and it took a 5 days for my daughter to sort something out. First two days she was too devastated to even think about it and wanted to take a gap year. Then over the weekend, decided to go through clearing, rang two unis on the Saturday and got offers for both. We then took a day the following week to go and visit the uni city she’s ended up at (and loves!). So a day may not work for everyone! I’d be tempted to give a bit more flexibility, but it all depends on your dc’s personality and you will know them best.

Are you thinking about going abroad? This would be different to going within the UK.
You’re clearly thinking ahead and aware Clearing could be required and take time, so I’d give yourself as much leeway as poss - will result in one less additional stress if Clearing needed and it drags on. For most it’s quick, but impossible to say and for some it needs phone calls over several days, possible interviews etc. Being at home with access to their stuff including anything they’d want to look at ahead on a short notice online interview, could just make a hard process a bit easier. Being away and having to complete the process wouldn’t be easy. Frustrating when the summer is slipping away, esp as DC may well not even need Clearing, but my feeling is keeping it clear well into following week.
And be aware there is then a flurry of emails from unis and things that need responding to and documents sending in etc and accommodation sorting. Really important to have email access and access to the stuff the unis might want.

I think it might depend on the course. Last year DD didn't get the grades for her firm and she rejected her insurance. By 10.30am on results day she'd been offered a place at the RG she really wanted. She's doing a history degree.

I’d allow 10 days. That’s how long it took us to sort everything. Various offers on the day, then visits to the unis, and then the struggle for accommodation. It’s the accommodation that took the time.

Then the fun of swapping over all the student finance etc.

Clearing is not for the faint hearted. But then our DS ended up hundreds of miles away in a city with accommodation difficulties. But what a banger of a city and a course! He’s having the time of his life and we’d never have considered it if it hadn’t been for clearing. We found the course once we’d almost given up on results day. He had three offers from other places that were all a bit meh but then we found the one he’s at and it was like finding a golden nugget.

Yeah, it’s the accommodation that’s often the issue as Clearing places rarely have guaranteed accom.
Being on holiday with a stressed teen who felt under pressure and as if they couldn’t access all the options (or visit as needed) wouldn’t make for an enjoyable holiday!

I’d give it a week. You might want to go and visit a uni and you’ll need to sort accom.

Clearing stays open until mid October and remains fluid as people change their minds and reject places they hold or mainly decide they don't want their insurance place after all. But therefore it really is best to be around for a good week or so

Realistically I would try to go before results day and be back by then.

Be aware that if their chosen uni doesn’t update UCAS in a timely manner then you will have a headache trying to secure your place through clearing.

Royal Holloway couldn’t give a stuff and it was so difficult to get through to them on the phone, it took about five days for everything to get sorted. Thank goodness Cardiff were so helpful, they did make the process slightly less stressful by assuring us the place was there for DD and they understood the issue was with RH. Wouldn’t have wanted to have been away until it was all sorted out tbh.

Thanks so much for these answers. We would have email while abroad but it’s a twelve hour flight so the day of travel we would be offline completely and then in a very different time zone. I’ve booked us out now on the Weds after results so she has the Thursday-Fri ir results week, the weekend, and Mon-Tues or the week after to sort stuff if necessary. I hope that’s enough! We can follow up via email while abroad for accomodation etc.

Time difference in holiday destinations is an issue, give your DC time in UK zone or Europe. Also, internet access in locality this can’t be taken for granted. Check hotel if their internet drops you need to restart process. Cost of data if you using mobile, get a local SIM card option.
Flight, some airlines have internet access on board but check charges and time etc.

My ds went through clearing last year. He was devasted he had not got his grades but picked himself up and had a great offer by 9.30 on results day. The uni chose was very efficient but there was still a lots of stages to through. It had to go through UCAS them various uni IT systems. He was guaranted a hall place if he made his accommodation choice by 5pm Monday and by some miracle he went through all the hoops and chose his room by the Sunday. We also visited that weekend as we hadn't visited and he wouldn't have been comfortable going somewhere we hadn't visited. The process worked really well for him and got first choice of accommodation and is very happy where he ended up.

BUT looking at social media at the time the process was a lot slower for others and accommodation can be a major issue.
There is a big emotional toll going through clearing all their plans torn up and there is of lot of uncertainty until it all gets completely sorted.

My advice do research on clearing the night before. Look for unis where halls are guaranteed for clearing. Chase ucas and the chosen uni to push it through ASAP.

I noticed that lots more unis guarantee halls places for clearing students than for the insurance students. Though a lot set deadlines for the guarantee

Why can't you go before results day?

Thanks all. Really helpful tips.

we can’t go before results day because I can’t get leave from work.

May not be relevant to your DC, but if they were to see a Durham Clearing course they were eligible for, advise them against applying.

Durham have form for effectively treating Clearing like a smaller application cycle, keeping those who have applied hanging one for 1-2 weeks before they make a decision, at which point, if its a rejection, the remaining pool of Clearing places has drastically decreased.