CLEARING 2018 SET TO BREAK ALL RECORDS

• A-level results day is today THURSDAY, AUGUST 16
• Record 17,538 students expected to secure places through clearing

London, 16th August – A record 17,538 students are expected to secure places in the first major phase of clearing this week after traditional applications slumped by nearly 13,000, analysis by the Fashion Retail Academy shows.

The number of students going through clearing has been climbing steadily in recent years.

This year, the number of students making conventional applications for university courses slumped 2%,  dropping from 649,700 to 636,960, according to UCAS.¹

The number of applicants applying this way by the end of June has been decreasing for the last three years. In 2017 there was a 3.7% drop.

These falls can help to store up demand for clearing.

The day after A-level results were released last year, 14,800 people had been accepted through clearing, a rise of 4.6% from 2016. This was made up of 11,180 people given places after applying through the main UCAS scheme and 3,620 people who applied directly through clearing after the main application deadline date.²

With average annual rises of more than 18% over the past five years², the number of places secured through clearing immediately after A Level results day could reach a record total of 17,538 if this trend continues this week. A-level results have been released today Thursday, August 16.¹

The number of people placed through clearing within 24 hours of results has nearly doubled in four years, rising from 7,970 in 2013.²

With universities becoming more attuned to clearing and more students using the process, top universities have taken to actively advertising courses that students can apply to through clearing.

Lee Lucas, principal and CEO of the Fashion Retail Academy, comments:

“If the number of students going to university is relatively flat and fewer are applying early then clearing becomes an increasingly important part of the application process.

“Clearing used to be seen as a path for rejected students who didn’t get the results they wanted.

“All that has changed now. The stigma is gone and many students use clearing because they have had second thoughts about their chosen subject or vocation. Tuition fees are helping to focus minds on whether courses are good quality and value for money, causing many to opt for more career-focused training at the last minute.”