Clearing FAQs

Many people believe that Clearing begins on A-Level results day. However, it starts on Saturday, 5 July 2025 and continues until October. We will feature our Clearing vacancies on our website, giving you plenty of time to plan and research potential courses of interest.

You can start your Clearing application on Saturday, 5 July 2025.

Step 1: choose a course of your interest or go to UCAS.com (if you’re in Clearing your status on UCAS Account will reflect this).

Step 2: complete an online application form to get a provisional offer (remember that you’ll need your UCAS Personal ID number and all your exam results to hand).

Step 3: we’ll look at your qualifications and let you know if we are able to make you a provisional offer.

Step 4: if we are able to make you an offer you’ll need to add us your Clearing choice on UCAS to accept your offer (we’ll let you know how to do this).

Clearing is not just for A level students. It’s for BTEC, IB, Access, mature, international students, and other students too.

You can apply from Saturday, 5 July 2025, if you declined all your previous offers, you have an offer but changed your mind or you haven’t met the conditions of the offer you hold for another university. You can also apply to Brunel through Clearing if you have not made any applications for the 2025/26 academic year or you’ve achieved higher grades than you expected.

Once Clearing has opened you can add your Clearing offer by following these steps:

1. Select 'Add Clearing choice' on your UCAS Account page.
2. Fill out the course and university details in this section by the deadline date provided in your provisional offer email sent by selected university.
3. Your selected university will then confirm your application and send you a confirmation offer email. Please note turn around times on this email can differ.
4. You'll then receive a confirmation UCAS email confirming your new Clearing choice.

If you don’t have the option to add a Clearing choice on your UCAS account, this maybe because you aren’t in Clearing yet on UCAS. This might be because you hold an offer at another university still or need to make a decision on another university offer. If you want to add a Clearing choice on UCAS, you will need to decline any offers you are still holding first. We advise you to get some advice from your school or college advisors or from UCAS if you are unsure about declining your current offer.

It isn’t too late to change your mind, as long as the course that you’re interested in is available in Clearing. After exploring, please contact the Admissions team to discuss your options.

Browse our Clearing courses on our website and choose one or more courses you are interested in. After exploring, please contact the Admissions team and they will be able to review and amend your current offer if you're eligible. You will not need to apply to us again through Clearing.

Browse our Clearing courses on our website and choose one or more courses you are interested in. After exploring, please contact the Admissions team and they will be able to review and amend your current offer if you're eligible. You will not need to apply to us again through Clearing.

1. You will receive email confirmation of your provisional offer from us.
2. Refer yourself to us on your UCAS Account (you do not need to wait for this email before referring yourself on your UCAS Account). Under 'Add a Clearing Choice’, select Brunel B84 and the course you have been offered (please note at this stage, you will not see the provisional offer from Brunel on UCAS). You’ll have 24 hours to refer yourself to Brunel after you receive your provisional offer email.
3. Once you have referred yourself to Brunel we will process your application. Please bear in mind that we have lots of applications to process and we need to verify some details when we review your full UCAS application, but we try and get your place confirmed at Brunel as quickly as possible.
4. Once we have confirmed your offer we will update UCAS and you’ll receive your formal offer email from us.
5. You’ll now be able to apply for your accommodation.
6. If you’re applying for Student Finance, please contact your Student Finance team to let them know of your new course details.

If you’re not ready for degree-level study or you don’t have the required qualifications, there are foundation programmes in almost every degree subject.

First of all, take a deep breath and don’t panic! Take a look for other courses you might be interested in. Alternatively, you might be interested in one of our foundation year courses. These have lower entry requirements and when you successfully pass your foundation year you can progress to study for your degree. You can contact us to discuss your options. Make sure you have your UCAS personal ID, your email address and details of your exam results to hand.

Launched by UCAS, this service allows unplaced students (those who don’t currently hold an offer) to see courses they could be ‘matched with’ on their UCAS account. You’ll be matched based on courses you’ve applied for, your qualifications and grades and the universities that have taken your type of application. You can review your list of matched courses on your UCAS account and select the ones you’re interested in. Then the university will contact you directly. Here at Brunel we will contact any ‘matches’ by email or phone if the course you selected is open to Clearing applications. 

Yes. We welcome students to Brunel with BTEC qualifications. To find out more about applying with BTEC qualifications please visit our BTEC information page.

It’s never too late to study. Come to Brunel and you’ll be joining hundreds of other mature students who call Brunel their home. If your application is successful we’re here to help you with the transition back into education. We offer extra support to our mature students through a dedicated Widening Access Officer and dedicated teams at our student services. You can find out more at our information page for mature students.   

If you’ve successfully completed your first year at another university but feel that your current course or university is not the best for you, it is possible to request a transfer to a different course at the same or different university, subject to the availability of places.

Start by checking out our courses and choose one or more courses that you’re interested in. Please also check our Accommodation and Student Finance pages to explore your options.

You’ll need to send in copies of your current university transcripts showing your first year results. If possible, our Admissions team will issue an offer and provide advice about further steps about accepting your offer, registration and arriving to Brunel.

You can apply for second year entry through our online form. Please provide details of your current university, course and first year grades as well as your previous qualifications such as BTECs, IB or A-Levels.

Application for entry to second year for most courses is open until the start of the 2025/26 academic year in October.

At Brunel, we understand that results day can be stressful for parents and guardians too. That's why we'll be publishing our step-by-step Clearing 2025 guide for parents and guardians in late spring.

Clearing can be stressful for students. As a teacher or adviser, you can support your students by encouraging them to explore all their options. If you have any questions, please get in touch with our Schools & Colleges team.