Universities are offering cut-price courses, cash handouts, and free laptops in a bid to entice a higher number of UK students ahead of this year’s clearing scramble.
It comes amid mounting financial pressure across the higher education sector, with several universities axing courses, closing departments, and making widespread staff redundancies in a battle to stay solvent.
While the clearing rush is a well-trodden process, with incentives like scholarships or bursaries commonly offered to fill spaces, this year’s race is set to be a “buyer’s market” for students getting their A-level results, higher education experts have said.
Thousands of students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will open A-level, T-level, Btec and other level-three results on Thursday. Students in Scotland received their Highers results this week.
One Vice-Chancellor told The i Paper that some courses could be overfilled this year to ensure universities have enough income to stay afloat, as higher-paying international students shun the UK in part due to Government measures to reduce net migration.
Even some of the most prestigious universities are expected to offer courses in clearing for lower-than-expected grades this year, according to Nick Hillman, the director of the Higher Education Policy Institute think-tank.
He said that when clearing opened in July, there were “very attractive sounding places at pretty prestigious Russell Group universities available at lower than expected Ucas entry tariff points”.
“Universities want to be big and successful institutions. They don’t want to be closing courses and making staff redundant. But if you can’t fill your course, that’s where you end up,” Hillman added.
He said that a poor performance at clearing could make it “more likely that a university could go bust”, following the Office for Students’ (OfS) prediction that 72 per cent of higher education providers in England could be in deficit by 2025-26.
“If you can’t fill the places, your courses aren’t viable. You have to make staff redundant, and in one or two instances, you have to go and talk to the banks to whom you owe money. Life gets harder,” Hillman said.
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) warned that there could be “slightly fewer” courses in clearing on results day compared to last year because a record number of offers have been made already.
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But a spokesperson said there will still be “plenty of choice”, with around 27,000 courses available via clearing. The system works by matching students without a university place with institutions looking to fill gaps.
Professor David Maguire, vice-chancellor at the University of East Anglia (UEA), said it is a “good time to be an applicant to universities in the UK”.
While the financial situation at UEA is “fairly stable”, universities across the country have been “struggling financially” due to the Government freezing the cap on tuition fees since 2017, despite inflation rising, he said. The fee cap is set to increase in September 2025, rising by 3.1 per cent from £9,250 to £9,535 per year.
“Universities are quite keen to fill all their places,” Maguire said. “Universities will fill up to the limit, or in one or two cases, perhaps slightly beyond, to ensure that they’ve got sufficient students with sufficient revenues to maintain their business plans.”
At the time of writing, the University of Kent was offering undergraduate courses in subjects including Accounting and Finance BSc and Biochemistry BSc at reduced grades via clearing.
The Accounting and Finance course, which usually requires ABB grades at A-level, was being offered to students with BCC grades through clearing. The usual entry requirements of BBB for Biochemistry had been dropped to BCC via clearing.
The university has been in a regular cycle of cuts to staff, courses, and restructures, which it says is in response to a sector-wide fall in international recruitment across the UK, leading to greater competition from home students.
Cardiff University was also offering knock-down grades via clearing at the time of writing, with students wishing to study Nursing requiring a minimum of BCC at A level, rather than the usual entry requirements of BBC.
The university has also faced financial difficulties, with initial proposals to cut 400 jobs and close some subject areas, including music, modern languages, and nursing.
Bosses later backtracked on the plans after the University College Union (UCU) claimed the process led to a “severe and urgent mental health crisis” among staff.
Cardiff University has offered knock-down grades in clearing following financial troubles (Photo: Judith Williams/Getty/iStock Editorial)Other universities have attempted to entice students with cash handouts and freebies.
UK students choosing to study at the University of Northampton are entitled to a free laptop or a discount on accommodation.
The University of East London (UEL) is offering a £500 “clearing support package” to students who accept their place via clearing and enrol in September.
Stefanie Walton, director of student recruitment & admissions at UEL, said the university recognises the “financial realities many students face” and the support package is to “ease the transition into university life”.
Universities ‘very keen’ to take on UK students
Professor Lee Elliot Major, a professor of social mobility at Exeter University, said institutions are increasingly offering financial incentives, but urged students to focus on the education provided when choosing where to go.
“You’ve got to assess some of these incentives and just make sure that you’re making your decisions for educational region reasons as well as financial ones,” he said.
Professor Major also said this year’s clearing is likely to be a “buyer’s market”, meaning students are “more empowered to make choices” due to the dire financial situation across the sector.
He said: “Many universities, including those very selective institutions, are all looking for more home students just to fill their degree places. And the reason for that is financial.
“There has been a lot of volatility around international students, and tuition fees are essentially frozen. Universities are in a really hard place, so they are very keen to take on home student numbers.”
Universities UK echoed this, saying it is a “fantastic year to be an applicant”, with Ucas data showing a record 94.5 per cent of applicants who applied by the January deadline already having received at least one offer.
A spokesperson said: “We expect that everyone with the potential to succeed should find a place at a university this year, whether they get their first choice or decide to explore courses available in clearing.”
Ucas said universities and colleges have responded to this high level of demand by making “a record number of offers” – over 2 million – meaning more students are going into results day having received at least one offer than ever before.
“When offer-making is high, this typically translates into more acceptances, meaning there may be slightly fewer courses in clearing come results day compared to last year,” a Ucas spokesperson said.
This year has also seen a record number of 18-year-olds from the UK applying to university, rising to 328,390.
However, because the total number of 18-year-olds in the UK has also grown, those applicants make up a slightly smaller proportion of the total 18-year-old population than last year (41.2 per cent).
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