Clearing is looming but the process may still be leaving a few of you muddled.
Thankfully, Claire Samways, part of the online team at UCAS, recently
helped answer some of your burning questions regarding Confirmation and
Clearing. Here we summarise her answers into a handy guide.
>> Clearing 2014: vacancies published on
Results Day
If you don’t make the grade, there is still hope. If you slightly
miss your grade, don’t panic. The university of your choice will still be
able to consider your application, even if you haven’t met the conditions of
their offer.
They can still decide whether they’d like to place you on the course or not,
so all is not immediately lost. Get in touch with the university on the
phone and see if they can consider you with your grades. If they do decide
to reject you, however, you can still discuss the available options with
them or go into Clearing.
Not all universities lower their grade boundaries. There is no rule
which applies across the board when it comes to universities, and although
it is possible under some circumstances, there is no guarantee that
universities will lower grade boundaries for those in Clearing.
Whether they decide to or not is at their discretion, but there is no harm in
speaking with them to discuss their policy.
You don’t need to fill out a form right now. If you’re worried
about not meeting your insurance and firm offers, and think you need to
complete a Clearing application beforehand, there’s no need.
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student halls
Those who are not successful with their firm and insurance choices are
automatically entered into Clearing and receive a Clearing number- Ucas do
all the hard work so you don’t have to - except when it comes to picking up
the phone to call universities in Clearing, that's definitely down to you.
It’s okay if you’ve changed your mind. If you’ve got cold
feet about the course you’ve chosen, there is a chance you can change it
through Clearing.
If the course is at a different university, then you should think about
discussing your situation with them first to see if they have a vacancy
available. You will then need to contact your current university and ask to
be released into Clearing.
Remember, you can't change your mind once you have been released - and this
can take up to ten days - so make sure you are completely certain before
asking.
It is, however, easier if you are looking at a different course at the same
university. In that case, you can speak with your university to see if they
can consider you for the alternative course instead.
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rankings
If you still find yourself dissatisfied with what’s on offer, there’s nothing
to stop you from taking a gap year and considering your options.
John Carberry at the exam results helpline says: "Used constructively,
gap years can look good on a CV and can provide an opportunity to gain some
work experience, making applicants more of a valuable contender for
university or for the work place."
It is also often possible to defer your place at university until next year,
if you let your university know you’d like to. If they are happy to defer
the place, they will simply amend the start date for you and you can enrol
next year.
You don’t have to wait until Results Day to research. Many worry
that if they come up short on Results Day, they'll be beaten to vacancies by
other students in Clearing.
If you think you're likely to go through Clearing this year, there's no harm
in hedging your bets and contacting the university to see if they may offer
you a place on an alternative course.
They might ask you to contact them again on A level Results Day, as they will
then have a better idea of how many vacancies they will have available on
each course, but it should help put your mind at rest.
Furthermore, if you have an application in Clearing already and your Clearing
number is available to you, (perhaps because you took a gap year after
receiving results last year), you can act now.
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rates
Feel free to contact universities to enquire about any vacancies that they may
have available to you before the 14th August, since you are not waiting on
any results.
On the flipside, don't be too worried if you don't find something that suits
you on the 14th. Clearing vacancies stay open following Results Day, so
there’s no need to feel pressured to act immediately without thought.
Some universities will hold places, but you must check with them to find out
how long they will hold them for. The Clearing vacancy search closes at the
end of September, but the majority of places are allocated within the first
week.
You can apply to any university. If you are eligible for Clearing,
there is no reason not to contact a university that you have previously
declined or a university that has previously declined you.
For those of you feeling spoilt for choice, students are able to discuss their
options with as many universities as they like. However, be sure to act fast
as once you have been given a verbal offer, the university may then set you
a deadline of when to add the Clearing choice into Ucas Track.
It’s best to use this time to research universities and get a better idea of
what best suits you.
Download
the free Clearing 2014 app for iPhone
Download
the free Clearing 2014 app for Android
Or, visit our Clearing
hub,
where vacancies will be listed on Results Day