Clearing can be a big part of your university application process – it’s how thousands of students get onto uni courses every year. If you’re not clear on what Clearing is or how it works, don’t panic. We’ve been helping students get through Clearing for years, so we thought it’d be useful to put together this explainer on how Clearing works. 

How Clearing works... 

For unis 

Courses can fill up quickly for popular subjects, but many won’t be filled by the time universities stop accepting applications. Clearing is a chance for the unis to open up more opportunities to students to get on those courses, whether they’ve missed their expected grades, got higher grades or decided on going to uni after applications closed. 

Most unis will set up Clearing hotlines for students to call when they’ve received their grades. The people on these hotlines talk to students about the courses open in Clearing and can make verbal course placement offers. Once all the places are filled on a course, it’ll be closed. 

For students 

If you didn’t get the grades you needed for your course or if you exceeded your expected grades, Clearing is a way for you to find a different university to study at or a different course altogether. You can also use Clearing if you missed the uni application deadlines or changed your mind about what course you want to study. 

You’ll be given a Clearing number through your UCAS Hub if you are eligible for Clearing, and can use it to apply to Clearing courses. You can also choose to release yourself into Clearing on results day 2024 if you want to look for a different course. 

When Clearing courses open, you’ll need to call the universities that have an open course you want to take to discuss it. If the uni is happy to accept your application with your grades, you’ll be given an informal offer. You’ll then have to log in to your UCAS Hub, enter the course details as your Clearing choice and wait for the institution to confirm your place. 

Read more: See our full UCAS Clearing guide to find out everything you need to know

For Whatuni 

Like we mentioned, Whatuni has been helping students find Clearing courses for years. Sometimes parts of the Clearing process change every few years, so we make sure we keep up to date with all of it so that you can feel confident in making your choices. 

Using our site, you can search for unis and courses that have Clearing places, and you’ll be able to find each uni’s Clearing hotline phone number right on the page too. 

Plus, if you enter your grades, we can even give a prediction of how likely it is that the uni will accept your application to the Clearing course. 

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We’ve got lots more advice and tools to help you get through Clearing on our Clearing hub