clearing 2024 question

If on results day I get into my firm, can I still call different universities clearing hotlines and if they give me a verbal offer i will reject my firm and add the university that gave me a verbal offer on my clearing choice
will the university im calling know that i have an offer from my firm? do i definitely have to reject my firm first then call the other uni? or can i call without releasing myself into clearing? just in case the other uni im calling refuses to give me a place

please help im so utterly confused!!!

Original post by h4seul

If on results day I get into my firm, can I still call different universities clearing hotlines and if they give me a verbal offer i will reject my firm and add the university that gave me a verbal offer on my clearing choice
will the university im calling know that i have an offer from my firm? do i definitely have to reject my firm first then call the other uni? or can i call without releasing myself into clearing? just in case the other uni im calling refuses to give me a place
please help im so utterly confused!!!

Hi @h4seul

Try not to worry!

You can self release into Clearing if you no longer want to accept your firm or insurance offer on Results Day.

Before you decline your current offers, make sure you have a verbal offer from your Clearing uni course and are sure you want to change courses, as you won't be able to reverse this decision.
You can call the universities of the Clearing courses you're interested in to see if they can give you a verbal offer, while still holding your current offers and without releasing yourself into Clearing.

Once you have decided you want to go into Clearing and have a verbal offer, you can decline your current offers on your UCAS Hub. Your UCAS Hub will then take you through to the next steps of Clearing.

I would definitely recommend doing some research into the Clearing courses you might be interested in in advance, and try to have a chat with parents/your teachers to make sure you're happy with your decision before declining your original offers.

Hope this helps. 🙂
Emily
Student Rep at BCU

Original post by h4seul

If on results day I get into my firm, can I still call different universities clearing hotlines and if they give me a verbal offer i will reject my firm and add the university that gave me a verbal offer on my clearing choice
will the university im calling know that i have an offer from my firm? do i definitely have to reject my firm first then call the other uni? or can i call without releasing myself into clearing? just in case the other uni im calling refuses to give me a place

please help im so utterly confused!!!

UCAS Business Rules for universities state:
“ A customer must not approach an applicant who is holding a firm or insurance place at another customer unless:

“the applicant has requested the contact (noting that where contact is requested by an applicant, customers should keep a written record)”

unless a university is keeping written records of phone calls then they would be in breach of their UCAS contract if they speak to you while placed with your firm. Especially if they make an informal offer verbally.

Universities will need your UCAS ID for your clearing enquiry. With that they’ll be able to see that you are already placed.

They might require you to complete an online form or email in instead of dealing with your application over the phone to ensure that they have written records.

Alternatively where I work we make all clearing offers by email from our application system - this means we have a written record of the correspondence (and that applicants have something more reassuring than the word of a student ambassador with maybe a few hours of training given over the phone!).

In summary - you can approach other universities while placed with your firm but they might refuse to consider you for clearing while you’re placed elsewhere, particularly if you approach by phone and they don’t keep written records of all clearing phone calls. So it is usually better to prioritise universities that DON’T use the phrase “verbal offer” when talking about informal clearing offers.

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 3

McGinger

20

Why do you want to switch Unis at Clearing?

Reply 4

h4seul

OP

3

Original post by PQ

UCAS Business Rules for universities state:
“ A customer must not approach an applicant who is holding a firm or insurance place at another customer unless:
“the applicant has requested the contact (noting that where contact is requested by an applicant, customers should keep a written record)”
unless a university is keeping written records of phone calls then they would be in breach of their UCAS contract if they speak to you while placed with your firm. Especially if they make an informal offer verbally.
Universities will need your UCAS ID for your clearing enquiry. With that they’ll be able to see that you are already placed.
They might require you to complete an online form or email in instead of dealing with your application over the phone to ensure that they have written records.
Alternatively where I work we make all clearing offers by email from our application system - this means we have a written record of the correspondence (and that applicants have something more reassuring than the word of a student ambassador with maybe a few hours of training given over the phone!).
In summary - you can approach other universities while placed with your firm but they might refuse to consider you for clearing while you’re placed elsewhere, particularly if you approach by phone and they don’t keep written records of all clearing phone calls. So it is usually better to prioritise universities that DON’T use the phrase “verbal offer” when talking about informal clearing offers.

sorry but I'm still really confused. A lot of university websites say to not release yourself into clearing until you get a verbal conformation offer from a different university over the phone, then reject any offers and place in the clearing uni on ucas. because you might end up in clearing with no guarantee of a place at uni.

will clearing universities not consider me on the phone if they see that i havent released myself into clearing yet? on a call do we have to give the clearing uni our clearing ID because I wont have one unless i release myself, cant i just give them my ucas ID for them to see my application or is a clearing ID required???

Original post by h4seul

If on results day I get into my firm, can I still call different universities clearing hotlines and if they give me a verbal offer i will reject my firm and add the university that gave me a verbal offer on my clearing choice
will the university im calling know that i have an offer from my firm? do i definitely have to reject my firm first then call the other uni? or can i call without releasing myself into clearing? just in case the other uni im calling refuses to give me a place
please help im so utterly confused!!!

Hi,

Please don't worry, we are here to support you as we recognise it is a stressful time for students.

In order to switch universities via clearing if you are still holding an offer from another institution you will have to self-release yourself back into clearing this will allow you to call other universities and see if they can offer you anything further.

We are here to help, please drop any more questions below and we will happily do our best to support you.

I hope this helps,

Matt
Wrexham Uni Reps

Reply 6

McGinger

20

Original post by WrexhamUniReps

Hi,
Please don't worry, we are here to support you as we recognise it is a stressful time for students.
In order to switch universities via clearing if you are still holding an offer from another institution you will have to self-release yourself back into clearing this will allow you to call other universities and see if they can offer you anything further.
We are here to help, please drop any more questions below and we will happily do our best to support you.
I hope this helps,
Matt
Wrexham Uni Reps

It makes sense to call other Unis before you dump your existing place to ask if they are interested in you.

Original post by h4seul

sorry but I'm still really confused. A lot of university websites say to not release yourself into clearing until you get a verbal conformation offer from a different university over the phone, then reject any offers and place in the clearing uni on ucas. because you might end up in clearing with no guarantee of a place at uni.

will clearing universities not consider me on the phone if they see that i havent released myself into clearing yet? on a call do we have to give the clearing uni our clearing ID because I wont have one unless i release myself, cant i just give them my ucas ID for them to see my application or is a clearing ID required???

Those universities must be keeping written records of contacts from applicants placed elsewhere.
Some universities don’t do this and so would break UCAS rules by making a verbal offer without keeping written records that you approached them.
Every university has their own setup for handling clearing so you cannot be sure a university will be willing to speak to you about clearing spaces if they don’t keep written records of phone conversations as standard practice.

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 8

ilovelemons

15

Original post by PQ

UCAS Business Rules for universities state:
“ A customer must not approach an applicant who is holding a firm or insurance place at another customer unless:
“the applicant has requested the contact (noting that where contact is requested by an applicant, customers should keep a written record)”
unless a university is keeping written records of phone calls then they would be in breach of their UCAS contract if they speak to you while placed with your firm. Especially if they make an informal offer verbally.
Universities will need your UCAS ID for your clearing enquiry. With that they’ll be able to see that you are already placed.
They might require you to complete an online form or email in instead of dealing with your application over the phone to ensure that they have written records.
Alternatively where I work we make all clearing offers by email from our application system - this means we have a written record of the correspondence (and that applicants have something more reassuring than the word of a student ambassador with maybe a few hours of training given over the phone!).
In summary - you can approach other universities while placed with your firm but they might refuse to consider you for clearing while you’re placed elsewhere, particularly if you approach by phone and they don’t keep written records of all clearing phone calls. So it is usually better to prioritise universities that DON’T use the phrase “verbal offer” when talking about informal clearing offers.

Oh I’m confused! So if you want to speak to a University to see if they would accept you - you have to decline all offers both firm and insurance?

Reply 9

ilovelemons

15

Original post by McGinger

It makes sense to call other Unis before you dump your existing place to ask if they are interested in you.

Thank you - so from the discussion on this thread - have I understood correctly? That some Universities will speak with applicants even if they are still holding firm/insurance offers ? So don’t release into clearing until you’ve contacted the Universities to establish if they will speak with you/offer a clearing space? With regards to the embargo is it still possible to send an email regarding alternative courses an applicant would like to be considered for? I noticed on another thread a rep advised you still could do this even though now it’s the embargo? Many thanks - yourself and all the others on here work tirelessly to advise everyone.

Original post by ilovelemons

Oh I’m confused! So if you want to speak to a University to see if they would accept you - you have to decline all offers both firm and insurance?

Read the post immediately before yours.

Once your firm is unconditional then your insurance choice is no longer valid. You can use decline my place to place yourself into clearing if you have an unconditional firm choice

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 11

ilovelemons

15

Just the advice above - states it makes sense to call the Universities before you dump your existing place to ask if they are interested in you. Applicants won’t know which Universities are keeping written records that you approached them. So can they call or not ? Are applicants breaking rules contacting them? Apologies if I do not quite understand thank you

Original post by ilovelemons

Just the advice above - states it makes sense to call the Universities before you dump your existing place to ask if they are interested in you. Applicants won’t know which Universities are keeping written records that you approached them. So can they call or not ? Are applicants breaking rules contacting them? Apologies if I do not quite understand thank you

You can call

You need to be absolutely clear if you’re placed elsewhere. A university can check this so don’t lie. If they don’t keep written records then they will explain that they can’t make you any offers until you are in clearing.

If you don’t want to decline your place until you have offers then using email or online forms is often a better option than ringing. Those are written communications so the universities have a written record.

Best practice for informal clearing offers is for universities to send them out to you by email not to make them over the phone.
That gives applicants clear instructions, written reassurance and a clear deadline.

If you speak to a university on the phone and they aren’t willing/able to send an informal offer to you by email then be a bit wary.

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