Last Thursday afternoon, after initial A-Level results had been released, a record 41,000 university places via clearing were advertised on the UCAS website – in comparison with 37,000 in 2015. This corresponds with a record number of 64,000 students who found their place at university last year through the clearing, almost a 70% increase from 10 years ago.

Clearing gives students a second opportunity for those who missed out on their initial five choices. It means that most can continue their ambition of studying at university, and save many from a sense of failure having not obtained the grades they needed. However, with thousands applying for a limited amount of places, many of them are already taken by lunchtime on results day leaving very little time for a decision. It is rare that the clearing options are a close match to your original choice, making it quite a sizeable gamble.

Many students are now finding their university places via clearing, with many sidestepping the initial process and being placed directly through clearing. 3,600 students have currently been placed like this, compared with 1,200 in 2012. With all these statistics in mind, UCAS is now considering altering the university entry system. The problem with the clearing process, is that despite increasing numbers of students now being accepted into a university, a lot of these choices are made in the heat of the moment and mean that many students end up unhappy with their choice and drop out.

Half of 18 year olds that miss out on their chosen places, re-apply a year later with a 90% success rate. This raises the question of whether the clearing process is an effective way of getting students into university? With a year to reconsider their options, students are perhaps more likely to be happy with their choice of university and course. Having not been through the clearing process, I cannot comment on how unhappy or happy students are that have been through the process. However, a working party council set up by the Academic Registrars Council has recommended that changes being made to the system should include the ability to reactivate previous offers, but more importantly be given more time to consider their options after having seen their A-Level grades.