Clearing Explained: How It Works and Why It Matters for Students

If you didn’t already know, Clearing is a widely used service by students who want to apply to universities in the UK. For some it is a way to get a place on a course that has a space despite their results and for others it is a way to change a course or university perhaps due to personal preference or a change in circumstances.

It first needs to be clarified that Clearing in no way means you have failed. This common misconception is a large deterrent for students when it comes to exploring options, but it needs to be recognised for its important role of supporting those who want to prepare for anything on Results Day. That person can be anyone, and, in the end, it was me.

You can do as much preparation as you want for that exciting yet nerve-wracking day in August but you can never know for certain what that day will look like. I definitely didn’t. Throughout sixth form, I was determined to leave Birmingham and searching for independence in London. After wrestling with several great options, I had deeply researched (struggles of an indecisive person!) which fuelled me to revise for mocks and assessments to prove to everyone around me, and myself, that I was worthy of London. My summer months were spent envisioning a new life, full of hope and the city life (definitely a romanticised version of it at least). Which is why my decision to turn to Clearing on Results Day shocked everyone. I say decision because I chose to do this, not because I had to.

The best advice I can give to anyone currently in sixth form is to know as much as you can about Clearing regardless of if you think you need it or not. As frustrating as they could be, I am so thankful for paying attention in the long assemblies about Clearing and next step options because it helped me out of a situation, I never planned to be in. As someone who was set on a future, when I decided to stay in Birmingham, Clearing was there for me. 

A few weeks before Results Day I had been struggling with the decision I had made about London, and I felt stuck in something I had decided over a year ago. That is when I rushed to do all the research about Clearing. The most important things you would need in this situation are a priority list of the universities you want to contact, their phone number information and the courses you would be happy to study there. Personally, I found that having this information is all that I needed because it simplified the process for me on the morning of results day and made the decision-making process much smoother during such an intense time.

Because I was in such a unique situation where I had got the results I had wanted and been accepted into my firm choice university, calling University of Birmingham through Clearing was less stressful as I know I had the grades, I just needed to secure my place. Although it was difficult to let go of the future I had once been so certain about, taking the risk with Clearing and picking up the phone that morning turned out to be the best decision I’ve ever made. It meant I was choosing to seek out alternatives and ask for help in a situation that had felt impossible to escape. The very short but very important conversation I had on the phone that day changed the trajectory of my life. I still went into higher education as I had planned but without being bound to decisions I had made at a different time in my life. 

If anyone can take anything from this, then let it be that Clearing is for everyone.