Why is Clearing seen as a bad thing?
Clearing is a different but equally valid way of securing a place at university. Read our myth busting guide to decide if it might be worth considering.
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CONTENTS
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Why can Clearing be stressful?
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Busy phone lines
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How can you best prepare for Clearing?
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Clearing can be really positive
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Clearing isn't just for if you miss your grades
- Clearing Key Dates 2024
Why does Clearing have a bad reputation?
Clearing is a way of matching universities without students to students without a university place. For some, this has led to a misconception that a course available through Clearing is of lower quality or the university providing it is somewhere students don鈥檛 want to go. This is not the case.
Can it be a straightforward process?
Clearing is a straightforward process especially if you do your research beforehand. Results day can be stressful, if you get different grades to your expected outcome, you鈥檒l want to know how to use Clearing and have some alternative courses or universities in mind. Learn more about what Clearing is and how it works in our useful guide.
Why can Clearing be stressful?
Clearing can be stressful especially if you are disappointed with your grades. It鈥檚 a process that requires you to act and make decisions quickly as vacancies are typically filled within a week of results day. However, you can call lots of universities and don鈥檛 have to settle on the first one that gives you an offer. Often universities will give you a couple of days to consider the offer so do check this rather than feeling rushed.
Busy phone lines
You will need to call universities yourself to explore alternative courses or campuses. Phone Lines get very busy so try to stay calm, you might need to ring several times before you get through.
Calling UCAS hotlines
You can find all the numbers for universities through our Clearing course chooser. Search by either subject or university and click on the green CALL NOW button to reveal the number.
If you need to contact UCAS directly, their hotline is 0371 468 0468 or +44 330 3330 230 if calling from outside the UK.
How can you best prepare for Clearing?
Staying positive is important when preparing for Clearing. Make a list of universities with available courses that you鈥檇 consider, their phone numbers and email addresses. Our Clearing Concierge will help here, you can register for this now.
Think about what you might say beforehand and make notes if you need to. Check out our guide to help you prepare for your Clearing call.
Clearing can be really positive
Many people go through Clearing and find great alternative options. Rather than take our word for it, hear Adam talk about his experience in a short video.
This is just one example from our library of Clearing success stories.
Clearing isn't just for if you miss your grades
You might go through Clearing for lots of reasons. Perhaps you didn鈥檛 receive an offer, or you didn鈥檛 apply originally? Alternatively, maybe you chose to decline an offer because you鈥檇 changed your mind about a course or university.
On the flip side, some students get better grades than expected and explore new options open to them. If any of these reasons apply to you, Clearing could be a good route to explore.
Clearing Key Dates 2025
Find out the dates for each step of your Clearing journey in 2025.
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