What I have leanrt about UCAS and Clearing this week.

Like thousands of other parents in the land we have been through the excitement of A Level results this week. What I have not experienced before was the process of Clearing and Adjustment. Adjustment is when the grades are better than the predicted grades which mean the candidate can enter Adjustment to adjust their university or course. We were encouraged therefore to phone around universities and effectively apply over the phone for courses. For us, this was a very positive experience. The UCAS Clearing web site was helpful but speaking to the universities directly was very helpful. So helpful in fact that by the end of a busy day my daughter had 5 offers and one university even offering a first year scholarship - paying the full £9k! Clearing and Adjustment are open until 31st August. For me the big lesson is: there is real room for manoeuvre after results come out.