Preparing for A Level Results Day 2012

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If you have been using a term-time address or have moved house recently, make sure that both UCAS and the unis have your correct home address. This is really important.

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Likewise, if you no longer have access to the email account you registered with UCAS, update your details accordingly. Remember that this is absolutely not the time for 'joke' email addresses - so if you haven't got a sensible one, create it now, tell UCAS and your unis that you have done so, and remember to check the account regularly!

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Check that the names on your UCAS application and your exam entry form/s are the same. A discrepancy here will cause delays in matching up your results and forwarding them on to your unis. Contact UCAS as soon as possible if the names are not exactly the same.

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Check that the pending examinations listed on your UCAS application match what you actually did. If you have changed (by dropping subjects or adding new ones) the exams you stated you would be sitting at the time you applied, you need to make sure that you have informed both UCAS and the unis. The reason for this is that – apart from it being a material change to your application which you agreed to let UCAS know about when you signed up – if your exam results can’t be matched up with what UCAS/the uni were expecting to receive, this is likely to delay confirmation of your place.

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Whatever happens on Results Day, this is not the time to find out you have mislaid some vital piece of paper. Therefore, it’s worth making sure beforehand that you have collected together

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all your UCAS paperwork, especially the letter confirming your choices, a copy of your PS, your CRB and/or health clearance if appropriate, and any other information you have sent to unis (perhaps as part of an application through Extra, or to report mitigating circumstances)

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any information you have received from your firm and/or insurance unis relating to contact on Results Day, accommodation, or anything else that the uni will want you to do quickly once your place is confirmed

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all your exam certificates – GCSE and AS – so that you know where they are if/when you are asked to produce them

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your results slips with your UMS scores on them

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your Student Finance paperwork

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It is optional. If you are happy with your existing firm, stick with it. This is after all the uni you chose after careful research, visiting on open days, gossiping on TSR, etc etc.

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Getting a place somewhere else at this late stage could mean that you are further back in the queue for accommodation etc than you are at your existing firm.

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The most competitive courses/unis are unlikely to be offering places through Adjustment; some have definitely said they will not be.

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Even if a uni is taking applicants through Adjustment, this does not guarantee success for you, so you may find yourself getting your hopes up only to have them disappointed.

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Because the range of choices in Adjustment will be limited, you may do better to take a gap year and re-apply with your actual grades.

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Use the UCAS Course Search to find the courses that were in Extra at the end of June, as this can be a guide for what might be available in Clearing.

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Use this information to identify courses that interest you, with standard entrance requirements you are likely to be able to meet, or come within a grade of being able to meet. Be flexible – consider alternatives or joint honours - think laterally!

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Check out those courses/unis as much as you can – look around on TSR and make the most of the uni/department websites. Don’t forget to take into account the uni’s accommodation policies for Clearing applicants, and other factors such as the Students Union and the support it offers.

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Use this information to pull together a shortlist of options so that, if they do come up in Clearing, you know what you would want to apply for. This way you are ready to go as soon as your results are in your hand. You will also be able to demonstrate to the admissions tutor a level of knowledge of the course and interest in it that will help your cause considerably.

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If there is something that interests you that isn’t in Extra but may have been in Clearing last year, there’s no harm in working that up too, just in case. Not being in Extra reduces the chances of the course being in Clearing but doesn’t remove them. Equally, courses do turn up in Clearing that weren't on offer in Extra.