Can an international student apply to a UK university during clearing?

If you haven’t already received your offer of a place of study, you missed the grades you required to meet a conditional offer for a course, or if you want to change your study choice, you can apply for a place at a UK university through the UCAS clearing process.

As an international student coming to the UK to study, you should always allow plenty of time for your application to account for obtaining study visas, organizing your accommodation, your proof of funding and making travel arrangements. However, some students may find themselves in circumstances where they need to arrange a place of study at a later stage.

The clearing process is the same for international students as it is for domestic UK students, namely, you can use the clearing process in the following scenarios:

If you have submitted your application for a course after the 30th of June deadline, your application will automatically be entered into the clearing process
If you don’t yet have an offer of a place on a course from a UK university
If you received a conditional offer from a UK university, but didn’t meet the entry requirements for the course
You met the terms of your conditional offer, but have since decided that you would like to apply for a different course

The UK university clearing process is for prospective undergraduate students who do not have an offer of a course. Universities list all of their courses that have vacancies to fill, and you are able to browse this list and enquire about them and submit an application to any of these courses that you are interested in. Ensure that any course that you enquire about is a course that you are genuinely interested in studying.

Often you will be expected to contact the university directly when you have found a course that you are interested in applying for. This will either be by phone, email or online chat. Many extra places become available for clearing on the 17th of August, which is UK results day. This period will be very busy for universities. When you get in touch with the university, you will be able to ascertain whether they are able to offer you an unconditional offer for a place on the course. You may speak to several universities and build a small list of courses that you would like to study. Note that you can only add one clearing choice at a time, so rank any choices that you have in your order of preference.

When you have received an offer of a place on a course that you wish to study, you can provide the university your UCAS ID and your clearing number. The university will then give you permission to add this course in the UCAS Hub as your clearing choice. You will be able to submit just one choice at a time using the UCAS Hub, so make sure that this is a course that you definitely wish to study. As most offers during clearing are unconditional, the university will then usually accept your clearing choice in the UCAS Hub. In the rare event that your choice is rejected by the university, you can then add your next clearing choice.

Remember that you still need to arrange your finances, travel, accommodation, any health insurance and any student/travel visas should you accept an offer.

If the worst should happen and you miss out on a place this time round, don’t give up on your study abroad plans. Take this opportunity to plan and perfect your application for your ideal course for the next academic year and if possible re-sit any examinations if you can to improve your grades.