Clearing: Why it Pays to Plan Now
A Level results day and starting your first term at university can seem like a whirlwind of stress, especially if you find yourself going through the Clearing process. For those of you that don’t know Clearing is the UCAS process of matching students without university places to universities with course vacancies.
You’ll find yourself entered for Clearing if you apply for university after the application closing date, weren’t made any offers by universities, haven’t applied to university by A Level results day, or didn’t meet the requirements of your offers.
Clearing moves very quickly and places are often filled on A Level results day or within the first week afterwards, particularly if you’re applying for a popular course.
This means that it’s really important to be organised and have a plan in place before you get your results, otherwise you’ll waste time and could miss out on a place at your dream university.
Here are the steps to Clearing success:
Create a shortlist
Think carefully about which universities you might like to go to if you don’t get into your firm or insurance choices.
You might want to consider alternative courses, such as taking a joint degree, for example studying English and Creative Writing rather than just straight English Literature.
Make a shortlist of five to 10 universities making sure you list the numbers for the admissions team so you have it ready on the day.
Do your research
When you phone the university you’re going to need to convince them that they should offer you a place over someone else, so do your research to show you’re committed.
You’ll also need to know why you’ve chosen that particular university. You can’t just say “because no one else wanted me”!
Know what you’re doing on the day
If you get the results you want and get into university then it’s definitely time to celebrate but if you find yourself entered into Clearing the pub will have to wait.
Get yourself straight to a computer to check course vacancies and pick up that phone!
