Clearing guide for parents, guardians and carers

Clearing helps thousands of students every year to find their perfect course and thrive at university and beyond. Help support your young person on results day and prepare for university Clearing with our essential guide.

Understand what Clearing is

Clearing allows students to apply to university later than usual. Clearing for courses starting in September 2024 officially opened on 5 July 2024. This is when universities published courses with spaces available.

There are many reasons students enter Clearing. They may:

have not got the results or offers they were aiming for
choose to apply directly via Clearing as they’ve changed their mind on what and where to study
have achieved better results than they were expecting

Talk about Clearing

Talking about the idea of Clearing positively and reassuringly in the lead up to results day will help make the process calmer for your young person. You could even encourage them to chat to current students to learn more about their experiences with Clearing, and to get an inside view.

Learn about the Clearing process

If your young person enters Clearing, there will be a few steps for them to go through. Building your own understanding of the process before results day will help you give your child the support they need so you can work through the steps of Clearing together.

To help support you, we’ve developed a step-by-step guide to how Clearing works.

Find out what courses are available

Your young person will need their results to make an application in Clearing. It’s a good idea for them research what courses are available before results day. Making a note of the full course title and UCAS code for courses they’re interested in will speed things up when it comes to making Clearing enquiries.

You can find all the courses available in Manchester Met Clearing here. If you have any questions about the course content, our friendly Course Enquiries team will be happy to help.

On results day

Everyone’s experience of results day is unique. Regardless of how your young person is feeling when they receive their results, having the support of friends and family is important.

If things don’t go as planned, focus on providing all the reassurance you can – their perfect course may still be available through Clearing.

Take a moment to find a quiet spot

University courses can fill up quickly in Clearing, but it’s important not to rush into a decision. Try to take a step back and find a quiet spot to chat through next steps and pull together a plan for the day.

Get set up

The best thing you can do is to help your child prepare for the call. Make sure they have their UCAS ID, qualification results, and information about the courses they’re interested in. This is where any preparation you did before results day will really pay off.

Encourage patience

Patience can be key in Clearing, as university phone lines get busy quickly. You may need to hold the line for a short time to speak to the university you’re getting in touch with.

Remember that the most important thing is to find the right course at the right university, so keep calm and be ready to discuss your preferred course options once your call is answered.

University Clearing checklist

UCAS login and ID

Qualification results

A shortlist of universities and courses your child is interested in (note the full course title and UCAS code)

A quiet place with charging points, where they can make calls

A mobile phone

A laptop or other second device, if possible

Chargers for devices

A pen and paper to make notes

Plenty of food and water to keep you going