Applying for Clearing

If you're at school or at a sixth form college in the UK, you should ask your careers adviser or teacher for a clearing application form. It's important to apply via your school or college as each has its own UCAS code number which you'll need to quote. If you have already left school and are applying later - maybe after a few years out - you can get an application form directly from UCAS.

UCAS will send you a Clearing Entry Form (CEF) on which you need to write your clearing entry number (supplied by UCAS) and the UCAS application number of your school or college. It's vital to keep these numbers together as they will be needed when you start to apply for courses. You should also be aware that there are some universities which rarely use the clearing system as their courses are often over-subscribed.

When you've got the forms, talk to your teacher, careers adviser, parents and friends. They can help you think through which of the available courses is best for you. Make a list of the courses and universities that interest you and start to contact them as soon as possible. Contacting them by phone, email or even in person is best, as popular universities will attract many applications and places can be snapped up. Institutions will ask you about your exam results and why you're interested in them and their course: the process is often like a mini-interview often over the phone.

If a university does offer you a place, they'll ask you to send them your CEF. If you've applied to a number of universities, think carefully before you send it off. The first offer you receive may not be the one you want most. But, because your CEF can be considered by only one university at a time, you could find yourself not able to pursue a course you're more interested in if you've already sent your CEF elsewhere. So give it a few days and chase your first-choice university for a reply before sending your form anywhere else.

Once you've accepted a place and confirmed this with the university, the university will inform UCAS, and UCAS will write to you in final confirmation. You will then have committed yourself to that university and can no longer apply elsewhere as your CEF will not be returned to you. This may seem to force you into a big commitment, but the system simply wouldn't work if students confirmed places, only then to change their minds. This is why it's so important to think carefully before you send off your form. If you are offered a place, but decide not to accept, your CEF will be returned so you can apply elsewhere.

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