What is UCAS Clearing?

Jul 3, 2023
3 min read

Updated: Jul 22

Clearing is the system universities use to fill any vacancies they have on a course. It’s available to students who don’t have any offers, and operates between July and September.

Your child can participate in Clearing if they’ve already applied through UCAS and one of the following applies:

they didn’t receive any offers from the universities or colleges they applied to
they declined all their offers, or didn’t respond by the UCAS deadline
they didn’t achieve the required grades and no further offer was made
they applied after the UCAS deadline of 30 June

How it works

Students must apply through UCAS to participate in Clearing. If a university hasn’t responded and confirmed the place your child originally applied for (for example, they may be just below entry requirements and the university is still considering whether to make an offer), they won’t be eligible to apply for another course through Clearing until they’ve received a rejection. In this scenario, it’s worth contacting the university directly for an update on status.

Find out what’s available

Use the UCAS website to find out which courses are available through Clearing. This won’t be a full list of all university courses, but a list of those available now that results are out and universities know whether the students they offered places to have met the grades. Some courses won’t appear because they’re fully subscribed, but there’ll still be plenty of choice. In some cases, courses your child was interested in but didn’t meet the requirements for might appear, if many students failed to meet the entry requirements at the time of results.

Why might there be spare places?

Don’t assume that because a university offers a place through Clearing the course is undesirable. It could be that fewer students applied than anticipated, that students didn’t achieve the minimum entry requirements, or that successful students had a change of heart.

Don’t waste valuable time

Your child will need to speak to the university in person before applying for a place through Clearing, to find out if the course is still available, whether they meet the entry requirements, and whether it’s suitable for them. Students need to call themselves rather than have someone call on their behalf. The university is going to consider whether to offer them a place, not their representative.

It may seem obvious, but it’s worth remembering: the most popular universities have the most applicants and fill spare places first, so your child needs to be ready to act quickly to secure the best options.

Our top five tips for helping your child through Clearing

1. Do some research

Clearing can only be used to apply for one course at a time, so it’s important to make sure it’s the right one. A good way to do this is to research ahead of results, anticipating the need to use Clearing. Encourage your child to explore alternative universities and courses with lower entry requirements if they think their results may not meet the conditions of their current offers.

If great results mean this extra research doesn’t come in handy, so much the better. But in the event of needing Clearing, it will be time very well spent.

2. Plan ahead

If time permits, your child should visit any university they haven’t seen before (if they dislike the atmosphere, they’re unlikely to perform well there), and all the other essential considerations still apply (accommodation, distance from home, finance and so on). It’s not sensible to treat Clearing as a last attempt to get on any course, anywhere, just to get to university. Clearing begins in July, so your child should use it to see what’s available well ahead of results day in August.

3. Respect deadlines

Be especially mindful of deadlines during Clearing. There are strict restrictions on how long places will be held open and offers extended, so make sure your child has fully understood them. If universities don’t hear from your child within the time outlined, they may simply assume they’re not interested and withdraw the place. Very often that decision is irreversible, and neither you nor your child is likely to get the offer back on the table.

4. Being contactable is crucial

Keeping contact details (phone number, address and email) accurate throughout the entire UCAS process is important, but especially during Clearing, otherwise your child could miss out because details are being sent to the wrong place.

5. Stay positive

Lastly, try to keep your child’s spirits up. Clearing can be stressful, and your child might not get a place on their first, second or even third attempt. But don’t give up: persistence and determination go a long way.