Guide to applying

*Dates for 2024 Clearing coming soon!

Clearing is a period where universities fill the remaining places on their courses. It is an opportunity for people to apply late into the summer months to start university in September. 

Applying through Clearing is ideal for those who have not been offered a place at their chosen universities, or are simply considering options outside of their original university selection. Clearing is a popular option for prospective students who have reconsidered course and career paths since their initial university applications.

You can apply through Clearing if:

• you’re applying on and after 5 July 2024
• you've previously applied but didn’t receive any offers (or none you wanted to accept) on UCAS
• you've previously applied but didn’t meet the conditions of your offers
• you’ve declined your firm place using the ‘decline my place’ button in UCAS Hub

Some of our courses, such as part-time routes and postgraduate courses, do not require you to apply through UCAS and adhere to the guidelines set by UCAS. However, we continue to recruit to these and you can either apply directly through our website or contact us through our Clearing channels.

Clearing opens on 5 July 2024 and ends in late September. You can contact us here at the University of Wolverhampton by requesting a call to discuss applying through Clearing.

If you are currently studying for a Level 3 qualification, such as A-levels, you will likely receive your results on results day, which will be 15th August 2024. Once you have your results, you can call our university Clearing hotline. We offer extended phone line hours on results day, where you can contact us if your results are not as expected.

If you already have the results of your qualifications, you can contact us from 5 July.

If you have an offer at another university (conditional or unconditional) but you have changed your mind and would like to apply to us through Clearing, you can decline your place under UCAS Hub. We advise that you contact us regarding an informal offer before you do this.

Clearing is available to anyone who has applied to universities through UCAS Undergraduate but has not received any offers or any that they wish to accept, it is also available to anyone who has not yet applied.

If you apply to us after 5 July (the last standard UCAS application deadline date) for an undergraduate course you will apply through Clearing. 

If you have applied to us before 5 July but have not received any offers, then your UCAS Hub account will tell you if you are eligible for Clearing.

Our list of available courses in Clearing will be published on our website and via the UCAS Clearing+ tool from 5 July. The University of Wolverhampton Clearing hotline will open on 5 July, where you’ll be able to find out the full details about available courses.

All other courses such as part-time or postgraduate courses will be listed and available via our course pages across our website. You can use our handy course finder to look for these.

In some cases, universities may lower entry requirements during the Clearing process to fill available spaces on their courses. However, this is not a guarantee and it can vary depending on a range of factors such as the popularity of the course, the number of places available, and the number of students who have met or exceeded the entry requirements.

If you are applying for student finance for the first time, and you live in England, you will need to apply through the Student Loans Company via Student Finance England as soon as possible for a student loan to help cover tuition fees and living expenses. The initial deadline will have passed but your application will still be processed.

If you already applied for student finance, but have changed your course and/or University through Clearing, you will need to advise the Student Loans Company as soon as you have confirmed your choice.  It is important that the correct University and course are showing on your account. Details on how to make any changes can be found at Student Finance: how to apply: Change an application - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

If you live in Wales then applications for funding are made through Student Finance Wales at www.studentfinancewales.co.uk, for Northern Ireland go to Student Finance NI at www.studentfinanceni.co.uk and for Scotland the Student Awards Agency Scotland website is www.saas.gov.uk.   

If you are having any issues applying for funding, or making changes to your application, then contact the Gateway Team for advice www.wlv.ac.uk/gateway.

If you don’t get the results you expected, then Clearing could be a perfect option for you! Don’t worry – there are many other people who are in the same situation.

You’ll speak to a trained operator who will let you know if the course you're interested in still has places available.

If it does, the operator will help you apply, or put you in touch with someone from the right department who can give you more information.

If the course isn’t available, or if you don’t meet the entry criteria, the operator may recommend an alternative course, or the course you originally wanted plus a foundation year.

Not at all. The Clearing period is a very busy time for universities across the country, and if you don’t get through to an advisor immediately, you’ll need to be patient while you wait. Don’t worry – it will be well worth your time, once you’ve signed up to your life-changing course!

Being positive and deciding which courses you are interested in is a great start. If you make a list of universities, courses, and contact details, you’ll be ready to start calling as soon as the time comes.

Please be patient. We know Clearing is a busy, exciting, nerve-wracking time for students.  If you can’t contact us by phone, you can also contact us by social media or live chat.  

We want to reassure you and provide the great, award-winning service you deserve. Sometimes our communication channels can be very busy. We’d love to speak to every enquirer straight away, but if the phone line is busy we ask that you keep trying. 

Yes, mature students (age 21 and above) can apply to university through Clearing. 

You can apply for Clearing if you are not a UK resident. Clearing is open to EU and international students - to learn more, you can contact the University of Wolverhampton’s Global Opportunities Office.

Yes. You can release yourself from any offer you already have in your UCAS Hub.  

You can only put one Clearing offer into UCAS Hub at a time, but if the university doesn’t confirm your place, you can add another instead. 

You’ll want to call the universities to ask them to confirm the status of your application.  

Go to the welcome page and Your Choices section of UCAS Hub. If you are eligible for Clearing, your Clearing number will appear there. 

If you are eligible for Clearing and you have been given a Clearing offer that you want to accept, sign in to your UCAS Hub, go to ‘Next Steps’, and fill in the option where you are offered to ‘Add a Clearing Choice.’ 

A Clearing offer will be open for as long as there are places left available on the course, or until the Clearing period ends. Places are offered on a first come, first served basis.  

No, you’ll start your course on the same date as the other students. 

If you haven’t yet applied through UCAS you can apply through Clearing, It’s best that you contact us and we’ll confirm further information on the application process. 

You won’t be able to officially apply for a course through Clearing if you’re holding an offer with another university. In order to apply for a course through Clearing you will need to decline your offer via your UCAS Hub. 

Please do bear with us. Clearing is very busy time for our Admissions team. You can be assured that we’re processing applications as quickly as possible and therefore as long as you’ve provided all the conditions required for your chosen course, your offer will be updated asap. 

If your new course is open in Clearing and you meet the requirements then please contact Admissions via a help call using the e:Vision portal. You will need to state your student ID number (7 digits), the course you’re currently holding an offer on, and the new course you’d like to be considered for. 

Your verbal Clearing offer will be valid up to 48 hours after receiving it. Your verbal offer will be subject to you officially applying to the University (either via UCAS Hub or Direct).

Once you've applied,  you will need to meet certain conditions on your verbal Clearing offer in order to be able to receive an official offer from us. You will be notified by our Admissions team on next steps with your application and any conditions you need to meet. 

You will need to ensure that you meet deadline dates for certain conditions in order to be abel to start the course on time. This includes...

1. Interviews: For some of our courses you will be required to sit an interview to be able to receive an official offer from us. You will be invited to book your interview via your e;Vision account (details of which will be sent to you). 
2. Provide evidence of your qualifications, including Level 2 (where required). You will need to upload evidence of your qualifications to your e;Vision account (details of which will be provided). 
3. Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and Occupational Health checks: Due to the professional nature of some of our courses you may also be required to complete a Declaration of Health and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check.  We will coordinate both of these non-academic conditions with you should your course require this and you receive an offer from us.

There will be no cost for the DBS this is free to applicants who have secured an offer and have chosen to study at the University of Wolverhampton.

You can still apply for accommodation at the University of Wolverhampton. Once you have applied you will find out if there is space available.

Be proactive, and do some research as soon as you receive your offer – or even before. 

Visit our Accommodation page to learn more.  

You can still apply for Student Finance if you’ve applied for a course through Clearing. Most students can apply online and this is usually the quickest way. If you need to call your relevant Student Finance organisation make sure that you have all paperwork and identification to hand as it will help speed up the process. 

England: 0300 100 0607 / www.gov.uk/student-finance 
Scotland: 0300 555 0505 / www.saas.gov.uk 
Wales: 0300 200 4050 / www.studentfinancewales.co.uk 
Northern Ireland: 0300 100 0077 / www.studentfinanceni.co.uk 

If you’ve applied for Student Finance already, you must let them know if you have changed courses, your fees have changed, or if you have changed institutions. You can log in to your Student Finance account to make these changes. If you already applied for student finance, but have changed your course and/or University through Clearing, you will need to advise the Student Loans Company as soon as you have confirmed your choice.  It is important that the correct University and course are showing on your account. Details on how to make any changes can be found at Student Finance: how to apply: Change an application - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

We will let the relevant student finance organisation know that you have confirmed your enrolment which will then trigger your first payment once you have enrolled and the term has started.