Clearing may be your chance to find the best university for you if you didn’t quite get the results you were after (Picture: Getty)

Results day for the UK’s A-Level students came and went in August 2022.

But what happens if you didn’t get your first choice university, or changed your mind about where to continue studying?

Clearing is an opportunity for anybody who missed out on their first choice uni or didn’t receive any offers they wanted to accept to find a university that suits them.

It also gives many universities the ability to fill any empty spaces they still have left on courses.

Here is everything you need to know about cleaning.

When does clearing close in 2022?

Clearing for university places in 2022 will close tomorrow (Tuesday, October 18), and has been open since July 5.

You need your UCAS number, clearing number, and personal details when applying for clearing places (Picture: Getty Images)

According to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Services (UCAS), you can use clearing if:

You’re applying after June 30, 2022You didn’t receive any offers or none you wanted to acceptYou didn’t meet the conditions of your offersYou’ve paid the multiple-choice application fee of £26.50You’ve declined your firm place using the ‘decline my place’ button in your application.

How does clearing work?

To apply for clearing, you will need to have your UCAS number, your clearing number, and all personal details to hand.

When you submit a UCAS application for university, you will be sent a welcome email with details about how to access your application and your clearing number.

You’ll know you’re in clearing if your application status says ‘you are in clearing’ or ‘clearing has started’.

Alternatively, you follow the on-screen prompts to decline your firm place, and then these prompts will appear.

Once in clearing, you can use the search tool to look for vacancies at different universities and apply for them.

You can also use the UCAS Clearing Plus tool, which provides you with courses matching your profile on Track.

Before you add a clearing choice in your application, you need to call the uni and give them your clearing number and personal ID.

Once you have permission from the university, you can add a clearing choice to your application to be considered for the vacancy.

More: Universities

This counts as accepting an offer, so if the university confirms, it’ll show as an acceptance on your ‘choices’ page in your application.

You can only add one choice at a time, but if the university doesn’t confirm your place, you’ll be able to add another.

If you only applied for one course for the reduced fee of £22, you’ll have to pay an additional £4.50 to apply through clearing.

MORE : How Scottish students can save money ahead of starting university

MORE : Don’t settle for second best – re-taking your A levels can help you get into your first-choice uni

MORE : University applications: When do 2023 UCAS applications open and close?

Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Share your views in the comments below

Didn’t get your first choice? Still not sure what uni you’re going to? Don’t fear!