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Your options in Clearing

What’s your situation?

We’ve put together some short guides to help you get to grips with the options open to you after you’ve received your results. We’ll also explain how Clearing works.

Each guide will explain your options and how to secure your place to study with us this September.

Clearing explained

Clearing provides a great opportunity to secure a place on an Edge Hill University programme starting in September, whether you’ve already applied through UCAS or not.

You might find yourself looking for a place in Clearing for a variety of reasons. You may have decided to go to university after the initial UCAS deadline, changed your mind about where to study, or not quite got the grades you needed.

Whatever your circumstances, please contact our Clearing team, ensuring that you have your UCAS Personal ID number and results to hand, and we will be happy to advise you.

From A Level results day on Thursday 17 August 2023, we will be able to provide instant decisions to most enquirers.

Read our additional advice for parents

Student stories

Watch the videos below to see two students, Emma and Teagan, share their stories about choosing Edge Hill in Clearing.

I like to think that I’m quite prepared, so just in case I didn’t make it into my firm choice I did some research before results day. I had already made a note of the Clearing numbers of other universities that I liked and had a plan ready just in case – and I’m so glad I did.

Emma Gerrow

BA (Hons) Sociology

View student profile

My advice for students who find themselves in Clearing is firstly, don’t panic. There are so many people in the same position. Stay true to what you want in a university but also be ready to take on any suggestions. Remember that the process is about finding the best university to suit you, not the misconception of Clearing that it’s just to fill seats. For myself, Clearing was almost like a second chance to pick the right university for me, and I can wholeheartedly say that it paid off.

Eve Davies

BSc (Hons) Biology

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The process for applying was so simple and very easy. There is nothing that I would do differently. Once I had sent my application off to Edge Hill they had responded within an hour. I waited a day to see if any of my other choices responded. The day after results day I accepted my place at Edge Hill and soon after that I received emails about choosing my accommodation and transferring my details.

Libby Childs

BA (Hons) Politics and Criminology

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Before I applied, I thought clearing was for the purpose of just potentially getting a place at university. That there was a slight chance that you would get a place only if there were still places available. It came to be that it took less than a few days from applying for the course to being enrolled on the course, and a day or so after I got a place to live on campus too.

Luke Turner

BSc (Hons) Robotics and Artificial Intelligence

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I think there are misconceptions that you only go through Clearing when you fail your exams, but through my own personal experience, I now know this isn’t the case.

Sadie Hills

BSc (Hons) Child & Adolescent Mental Health & Wellbeing

View student profile

Proof of results

UCAS will notify us directly of most examination results including A and AS levels, Access to HE Diplomas, BTECs, CACHE, International Baccalaureate, Irish Leaving Certificates, OCR, SQA and Welsh Baccalaureate qualifications.

In some cases, however, you may need to send us proof of your results or qualifications if we don’t receive them from UCAS. If this is required we will contact you to request evidence of your results.

If your offer is conditional upon GCSE results, which are published on Thursday 24 August 2023, you will need to send us proof of your grades as soon as you receive them.