Preparing for Clearing

When our course vacancies open, take a look at the course pages to find one you are interested in and check you meet the Clearing entry requirements.

Complete our online form to be considered for a Clearing offer. The form is easy to complete and is the quickest way to receive a decision.

If you need help completing the form or have a question about Clearing, you can contact us via our live chat or give us a call.

If we can make you an offer, we will send you an offer email which will provide you with details on the next steps. This email will include the deadline for you to accept the offer.

You are able to receive offers from other universities, but you can only accept one.

Once you have chosen which offer to accept, you need to add the course as your Clearing choice in UCAS Hub. You must do this before the deadline provided in your offer email.

If you are holding a place at another university, you will need to get released before you can refer your application. Applicants are able to self-release via UCAS.

When you become eligible to apply for a university place in Clearing, you might have to contact lots of universities on the same day and make decisions quickly. This can feel a bit daunting but preparing in advance can help make it as stress-free as possible.

• Understand what Clearing is and how it works before applying
• Research universities and courses you might be interested in advance

You might have to wait until you get your results to be eligible for Clearing, but you can gather all the information you'll need on the day in advance.

• When you've identified the universities and colleges you are interested in, keep checking their websites for the most up-to-date Clearing information. Vacancies may be listed from July onwards. To find out the latest information about Clearing at the University of Exeter, sign up for email notifications.
• Write down a list of course options (including UCAS codes) and find out how you apply for them. Each university operates slightly differently and the way in which you apply through Clearing can vary. You may be able to call and receive a verbal offer over the phone, some ask you to email them, and others, including the University of Exeter, use an online form.
• Gather all your documents including your UCAS Personal ID, academic results and any other tests such as English Language so you have them ready to send.
• Check who will be available to help you at your school or college and at home. Universities will only be able to give general information to teachers, advisers and parents unless you have made them your nominated UCAS contact.

If you’re thinking about studying with us, there are lots of ways you can explore our beautiful, green campuses. This is a great way to help you decide if we are the right place for you. For more information, please visit this page. 

• Keep your results day and the following weekend free.
• Make sure you've got a working phone, pen and paper, and access to the internet.
• We advise all applicants to complete our online clearing form. This form is easy to complete and is the quickest way for you to receive a decision from us.
• Once Clearing vacancies become available, they will fill up fast. However, it is still important to take your time to make the right decision for you. Do some research in advance to help you make an informed decision on the day.
• If you go through Clearing and find that your grades are not high enough to secure the place you want, we would advise you to consider your options. You might decide that retaking your exams and applying again the following year is the best option for you.

Clearing is how universities and colleges fill places they have remaining on their courses. It's an ideal way for you to find another course, if you do not meet the conditions of your offers.

It is also used by applicants who originally applied to one university but have since decided they want to study at a different one, or who decide that they would like to apply to study at a university after the 30 June UCAS deadline.

• Clearing is available from July to September each year.
• If you have applied through UCAS and you think you may need Clearing, you can do this once you have your exam results. UCAS Hub will also state if you are eligible.
• Clearing officially opens at UCAS on Friday 5 July 2024.
• UCAS Clearing closes at the end of September; however, each university will close to Clearing when all its spaces have been filled.

• IB results are released on Friday 5 July 2024
• A-Level results day is Thursday 15 August 2024
• GCSE results are released on Thursday 22 August 2024

You can apply as soon as you have your results.

• Once Clearing opens, details of programmes available through Clearing will be listed on our Vacancies page. Universities will constantly update their list of Clearing places through July and August.
• The UCAS website contains lists of course vacancies and will be continuously updated.
• National UK papers like The Guardian and The Telegraph will also list Clearing places on the morning of results day for some institutions.

• Check websites for the universities or colleges you are most interested in. These should show you whether they have places available and the grade requirements for each programme. Websites will have the most up-to-date information and will be quicker than waiting for a response to an email enquiry. To view programmes with places available at the University of Exeter please visit our Clearing homepage.
• Once you have your grades we would suggest that you start looking at what programmes are available in Clearing as soon as you can as places go very quickly
• Research details of specific courses online - our undergraduate study site has detailed course descriptions (and lots more information about the University)
• Each university is operated slightly differently, some may be able to advise you by phone whether your grades are a good fit and some will offer you a place on the phone (a verbal offer); others will ask you to email or fill out an online application form.
• At the University of Exeter, you need to apply using our online form to be considered for a Clearing offer. Our online form is quick and easy to complete and is the quickest way to receive a decision.
• Universities and colleges will advise you what you need to do next.
• If you receive an offer from your preferred Clearing choice university, you will need to add this as your choice through UCAS Hub. This is the only way to get an official and formal Clearing offer.

• If we have vacancies for the programme you are enquiring about and you meet the entrance requirements then we would be able to consider you for a place through Clearing.
• Please visit our Clearing homepage for full details of all vacancies and the grade requirements required to be considered.
• However, in order to accept a Clearing offer via your UCAS Hub you will need to release yourself from your current university.

The majority of our programmes do not require applicants to attend an interview. The only programmes which require an interview through Clearing are Medicine, Medical Imaging, Nursing, and Applied Psychology, if vacancies are available.

During the Clearing period we receive a high volume of Clearing applications. Our Admissions team will be working hard to process decisions as quickly as possible. Please keep checking your emails (including your spam folder) as a decision will be sent to you via email. You should have received an acknowledgement email to confirm your application has been submitted.

No, you do not need to apply through Clearing. If you are already holding a place at Exeter and now want to be considered for an alternative course, please contact our Admissions team at: ug-ad@exeter.ac.uk (putting 'Request to change course' in the email subject). We will consider your request and if approved we will process a change of course decision to UCAS. 

Clearing plus is a matching service for any applicants who are unplaced and eligible for Clearing. If you find yourself in Clearing this year, UCAS will match you to courses you may be interested in, using what they know about you from your application, and what universities and colleges are looking for in a student.

If you’re unplaced or have started a new application, a button will appear in your Hub – ‘My matches’. This will take you to your top 50 course matches. You’ll then be able to tell universities and colleges if you’re ‘interested’ in their courses. If they still have vacancies and you meet their entry requirements, they may contact you.

Don’t worry, if you want to apply for something different you can still find courses available in Clearing using the UCAS search tool.

If you receive an offer you will be sent confirmation via email. This email will confirm the following steps which you need to take to accept the offer.

• You need to add the University of Exeter (E84) as your Clearing choice via UCAS Hub. 
• Email Admissions at ug-ad@exeter.ac.uk (putting 'Accepting my clearing offer' in the email subject) to confirm that you wish to accept our offer.

Your offer email will give you a deadline by which you need to accept and refer your application to us via UCAS Hub.

If you are holding a place at another university you will need to get released before you can refer your application. Applicants are able to self-release via UCAS Hub.

Yes, you can email our admissions team at: ug-ad@exeter.ac.uk (putting 'Extension to my clearing offer' in the email subject), they will then advise whether this is possible and if applicable what your new deadline date is.

• Your offer letter will indicate if we are able to guarantee you an offer of accommodation and how to apply
• Think about the costs of accommodation and travel before you make your final decision
• See our website for more information on applying for accommodation in Exeter or accommodation in Penryn as a Clearing student

• We will be in touch regularly before you come to University.
• In the meantime: Relax, celebrate, and enjoy the moment. You’re going to university. Congratulations!

We can’t guarantee this because we don’t know exactly how many current offer-holders will achieve results meeting our requirements. But we will be fair to offer-holders whose grades match our currently advertised Clearing grades – their places will be confirmed ahead of any further Clearing recruitment.

If we do have further summer Clearing spaces available after that, we may decide to allocate these according to your grades, starting with the strongest and working through. Summer Clearing is a first-come-first-served process and places can run out at any point on A-Level results day (Thursday 15 August).

When we processed your application, we made our decision based on the number of applications received and places available on your chosen programme at that moment in time.

If you have already achieved the grades we are asking for in Clearing, you are not currently holding any offers or wish to discuss your situation as you still wish to come to Exeter, we would encourage you to apply through Clearing.

If you have not yet secured your results, please check our Clearing homepage on results day for our current position.

We manage the total number of places available on our courses carefully to ensure the best possible experience for all our students. We have separate targets for International and UK students, reflecting the strategies we have in place for their support academically and to encourage a vibrant and inclusive learning environment.

Although this varies by programme, we usually fill our UK places earlier in the admissions cycle than those for International. International students often have to manage factors such as visas, travel arrangements and currency fluctuations which may delay or prevent their arrival. This is why you often see International places available when UK places are already filled. All applications are considered carefully and on an individual basis. 

We have separate target numbers for 'home' (UK) and international students. Typically, we fill our home places more quickly than our international numbers, and there is more uncertainty as to whether overseas students can arrive at Exeter. We therefore go on making offers a little longer for international, including across the summer period, when UK recruitment is already finished.

UK and international students both have to meet our challenging entry requirements and we never admit any student without every reasonable prospect that they will succeed on their course. We monitor the success of our entrants to make sure they are progressing well. 

We make offers across a range to both UK and International students and the same academic standards apply to both. If you consider the contextual offer levels set out alongside the standard offers in our Prospectus, you will see that UK students, as well as International students, benefit from flexibility.

This is also about timing. We finalise International and UK student recruitment at different points in the cycle. This can sometimes lead to differences between the cohorts in the grades advertised through Clearing.

We will only consider applicants apply through Clearing for entry in September 2024. Unfortunately, we will not consider deferred entry starting in 2025. 

Compensating grades may be considered when applying for a place through Clearing. For example: where a programme requires grades of BBB over 3 A ‘Levels, we may consider an applicant who has achieved ABC over 3 A ‘Levels. Specific subject requirements will still need to have been achieved at the grade advertised.