Getting ready for Clearing and Results Day

By:: University of Bradford
Published: 31 July 2024
Tagged under:: Clearing; Parents and carers

Help your young person get ready for Results Day and applying through Clearing.

A student standing in front of an ornate stone wall and looking at the camera

Applying through Clearing, especially on Results Day, can become a whirlwind of possibilities for your young person.

We will walk you through the best ways to support them as they prepare to apply, go through the actual application process, and secure their place.

Your encouragement and support will be crucial to your young person, but when it comes time for them to make their application, they must be the one to speak to our advisors and apply.

There are some situations where you may be able to speak to someone on their behalf, but your young person must also be there to provide consent.

Advanced prep

Your young person can get ahead of the game by researching and deciding which courses they would like to apply for through Clearing.

When choosing courses, encourage them to do as much research as possible about each course and university, including the campus and the city, so they are ready to make an informed decision quickly on Results Day.

Our Clearing Tips page is filled with suggestions to help your young person get organised and prepared.

If they are still not sure what course they'd like to take, our blog post, Helping your young person choose a course and university, can help you discuss and share ideas together.

Explore available courses

Our Courses in Clearing page will be updated regularly to reflect which courses are still available through Clearing.

Once a course is full, it will be removed from the list. However, courses can sometimes come back into Clearing if places open up from other students with firm offers who don’t get the grades they needed.

We suggest your young person check our list of available courses regularly and often to make sure the course they are interested in is still in Clearing before they apply.

Get interview ready

Some of our courses may require an interview with an academic – make sure your young person is ready to interview for a place. They can learn more about interview hints and tips and specific interview details on our Selection and Interview page. Although this information is geared towards the main application cycle, it will also be useful for anyone applying through Clearing. They should also have a copy of their personal statement to hand.

Due to the nature of Clearing, any interviews that are scheduled may take place quite quickly.

Have details to hand

Ensure your young person has their:

UCAS personal ID number
contact details (address, phone number and email address)
details of their qualifications or results

Our Checklist for Clearing blog post will list everything your young person will need to get organised.

A person is sitting in front of a computer monitor wearing a phone headset and smiling

Results Day - time to apply

Once your young person has their results they can contact us to find out if we can offer them a place. There are two ways they can do this; either by phoning our Clearing helpline or applying online.

Phone our Clearing helpline

If your young person would like to ask questions and get advice when they apply, we recommend calling our Clearing helpline, 0808 196 9129, open Monday to Friday, 09:00 – 17:00 (BST). They will speak directly to someone on our team of advisors who will take their details and let them know if there is a place available on the course they’re interested in.

Remember, if your young person is calling on Results Day, especially in the morning, they may end up waiting in a queue before speaking to someone. They may also speak to more than one person during their call. Our opening hours will be extended around Results Day so be sure to check our Clearing home page for more details.

When making an application, your young person will be provided with a unique Clearing number. We suggest they make note of this number in case they need to call back. They will get a unique Clearing number for each course they apply for.

After they provide their results during this phone call, our team member may be able to make your young person an offer on the spot. In some case their application may be forwarded to our Admissions Team for review and they will get in touch by email.

This first phone call will also be when they will find out if they will have an interview with an academic.

Apply online

If your young person doesn't need any advice or have any questions, they can use our online application form. This is sometimes referred to as our ‘self-apply’ form. If we make them an offer, they will receive a confirmation email with next steps.

New applicants

If your young person hasn't applied to study at any universities yet, but they would like to study this September, they can also apply directly to us online or by calling our Clearing helpline, 0808 196 9129. Visit our new to applying page for more information.

Accept an offer

If your young person is accepting a new offer, they will need to decline their current firm choice in UCAS Hub. They should only do this once they can replace it with their new offer.

How we can help

Talk to us

We are here to support your young person to choose the right course and university for them. They can phone our Clearing helpline, 0808 196 9129, to ask questions and get advice, even if they do not have their results yet. We can discuss their application and plan b options, give them access to academics and student ambassadors, and help them through Clearing.

Remember, we must speak to them directly. If you would like to speak on their behalf, your young person must be there to provide consent.

Clearing Open Day

If your young person would like to visit us or does not find a course on Results Day, we suggest they attend our Clearing Open Day. It takes place on Saturday 17 August from 09:15 - 14:45, two days after Results Day.

It's a great opportunity to visit our campus. They can learn more about the courses they are interested in by attending faculty talks and speaking to academics and student ambassadors. They can also tour our campus, ask our support services team questions, and get to know the university and city of Bradford.