Carl Griffiths discussing university admissions with parents

As part of our Parents and Carers Seminar Series, we welcomed over 100 parents and carers from the local area to our Falmer Campus to find out what happens next with their student’s applications to University.

There were many interesting questions and discussions throughout the evening, particularly about results day and clearing, so we thought it would be helpful to share our answers with you below:

Q. If you are not accepted on your firm choice are you automatically accepted on your insurance choice, are you then committed to that university?

You will only be accepted onto your insurance choice if you meet the conditions of your insurance offer. However, if you no longer wish to go to your insurance choice University, you can decline that place and UCAS will issue a clearing number.

It is important to remember that you cannot officially be in clearing whilst you are holding an offer. You will need to ask to be released from the place you are holding to accept another place.

You can however, shop around first and see if there are universities that will make you an offer before you ask to be released, or you could find yourself without a place at any university.

Take time before you make any decisions!

Q. Does everything in clearing and confirmation happen in one day?

No, clearing opens from 1st July when you can contact universities if you already have your results – some qualifications results, for example BTEC, are released prior to the main clearing period. If you already have your results, you can contact us on 01273 644644 to discuss clearing options.

The main clearing phone lines open on A Level results day each year. This years it’s on Thursday 17th August; our clearing line will be 01273 644000.

Clearing will run for as long as places remain available, the number of places will steadily decline as time goes on, so make sure you have thought about your options once you’ve received your results and start calling around.

Q. Is clearing open at the weekend?

Universities will have varied clearing opening hours. These will be displayed on their websites. Many will open for calls on Saturday and a handful on Sunday.

Q. If you receive a verbal offer can you accept it over the phone? 

No, offers must be accepted through UCAS track. You will usually receive an email confirmation and your UCAS track account will be updated once the University has added your offer on to UCAS. This may take a bit of time, but this allows you time to consider your options carefully, before accepting on UCAS track.

Q. If you are made a verbal offer are you guaranteed to get your place? 

An offer of a place is guaranteed if you accept the offer within the conditions. A common condition is that you accept the offer within a certain time frame. If you are unable to meet the conditions, for instance, another university hasn’t released you, contact the university that you have the offer with to advise them and they may be able to extend the time frame.

Q. How many offers can you have in clearing? 

You can speak to and receive offers from as many universities as you like, however, you can only accept one offer on UCAS track.

Q. Are universities under obligation to release you from your place? 

If you have requested to be released, universities must honour this, however the timescale in which this is done varies. There is often a delay between asking to be released and it showing on UCAS track as universities are processing a high volume of requests during the clearing period. If you haven’t been released after 24 hours, you can contact the university again.

Q. If I have met my offer, how late is it possible to ask to defer my entry?

It is important to note that this will vary considerably between courses and universities. You are able to ask to defer at any point before enrolment, but you may be asked to re-apply for the entry year in some circumstances.

The university you are holding an offer with may wish to know why you want to defer and are under no obligation to offer a deferred place. Deferred offers are considered on an individual basis and some institutions will happily offer you deferred entry, but this depends on a variety of factors, therefore, it’s best to contact the university to explore your options.

For more information on clearing, go to the UCAS website which explains the application and clearing process in more detail.

Keep an eye out for future Parents and Carers Seminars on our events page here