Growing numbers of school-leavers are waiting until they have their grades before applying to university at the last minute, through clearing.
In the past, students typically submitted their applications by the January deadline set by Ucas, the admissions agency. But last year a record 17,520 students applied through clearing instead of using the normal process – an 18% increase on 2016. More appear to be choosing the clearing system as a preference, rather than falling back on it because of disappointing results.
Universities are expecting this route, which opens on A-level results day next Thursday, to be even more popular this year.
“Students are applying later and later every year,” says Helen Bower, assistant marketing director at Northumbria University. “They feel they have more choice so they don’t have to pick a university in the main cycle, they can wait to see what’s in clearing.”
There are currently 30,000 courses with vacancies at a wide range of universities. This year, Cambridge is entering clearing for the first time, with places reserved for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The admissions system is currently under review by the universities watchdog, the Office for Students, and by Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors. This follows unease over the process of using predicted grades, which are unreliable, and concerns about the pressure on students of having to reach target grades.
The University and College Union, the lecturers’ trade union, has called for UK universities to adopt a post-qualifications admissions system, in line with most other countries. Under this system students would all apply to university after obtaining their grades, which would remove the incentive for universities to issue unconditional offers to persuade students to choose their institution.
Matthew Cartwright, 20, is now in his second year of a degree course in computer science with AI at Northumbria University after opting to apply through clearing. He delayed his application because he could not decide what to study. “I didn’t want to take a course and think ‘oh no, this isn’t for me’, and having gone down the process to feel I’d have to stick to it,” he says.
Cartwright liked the fact his options had been narrowed to four in clearing. “It was easier to make the decision. When we were doing the normal process there were so many options,” he says. “I got on a bus having never interacted with Northumbria uni before and got off the bus and they’d offered me the place. It was really simple.”
While clearing was once a second chance for students who had missed their grades, many now use it to apply for the first time or because they’ve changed their mind, or they want to try their luck at a more prestigious university.
To reflect the changing system, for the first time this year Ucas is allowing students to release themselves from their first-choice university, which allows them to shop around for a new institution.
Alyssa Phillips, director of student recruitment at Staffordshire University, says: “The Ucas process is becoming much more flexible. It could mean more students changing their mind over the summer about their first choice university.”
Some universities are seeing more late applications than others. Tony Flaherty, acting head of admissions at the University of Sheffield, a member of the Russell Group, says most applications arrive by the January deadline, with few first-time applications during clearing. “But we do see applicants submitting right up to the main cycle deadline in June,” he says.
This year, Ucas statistics showed an increase in the number of British 18-year-olds applying for university, up 1% on last year to 275,520, despite a 1.9% fall in the overall number of 18-year-olds in the UK. This suggests that university is appealing to a wider pool of school-leavers than ever before.
Robert McGowan, director of admissions and recruitment at Coventry University, says this reflects the changing profile of students looking to enter university. “What they’re asking for and demanding around flexibility and multiple intakes is very different from that traditional model, which is an undergraduate degree starting in September,” he says.
“Universities really need to respond to a changing student, and exactly what the requirements and needs are of different groups. I think that will be one of the most significant things that changes over the next few years.”
Coventry offers multiple start times across the year through its CU Coventry spin-off, and Davies says he has seen growing demand for these. He has also seen a growth in the number of students applying to the university direct, rather than through Ucas.
At London Metropolitan University, 65% of acceptances are from students who waited until the summer to apply. “Clearing is a defunct term because it focuses on people who have missed their grades,” says Gary Davies, its pro vice-chancellor for student recruitment.
“I don’t think the system is particularly good for students. We force specialism in our education system much earlier than in other countries and we also ask them to make a choice of uni 18 months before – that’s a long time for a 16- to 17-year-old in terms of their taste.”