Clearing advice for parents and supporters
We understand that Clearing can be an uncertain time for you and your young person.
That’s why we’re here to help you navigate the process with confidence, to help them prepare as best as they can.
What is Clearing?
Clearing is how universities and colleges fill places they have remaining on their courses. There are lots of reasons why students might be looking for a university place through Clearing, for example, if they:
- have not achieved the grades for their firm or insurance choice.
- have received better grades than predicted and want to find a place on a different course at a university with higher entry requirements.
- have changed their mind about the course or university they applied to.
- are not holding any university offers either because they were not accepted
- onto the courses they applied to, or they declined their offers.
- did not apply by the UCAS deadline but have now decided they would like to go to university.
Clearing runs from the beginning of July until the end of September. It is busiest around UK A-Level results day in August; however international students who receive their exam results before this are usually able to apply earlier.
While the prospect of Clearing may seem daunting, thousands of students successfully secure a university place through this process every year.
Find out more about applying to us through Clearing
Supporting your student in Clearing
If your young person thinks they might need to use Clearing to find a place at university, preparing in advance can make the process as stress-free as possible. Here are our top tips for ways you can help:
- Spend time understanding what Clearing is and how it works.
- It can be an anxious wait for results, and it can be useful to talk about all the possible outcomes with your young person. This might be a range of scenarios, options to delay starting university this September or reconsidering their choices.
- When Clearing opens in July, universities will post their course vacancies online. It can be useful before the day to see what options are available by compiling a list of potential course options, including UCAS codes.
- Familiarise yourself with how potential universities accepts applications, as this varies depending on the institution. Some may accept applications over the phone, via email, or through online forms. At the University of Exeter, we use an online form for Clearing applications.
- Results day can be fast paced and it's important that students act to secure places, however Clearing does run for several weeks into September so students do have time not rush their decision making.
- Talk about results day, where will they be? How will they access UCAS Hub? Think about a plan for the day depending on the outcome as it might be important to ensure they have support on hand.
- Within a student’s UCAS Hub it will not display the results they have gained, similarly Universities will not share results gained with students. It is important that students access their results via their school or college to give them the clearest idea of what is possible with what they have achieved.
- Ensure students are checking their emails, including their junk and spam as often emails from universities can get lost, causing unnecessary stress.
- Many universities will encourage students to call in on a dedicated phone number. At the University of Exeter, applicants must complete an online form to be considered for a place through Clearing. This process is quick and easy, but if assistance is needed applicants can contact our team via our live chat or hotline.
- There are a few key pieces of information we will want to know from students when they contact us including their UCAS ID, achieved results as well as courses they are interested in studying (ideally by course code). A full list of courses that appear in Clearing will be available on our website.
- Encourage the student to contact universities directly, as we are not able to discuss applications with third parties. Universities will only deal with the student or those who are listed in a student’s UCAS Hub as a nominated contact, this might be someone from home or their school or college however many students also do not have anyone listed as their nominated contact.
- If your young person gains an offer during Clearing, we have events taking place on campus for them to find out more about the university on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 August. Supporters are more than welcome to attend; your young person’s invite to events taking place will be in their offer email.
- Results day and Clearing is a busy time, and your young person may find themselves having to make lots of decisions. It can be useful to step away from their devices and social media and give them time to process their results.
- Students are able to contact a range of universities to secure offers during Clearing. These offers are usually received via email and will have a deadline by which the student must respond. However, they can only accept one in their UCAS Hub.
- Offers during Clearing have very specific deadlines, encourage your young person to consider their offers carefully but to be mindful of the deadlines and adding to their UCAS Hub in time.
The process was straightforward and efficient, and the admissions team were helpful with my application as well. After a week, I confirmed my place to study BA Communications at Exeter. I was excited about coming to Exeter and studying in the UK.
During the two years in Exeter, I am glad that everything turned out to be better than I expected. I got to study on a beautiful campus and met like-minded friends.
My advice for going through clearing as an international student would be to keep calm, seek help if you need to and be patient while waiting. Everything will fall into place soon.
Sarah, studying BA Communications at our Streatham Campus
When results day came around, I had been looking into clearing options and had seen Exeter was an option for my course. I applied and secured my place, with all the staff at Exeter being extremely helpful in getting everything sorted for me.
Exeter is a beautiful place to live and being by the coast is such a benefit for me. The teaching I have received at Exeter has been great, being a Russell Group university means your lecturers are truly passionate and at the top of their field.
Clearing shouldn’t be stressful and finding out where is offering spaces before the day can mean you know where to call first if you need to.
Elly, studying BSc Medical Imaging at our St Luke’s Campus
When I was preparing for Clearing, I looked up universities that offered programmes comparable to the one I had originally selected. I was drawn to Exeter because of its excellent reputation and stunning campus.
At Exeter, the Clearing procedure was simple, and the admissions staff were super helpful and encouraging throughout. When I was given the opportunity to study my desired course at Exeter, I was thrilled and thought it was meant to be.
My experience at Exeter has been wonderful thus far. I have made so many friends from all over the world at the University because of its friendly and inclusive community. The teaching is outstanding, and the academic standard is very high.
Edison, studying BSc Biological and Medicinal Chemistry at our Streatham Campus
Further information
We also have other advice and information for parents and supporters of students in the process of applying to university, including guidance on financial help, wellbeing and safety, accommodation and more.
Parents of international students can find further information in our dedicated international students' parents guide. This is also available in Mandarin.
