How to navigate clearing on the day?

[SoTiredNeedHoliday]

Hi, I have never looked at clearing and DD school has been next to useless in explaining it and how to navigate it in the best way. Can you search via course? Do you need the course codes etc?
Any hints much appreciated thx

Has your child applied via UCAS or are they deciding late that they might want to go after all?

If they know which uni they are interested in and the course, go to that uni's website and have a look on their clearing page. Phone numbers and course info will be there.

If they have applied already, then they will get a call to confirm their place most likely or else advice here. Important thing is not to panic if they miss their offer tariff because if they call they may be accepted anyway.

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

UCAS will list via course and uni

I think they already list which unis have spaces currently available

you need to call the uni directly to ask for a spot and then you sort it out via UCAS so they can accept

Clearing will probably already be up (universities get the grades on the Monday). That said it’s always worth phoning your original institution, particularly if you’ve only missed by a grade. Be polite, stress how much you like them. Most admissions tutors will want to accept their own candidates and these candidates are far more likely to stay than the ones who come through clearing.

So the universities got the grades last week Friday - they look through them all and decide whether to give those who firmed them the offer (they have to as long as you meet your offer). So you don't have to do anything on the day, just log on and you'll see your place. But you can decide to reject the firm/insurance place if you decide you don't want to go to your firm uni - you can reject the place (and go into clearing because your firm accepted you and you said no - you won't just fall into your insurance uni. People may do this if they find out their grades were higher and want to change uni (I'd say only do this if you have have a place confirmed through the phone or online with another uni).If you miss your grades by one offer, the uni will have seen this - they may still let you in and accept you.

If your firm does not do this, though, you will fall to your insurance, who will also decide whether to accept you (based on their grade requirments). This will happen before results day , so you might log into UCAS and find out your insurance has accepted you, not your firm. Again, you can choose to reject your insurance place and go into clearing.

However, a firm may choose to let you in, even if you miss the grades (depending on how many people meet or exceeded grade requirements and competition). If they don't and your insurance also doesn't accept you , you shouldn't bother calling because they will have already decided they aren't willing to be lenient. This also applies if you're rejected by your firm and also your insurance - they would have decided not to be lenient.

However grade boundaries only come out on 8 on the 14th (which means universities don't know how close or far away from a grade you were) so maybe if you were very close to the grade boundary (and you may be planning a remark your teachers think you can go up - then you should contact them and ask if they will hold on for a priority remark to let you in).

I would have a list of 5+ courses that you have written done beforehand and checked the grades in case you end up in clearing. I'd have a few of different grade offers, but it's definitely some lower than your firm and lower than your insurance, just in case. Hopefully, this makes sense.

Most universities have dedicated Clearing phone lines. If necessary they then transfer callers to specific Departments. Use that route as it’s the clearest and quickest.

Unless directed to do so, don’t call departments directly. It won’t speed things up (often it’ll confuse and slow down the process).

Academic staff have to make decisions transparently and fairly, and university clearing processes are designed to ensure that. Follow them.

most universities will have clear information and instructions on a dedicated Clearing website easily accessible from the university home page.

Good luck!

On Wed eve/ Thurs morning, will clearing courses and crucially, the grades they require, be easily found on UCAS? Or do we have to go to individual uni websites to find these?

(I looked at UCAS a couple of days ago but, although some courses were shown as being in Clearing there were no grades, and I could only find a few unis showing grades on their websites. UCAS search also seemed clunky, showing lots of courses not meeting search criteria.)

I'm pretty sure students won't receive any calls. Their UCAS login page will just be updated to show if they've been accepted by their firm or insurance uni.

Correct.

The site regularly crashes from midnight on as pupils log in to see their results!

There’s no way any university has the resources to call every single succcessful applicant! Daft idea.

Is there anything actually visible from midnight, or is that just wishful thinking? I thought you could only see where you've been accepted from 8am?

Make a hit list of potential courses. Write down course codes and contact phone number
Does the university allow pre-registration for clearing? If so, pre-register, so they already have your details on their system.
Obtain A level results as early as you can. Do not hang around at 6th form but head straight home/somewhere quiet to start phoning.
Firstly, establish whether your firm or insurance will take you. If no, then hit Clearing.
If you have two phones, have a helper dial and listen to the hold message while you speak to another.
Be clear on what you have (grades) and what course you want. Be prepared to wait whilst the uni speak to the department.
If they offer, establish exactly when they need a response by.
Take your time, look at accommodation and respond before the deadline given. And don’t forget to reject unwanted offers to give others a chance.

Also, consider alternative courses or a year out as options. Don’t panic, everything happens for a reason.

Good luck!

Well we call ours! I'm admissions tutor so I know my university does this.

I actually would stay in the 6th form - staff are often very helpful in finding courses and looking through things, especially if your less prepared. Most 6th forms will have places to go to take a call but if you feel you can manage it at home then do so, just that teachers will be very supportive and often useful to point out things about courses.

No it's wishful thinking the embargo goes to 8am - that's the only chance of being able to see something so people should just wait (easier said than done). However the website has gotten better the last few years, so it does take less time than it used to - to upload but often takes a few minutes.

You can go to both, but univeristy websites will have the most updated information. The universities will be changing entry requirements around then (whereas now some of them are the same as when initial applications were going through). I'd mainly use univeristy websites but UCAS as a starting point for research and to flag courses you weren't aware of

Yes, nothing to see until 8am.

Prep work ahead of them involves gathering details of UCAS login, any uni accounts created for Firm and Insurance and knowing your GCSE results and the A level boards and papers Sat (look at your exam entry form from school or past papers)
You can also look at Clearing on individual uni sites - more accurate info appears on Weds afternoon/evening and v early Thurs morning. Note down contact details, what looks to be available at what grades and their opening times, plus policy on Clearing accommodation.

You need to access the actual results (issued by school/college - not UCAS) as close to 8am as possible. It’s good to go to school or college. If Clearing is needed, they have access to lots of info students find it more tricky to get hands on and also can be a steady voice of wisdom in what is a stressful time. Info they will have;

• Breakdown of marks across different pspers
• grade boundaries - so can tell if a review of marking might be viable, and for which particular paoer
• access to the cohort results so if there’s a peculiar look to the marking results, they will know
• access to the exam officer to put in immediate request for priority review of marking on Thurs or request for scriot
• Advice about possible Clearing options - some of which DC or parents may know little about
• help with accessing phone numbers, helping students call etc.
• Possinly offers of further help on Fri if needed

Until you have your actual A level results you can’t call other unis to see what’s available. So make sure your DC knows if they will be going to school for 8am or if they will be getting an email or need to access a portal etc and that they can access those accounts. Make sure they’re not saying they will look at 10am or after a night staying at a friends. If the school or college haven’t said when results will be issued or the info is lost, contact them today to get it.

Helps to have a couple of mobiles available for calling places and being on hold.
Helps to have a list of Qs to ask and somewhere to record the answers. They might speak to several places and get muddled about who said what.

Always ask that any offers made verbally are emailed and enquire as to when that email will be received.
check and note down any time frames within which offers must be accepted or any required info sent in.
Check about accommodation available for Clearing.

Have a discussion about Clearing today, if haven’t had it already. Even if it’s a hard conversation, discuss a game plan.
If disappointment comes and there’s no game plan, DC can be paralysed with upset and not knowing what to do first. Parent’s job is to know the plan and help them work through it and it’s much easier if it’s been discussed in advance. Time is of the essence so there’s no time for going back to bed to wallow and cry. It’s hard but they have to get on the phones if they are seeking a competitive course at a good uni.

And it works out. Most can be sorted by the end of Thurs and even more before the weekend. It’s an amazing system that can allocate thousands in a few hours, but it’s fast and you have to be quick off the mark to get the undiubtedly good stuff that’s available.

One thing I will say is that grade boundaries will be released at 8am on the exam boards websites - so if you want to check or aren't going in, you can see them there. You will have to check each exam board for each A-level (if you do History edexcel, don't look at AQA). The pdf will have the marks needed for each grade and then near the end the breakdown of each subject - per papers as well. It will only be significant once you know grades though.

Grade boundary lists can be a bit confusing. Make sure you’re looking at A Level and not AS. Make sure you’ve got the right series of exams and also the exact paper/options number or code. Things like History have multiple options and combinations, which each have their own grade boundaries.
You can see these from 8am, but you can check out your board and paper code now. Look at exam entry sheets from exams officer before exam, or past paper info.

If you want to, you can look up last year’s now.

Thanks for kicking off this thread. I found the replies very helpful, though thankfully we didn’t need clearing in the end. Hope your day wasn’t too traumatic and your daughter is all sorted.