FAQ

Clearing is how universities fill any places they have left on their courses for their upcoming September intake.

During the Clearing window, applicants can apply for a course through Clearing if they are not already holding an offer from a university or college, and the course still has places available.

Clearing opens on the 5 July 2024 and closes for us on the 21 September 2024. The final deadline everywhere else is 21 October 2024.

Students who are hoping to come through Clearing will need to have the following things to hand when they call the clearing hotline on 0800 009 3375 or speak to us on Live Chat:

• UCAS ID number.
• GCSE Grades (will require GCSE English Language grade C or 4 for all courses, and Maths grade C or 4 only for Business, Policing, or Criminology).
• A-Level or equivalent results.

If you’re not sure whether you have the grades for your chosen course, call us anyway so we can look into your personal circumstances and see if there’s anything we can do to help you.

Top tip – when getting your information ready, bullet point your personal statement so you can introduce yourself easily on the call.

If you are applying for the first time, you’ll need to register via UCAS and make a full application including your personal statement. When you submit your application, you’ll receive a welcome email to access your UCAS Hub, where you will find your Clearing number. That’s when you can access Clearing’s services, including searching ‘my course subject’ or ‘location’.

If you’re eligible for Clearing, your Clearing number will show under ‘application status’ in your application on the UCAS hub.

You can use Clearing if you meet any of the following criteria:

• You’re applying for the first time after the 30 June 2024.
• You didn't receive an offer when applying in the first UCAS cycle.
• You received offers, but none that you wanted to accept.
• You have exceeded your predicted grades and want to change your university or subject choice.
• You've changed your mind and declined your firm offer.
• You didn't meet the grades of your conditional offer.

There is no additional cost for Clearing, but for your 2024 application, you will pay a one-off application fee of £27.50.

Whilst you can only enter one Clearing choice at a time, if a university doesn’t confirm your place, you can add another.

It is so simple to go through Clearing. Just check out our Clearing guide for a step-by-step run through about the Clearing process from start to finish. You can only enter one Clearing choice at a time, but if a university doesn’t confirm your place, you can add another.

First of all, keep calm. If you didn't achieve the grades you were expecting, or didn’t meet the advertised grades on our website, call our Clearing hotline on 0800 009 3375. One of our friendly advisors can review your final grades with you, discuss any course options available and any next steps.

Due to the Data Protection Act, if anyone else calls on your behalf, we can only give them general information about Clearing - we can’t discuss your application with them. However, don’t be nervous about calling us - we’re here to help you, and you can always have someone with you for support when you call us.

Log in to your UCAS hub and if your status reads 'You are in Clearing' or 'Clearing has started' then you are in Clearing. This is also where you’ll find your Clearing number.

We usually advise that you apply via Clearing for the current year entry and then tell us that you are looking to defer - then we can go about arranging an alternative start date.

You don’t have to accept your first offer- make sure you have done your research and know it is the right choice for you.

Unfortunately not. The competition for Clearing places can be intense. Don’t assume a place offered through Clearing is not in demand. There are lots of reasons a place might still be open.

You might not need to come through Clearing, even if your grades were lower than expected. Check via UCAS Hub first.

Put together a list of universities you’re interested in attending and their Clearing contact details, this way you’ll be ready when the phone lines open. Head into Clearing with a positive attitude and don’t be nervous speaking to people on the phone, or to sell yourself. This is your opportunity to explain why your chosen university would be better with you in it.

The UCAS website’s search function is comprehensive, giving you access to information and advice; you can access this search tool from the UCAS homepage. You can sign onto the site, save your searches and shortlist your favourite courses, as well as naming those searches to save time when logging back in to continue looking for that dream course.

However, if you were unsuccessful with your university application or are applying for the first time for a place through Clearing, you can also use UCAS Clearing Plus. Through Clearing Plus, UCAS will look at your original course choices, alongside your qualifications and grades and compare them to the courses available. Their team then matches your profile to the courses that could be perfect for you.

When preparing to come through Clearing, it is important to be proactive but to also remember to not rush into anything. Doing your research is essential. Find out as much relevant information as possible about all our campuses and courses so you make the best decision for your future career.

Have your UCAS number ready and make a note of the phone numbers you will need once you have your results. It may feel a bit overwhelming on the day, so if you can have everything in front of you ahead of time, it will make all the difference.

Even if you join us through Clearing, we will provide support to help you find suitable accommodation near your chosen campus ensuring you have a safe, comfortable place to live while you’re studying at The University of Law. Our team will also support you by providing useful information about the area, advice on private accommodation and you will have access to StudentPad which allows you to search for the perfect student accommodation in your chosen area.

If you’ve already gone through the Student Finance process, then you need to let them know of your change in circumstances when you go through Clearing. They’ll assess your application and inform you of any changes as quickly as they can.

If you haven’t applied for student finance yet, and would like to, you need to do so as soon as possible.

Applications take six weeks to be processed, so you might not get all your money straight away, but Student Finance will endeavour to provide initial funding as close to your course start date as possible.

You can get more information on Student Finance here.

We would love to see you and we're always running Open Days and site visits; these are a great way to find out more about each of our programmes and give you a feel for what it’s like to study with us.

We have two Clearing Open Day events taking place on Friday 16 August that you can attend either face-to-face at our London Bloomsbury campus or virtually.

However, if you’d like to arrange a visit, either face-to-face or virtually, on a different date, please see our upcoming events.

Absolutely, you will be able to apply through Clearing - just give us a call on 0800 009 3375. You will then need to fill out a UCAS late application form which can be found on the UCAS Clearing website.

Yes, you can still apply via Clearing if you didn't make an original application on UCAS. Call our Clearing hotline on 0800 009 3375 to apply.

If you accept a Clearing offer but no longer wish to take that offer up, you can either self-release on the UCAS Hub, or get in contact directly with the university you hold the place with. They will then be able to release you back into Clearing so you have the flexibility to accept a new offer via the UCAS Hub.

We recommend you first discuss this with the university involved. If you still wish to decline your firm and insurance choices, you can release yourself into Clearing via UCAS Hub. Once your status has changed and you are in receipt of a clearing offer, you will be able to add a Clearing choice.

Yes, as long as you have already applied to universities through UCAS.

If you can't sit an IELTS exam, there are alternative English Language exams available to you. You can view our undergrauate entry requirement to see what other qualifications we accept.

If you hold a Clearing offer with us, you may also be eligible to sit our internal English Language exam called the ULET.

Please note, you will need to have taken an acceptable English Language exam and had your results back prior to the course start date.

You won’t need to wait for your exam results, so you can search and apply for courses as soon as Clearing opens in July.

Technically, yes. However, if you think you may need to apply through Clearing, we recommend that it's a time to be at home, use the phone and get that university place.

Yes, you can still apply to us through Clearing once it opens.

You can change your first choice, but you’ll have to contact the university currently offering you a place before accepting any offer that we may make you.

Once you've received your results, call our Clearing hotline on 0800 009 3375 and apply with one of our friendly advisors. On the call, they will review your achieved grades, discuss any course options available for you and talk you through the next steps.

If you meet the advertised grades for the course, you can also add us as a choice on your UCAS hub.

You will be able to view a full Clearing vacancy list on the UCAS website. Keep an eye on this list as places will be added as they become available.

After calling our Clearing hotline (0800 009 3375), if we’ve made you a verbal offer, you will need to add the course as your Clearing option in the ‘Your Choices’ section on the UCAS Hub. You’ll be able to do this using the details we provide you.

Entry requirements are available on our individual course pages. However, if you don’t meet these requirements and you would like to study one of our courses, call our Clearing hotline on 0800 009 3375 to see how we can assist you. We will do all we can to help you and offer plenty of options to help students continue their education.

Our phone lines can get busy but please keep trying. We've got lots of friendly advisors ready to take your call when you get through.

We’ll likely give you an informal offer if you meet our requirements during the call we have with you, and we aim to process your Clearing application within 24 hours. You’ll then need to complete the rest of the process on the UCAS Hub.

The Admissions team will need to verify your qualifications, so we might contact you and ask you to provide these if we didn’t receive them directly from UCAS. We recommend that you get these to us at [email protected] as soon as possible so your place can be secured.

If you’ve already been approved to receive a loan from Student Finance, then you can still use that loan for your degree. However, you’ll need to let Student Finance know about the change of university. Read our Clearing Checklist to find out more about financing your degree.

We don’t have halls of residence at our campuses, but we have plenty of accommodation options available through our agreed agents.

We will review your application and providing you’ve met all the requirements of your offer then we’ll confirm your place.

Sometimes this is possible, call our Clearing hotline (0800 009 3375) to discuss your situation and we will let you know.

Self-release allows you to take yourself off your original UCAS choices and enter Clearing. Before, you had to contact your chosen university or college and wait to be released into Clearing, however applicants can now do this themselves.

A conditional offer is an offer from a university that is dependent on what grades you get. These offers show the conditions you’ll need to meet to confirm your place. For most people, this means waiting for Results Day in summer to see if your exam results meet the conditions.

Confirmation of university and college places usually happens after students have received their results in the summer.

A firm choice is another way to say your first choice – the place you most want to go to. If you accept a conditional offer and meet the conditions, you’ll have a confirmed place here.

An insurance choice is the choice you’d want if you didn't meet the conditions of your firm choice. If this is a conditional offer, you’d need to meet the conditions for your place to be confirmed.

UCAS Extra is another chance for you to gain a place at university or college. Signing on to Extra means that you can continue applying for courses in the next academic year, even if you’ve already used up your original five choices – as long as you applied through UCAS, and you’re not holding any offers or waiting for a decision on any of your initial five applications. If you still don’t have any offers when Extra closes, don’t panic because you can apply for a place at university through Clearing. Further information about UCAS Extra can be found here.

Clearing Plus is only available if you’re unsuccessful with your application or are applying for the first time through Clearing. You’ll be able to ‘view your matches’ in your UCAS Hub.

You might receive an informal offer over the phone from one of our advisors when you call to apply. Once you add this as your choice via UCAS and it has been processed, it becomes a confirmed offer.

Deferral, or deferred entry, means applying for a course and then taking a year out before starting it.