How to find the right university for you through Clearing
Introduction
Our admissions advisers have shared their top tips to find the right university for you and make the most of the Clearing process.
Regardless of if you’re applying late, have changed your mind about what to study or didn’t quite make the grades you expected, here's how to find the right course through Clearing.
Main body
1. See what’s on offer
While lots of university courses will have places available in Clearing, not all will, so make sure you check the lists of vacancies to see what is actually on offer before you start. Explore the Clearing courses available at UWL and explore our subject areas.
Shortlist a few courses of interest to help narrow down your options and give yourself room to change if any of your courses fill up or aren’t suitable for you.
2. Be ready to talk about your skills and qualifications
Universities will certainly want to know how you did in your A-Levels and BTEC courses, but might ask about GCSEs, your AS-Levels and other achievements and qualifications to help tutors get an idea of your background and experience while they fit you to the right course.
Of course, if you’re not coming directly from education, it is important to share all work experience in order to help admissions teams build up an idea of what you can do and which courses will be a good fit for you.
UWL works closely with industries, providing real-world experience as part of your learning, so there will be lots of ways to match your skills and use your experiences.
You might also want to mention relevant work experience or volunteer programmes to really build up a picture of what you can do and what areas you’re interested in.
3. Think about what is best for you
You’ve probably already had a lot of different suggestions on what you should do next, but now is the time to try to focus on your own career goals.
Think about different universities and courses and try to imagine the next three or four years studying, as well as the possibility of a career in your area of interest.
4. Use your time wisely
Clearing lines can get busy especially closer to A-Level results day, so plan your questions and get your information ready so you can use your time on the phone wisely and get all the information you need.
This is your chance to speak to course leaders, find out what you’ll be learning and how you’ll benefit on the courses you are looking into. Have a list of questions ready beforehand and visit the university website to see what information is already available.
The more you know in advance, the more confident you can be that you’ve made a great choice.
Why study with us?
The University of West London is ideally placed to put you on track for a rewarding career. With more than 100 subjects on offer across our academic schools, we are already helping to train thousands of people in areas including healthcare, law, biomedical science, acting and music performance, aviation, logistics, business, criminology, games design, computing, engineering, cyber security and many more.
UWL also offers a host of additional benefits including work placements and chances to work with local industry, complete healthcare training with partnerships across the NHS and make the most of global partnerships including with Heathrow Airport.
Speaking about the opportunities on offer, Professor Anthony Woodman, Provost and Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor at UWL, said:
Students are at the heart of everything we do, and by investing in inspiring teaching spaces, the best facilities and links to industry specialists, we can help them become the leaders of tomorrow in a host of emerging industries.
We know the importance of experience, and work alongside leaders in fast-paced and ever-changing areas of industry to ensure our graduates are job-ready when they leave us, building on those traditional skills to excel in competitive job markets all over the world."
Why study with us?
From great job prospects to our student support, find out why you should study with us.
Apply for a course
Clearing for courses starting in September 2025 will open from July 2025.