A-Level Results: 5 top tips for clearing from the University of Bedfordshire

With just days to go until A-Level results day, some students might be starting to get nervous about what happens if they don’t get the grades they wanted.

Some will turn to the clearing process – which matches applicants to available places at universities – to secure a place at a university they hadn’t previously considered.

It’s not just students who haven't secured a spot at their chosen university that will go through clearing either, with some getting better than expected results and deciding they want to head off to university after all, or deciding they want to change their university or degree choice.

David Seaton, the assistant director of recruitment and admissions at the University of Bedfordshire, wants to help break the clearing taboos. He said: “We understand that this can be a scary time for applicants but the most important thing to remember is not to panic – there are still places available at the University of Bedfordshire and we are here to support you every step of the way throughout the process.

"The best thing you can do is look into clearing as early as possible and go in prepared with all the information you need.”

Here are his 5 top tips:

1 Ask questions! Once you start speaking to universities the process can happen very quickly. Make sure you understand everything that’s being said to you and if you don’t, just ask questions.

2 What’s most important to you? Get ahead now and think about the things that are most important to you when choosing a university – do you want to study closer to home or do you have your heart set on living in a city? Is the type of course on offer the most important thing for you? Be clear about what you want out of your university experience as this will help you make decisions and feel comfortable with them.

3 Keep calm, have an open mind and do your research Clearing is a great opportunity to find the course of your dreams and even if you don’t get your first choice of course, there will be others that will be right for you. The university has released a clearing-themed episode of its podcast, Bits of Beds. You can hear from students and alumni who have been through the clearing process themselves, as well as advice from the admissions and student support staff.

4 Have your results to hand Once you have your results, get in touch with your chosen university through clearing as soon as you can. Make sure you have your results, qualifications – including the full qualification name and UCAS ID (if you have one) – and a list of the courses you’re interested in studying in front of you when you contact the admissions team.

5 Think before you switch You might be tempted to use clearing to switch universities after receiving your A-Level results, especially if you got better results than you expected. Be cautious with this – rushing to try your luck at a different institution, when you have a place already secured somewhere else, could be the wrong decision. Candidates are asked to think through why they want to switch.

If you’re interested in applying to a course at the University of Bedfordshire via Clearing, visit this page or call the dedicated clearing hotline on 0300 3300 073.