The Student Room Group

Clearing

For anybody that applied to uni through clearing what was your experience like.
Original post by NoEaze
For anybody that applied to uni through clearing what was your experience like.


I haven't applied through clearing, but I can give you a bit of insight into the process.

First of all, if you haven't already, you need to register with UCAS and make an application. When you apply to unis, they will see this- and they may want to check your qualifications and read your PS/reference. It's a good idea to get started now, so you can write a good PS and get your reference sorted.

Unis won't usually talk to you without a "clearing number" and you can't get this until you've registered with UCAS.

You can then use the UCAS search tool to find course that you're interested in. This will be regularly updated between now and results day, so keep checking if there's a particular course/courses you're interested in. A lot of courses will be added early, but a lot more won't appear until results day.

When you find a course you're interested in, you need to call the uni (usually they'll have a specialist clearing number for this). They'll want your clearing number and personal ID, but you may also have a phone interview so make sure you have details of your qualification and notes about your PS written down, so that you can answer any questions you're asked.

Hopefully, the uni will give you an informal offer over the phone. You can collect as many informal offers as you like, but usually the uni will give you a deadline for adding your choice on UCAS, so you may have to decide which course you want within 12-24 hours.

Once you've made a decision you add the uni course you want on track and the uni will then confirm your course. You can only add one choice at a time on track, and this basically counts as accepting an offer, so only add the offer if you are sure you want to go to the uni, as getting out of it can be quite time consuming and you could miss out on another choice.

Clearing can be quite stressful, so do your research ahead of time so that you can hit the ground running on results day.
Reply 2
Original post by SarcAndSpark
I haven't applied through clearing, but I can give you a bit of insight into the process.

First of all, if you haven't already, you need to register with UCAS and make an application. When you apply to unis, they will see this- and they may want to check your qualifications and read your PS/reference. It's a good idea to get started now, so you can write a good PS and get your reference sorted.

Unis won't usually talk to you without a "clearing number" and you can't get this until you've registered with UCAS.

You can then use the UCAS search tool to find course that you're interested in. This will be regularly updated between now and results day, so keep checking if there's a particular course/courses you're interested in. A lot of courses will be added early, but a lot more won't appear until results day.

When you find a course you're interested in, you need to call the uni (usually they'll have a specialist clearing number for this). They'll want your clearing number and personal ID, but you may also have a phone interview so make sure you have details of your qualification and notes about your PS written down, so that you can answer any questions you're asked.

Hopefully, the uni will give you an informal offer over the phone. You can collect as many informal offers as you like, but usually the uni will give you a deadline for adding your choice on UCAS, so you may have to decide which course you want within 12-24 hours.

Once you've made a decision you add the uni course you want on track and the uni will then confirm your course. You can only add one choice at a time on track, and this basically counts as accepting an offer, so only add the offer if you are sure you want to go to the uni, as getting out of it can be quite time consuming and you could miss out on another choice.

Clearing can be quite stressful, so do your research ahead of time so that you can hit the ground running on results day.


thanks i appreciate the input, i've done most of the parts involving ucas, so i think i'll be okay.
Original post by NoEaze
thanks i appreciate the input, i've done most of the parts involving ucas, so i think i'll be okay.


That sounds good. As long as you know how the process works, you should be fine.
Original post by NoEaze
For anybody that applied to uni through clearing what was your experience like.


We've got an article on this that you might find interesting.
TSR members' experiences of Clearing

And there are lots more Clearing advice articles in our Clearing section.

Quick Reply

Latest