Preparing for A-level results day: Clearing and Confirmation
A-level results come out on Thursday 14th August, and while not everyone applying to university in the UK takes A-levels, this is a super-important date, because it’s the date when many students will find out whether they’ve been accepted to university, and it’s the date when Clearing opens, and all those last minute opportunities come in to play.
It is a day of high stress for many students, parents and teachers, and there are an insane array of possible outcomes for students in different scenarios
I’m afraid this isn’t a short piece, but I’ll do my best to simplify it down so that you know what could happen and how this might impact you, so you can start planning; for the best and worst outcomes.
Please do forward it on to any students and parents you know who might find it useful!
On results day: Thursday 14th August
It’s the big day, and those who have sat A-levels will get their results, usually from their school, either in person, or online.
Some of you will be able to access your grades before you go on to UCAS to find out about your university place.
Others may go on to UCAS and see their university decisions before they receive their results.
UCAS say they’ll start updating UCAS Track with decisions from around 8.15am.
Meanwhile, schools may put your results on their school portal from around the same time, or may open a little early to give you your results in person.
Universities will be open to take calls from early in the morning (times will vary).
You will be able to add choices for Clearing on UCAS Track from 1.00pm.
So what happens next?
When it comes to your Conditional Firm choice, there are essentially two possibilities; either you meet the conditions, or you don’t.
Let’s look at each of these in turn.
Possibility 1: You’ve met the conditions of your Conditional Firm choice
Congratulations, you’ve got your first choice. On UCAS your status should confirm that you have a place. For the large majority of you, this is what will happen, and you can then start the process of planning your move to university.
But, what if you have changed your mind? Well, there are still a couple of possibilities…
You still want to go to the same university, but would like to study a different course?
In that case just phone the university and ask. Depending on the availability of the course, and your grades, they may say yes, or they may say no. If they say yes, they will tell you how to proceed with the change.
You decide you’d prefer to go to another university?
In this case, check if your preferred course is available through Clearing. If so, phone the university and see if they would offer you a place. If you find a place, get confirmation in writing. Then go on to UCAS, and decline your place at your current university. You will then be in Clearing and can apply to your new choice. You should also phone that choice back to give them your Clearing number.
Possibility 2: You’ve missed the conditions of your Conditional Firm choice
Naturally, you are going to be disappointed. But… don’t panic. It is far more common than you might think, and it is most certainly not the end of the world (even if it feels like it at the time).
So what might happen next?
You might get your offer anyway
I know! Crazy huh? But every year thousands upon thousands of students miss grades and get their first choice places anyway. If this is you, it should show up on UCAS as confirmed, just as if you had met the conditions. You are in!
The university might offer you a different course
Sometimes if you didn’t get quite the grades they asked for, but are close, they’ll offer you a place on a less popular course. Alternatively they may offer you a place on a foundation year (an additional year of preparation for university study). You are under no obligation to take the offer, but sometimes it’s worth a look!
You might meet the conditions of your Insurance choice
So, maybe you don’t get your Firm Choice university, but you’ve met the grades for your Insurance Choice. Well, that back-up choice has now turned out to be pretty important. Your confirmation will show on UCAS track, and you’ll be headed there instead.
Note that if you have changed your mind, you still have the options that we looked at in the previous section; you can either ask for a change of course, or look for another place in Clearing.
You might not have got your grades for either your Firm or Insurance choice and neither accept you
Well, you are now in Clearing. It’s not ideal. It’s not what you’d hoped for, but once again every year thousands of students get great places through Clearing.
In the next section we’ll have a look at what you should do if you do find yourself in Clearing, whether by choice or not!
Clearing
Research what’s available
First up, have a look at what is available in your chosen subject on UCAS. Look at the grades each university is asking for, and draw up a list of possible choices.
Prioritise
Check each of them out on their websites: course details, accommodation, campus-life etc. Do this quickly, logically, listing pros and cons, and finalise your list in order of preference.
Find the university contact details
Go to each university website and find the Clearing phone number. Some universities also accept Clearing enquiries online via instant chat, WhatsApp, email, webform etc.
Make the calls
Start at the top of the list and contact each university to discuss your course choice and your grades. I really think phoning or live chat is best. It's just quicker. Avoid sending an email or completing a web form if possible, as you just don’t know how long the response will take, and it won’t be a two way conversation.
It should be you that makes the call. Universities will want to speak to the applicant if at all possible, not a parent or teacher. If you suffer from anxiety or have any other reason why you need support with the call, just make sure you and your supporter are there when you make the call, you can then give permission for your supporter to speak on your behalf.
Don’t rush the conversations you have with universities. Take your time to give them your full qualifications (GCSE’s, A-levels, English Language qualifications etc.), and take your time to fully understand what they tell you, about the course or the offer. If you don’t understand anything, ask them to clarify until you do.
If they offer you a place, talk with them about how you can find out more about the course, the accommodation, and the campus-life. They may have departmental staff or students you can talk to, Clearing open days to attend, or online chat tools and groups (such as Unibuddy).
Get your offers in writing
Ask for their offer in writing (most universities will automatically send you an email), and check if there is a deadline to accept. Some universities with very limited places will need an answer very quickly, while others won’t.
Try to get multiple offers, and then make your choice
I’d suggest you keep going with the calls until you have two or maybe three offers. With these in place, do you still feel the same about which is your top choice? Do you need to visit? Have they even given you an opportunity to visit?
Take as much time as you have to make the right choice. If the deadline you have been given is too tight, ask the university if they will extend it for you.
Complete your final choice through UCAS Clearing
Once you have made your final choice, go on UCAS and choose that course through Clearing. Then let the university know that you have done so. They will then find the application and confirm your place (this might take a day or so).
This will be updated on UCAS and you will see that you have a confirmed place.
Are there any other possibilities?
So, the above are the most likely outcomes, but there are a few other scenarios.
You miss the grades, but when you go on UCAS the university shows as Awaiting Decision
This is tricky. The universities get the grades in advance, and so most decisions will be made by Thursday morning. Sometimes it takes a little longer, even though it shouldn’t. If you have a safe Insurance offer in place, then you can wait as long as it takes. If you don’t, you may need to ask the university to reject you so you can move on to find other alternatives in Clearing before they are taken.
This won’t be an easy judgement, so speak to the university to get a clear timescale from them and seek support and advice from your school.
You miss the grades, and want to appeal them
Lots of students appeal grades, many successfully. Speak to your school about this. If appealing, make sure you let the university know. They will let you know when the appeal needs to come through, in order for them to honour the place. This will normally be early September, allowing two to three weeks for the appeal.
You decide you want to defer your entry to next year
Just contact the university and ask. Tell them why you’d like to defer and what you plan to do during the year. Virtually all of them will say yes. A few might say no, leaving you with a choice; go this year, or apply again next year.
You decide you want to reapply next year with your new grades
Once again, lots of students do this, but you need to know that you can’t be holding a deferred place if you want to start a new application. If you have a deferred place confirmed already, you’ll need to make a choice; keep it OR apply again.
Also, your application will be completely new; you’ll need to write a new Personal Statement and get a new reference. Most schools will still support your application, even though you will have left, so speak to them about this.
You decide you want to retake your exams
This will be a possibility if you feel you haven’t done as well as you feel you are capable of. There is a lot to consider with this route.
As well as deciding how you will take these (through your current school, a different college, or online), you need to be realistic about whether you are likely to do better, and whether the university you are considering will accept your resit results. Step one will be to take advice from your current school.
You decide that university may not be for you
No problem, just decline your offer through UCAS. But think very, very carefully before doing this. Once done, it can’t be undone!
Now that is a whole bunch of possibilities, and for many students, you might find that more than one of these applies to you, and you’ll have some tricky decisions to make choosing between your options.
Just know this:
If you are trying to get a place in Clearing at a competitive university or course, you will need to move quickly to secure this, or the places will fill up.
Similarly, if you are appealing your grades, do this promptly, so you get the new result as soon as possible.
For all other decisions, take your time, speak to friends, family and advisers at your school. There is generally no hurry to make a final choice, so relax and take all the time you need to make a good decision!
Other things to think about
Once your place is confirmed you’ll want to start preparing for life at university.
That is a big topic, and there are entire books and websites about it (eg. see From High School to Uni).
For now there are two super-important things that you absolutely must not forget about once you have confirmed your place, and especially if you have changed which university you are planning to go to!
Accommodation
Every university is different with how they manage accommodation, but if you haven’t got this worked out already, then follow-up on this as soon as your place at university is confirmed. Universities will normally send you emails about this, so always check your spam/junk folders, and check on their website to make sure you know what to do.
Finance
If you are funded through the UK government, make sure they know the correct university that you are going to. This may have changed since you initially applied.
I’ve done my best to cover every angle on this, but there may be some possibilities that I have missed. The key for you is to be as knowledgeable and prepared as possible, just in case results day doesn’t go quite to plan.
For now, I hope I have helped you prepare for the big day, and I suggest you bookmark this page so you can come back to it on the day itself.
For now, I wish you all the best with your exams and results!
