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Build a relationship with an applicant ahead of results day
"Clearing is always an unpredictable affair, but what we've learned from the past is that there's a real value – both to the student and the university – to building a relationship with an applicant well ahead of results day. Last year we had filled almost all our places by the second day. If they have a great results day, they'll know we reward good performances with scholarships; if they don't, that isn't necessarily the end of the story.
"We're not expecting the challenges around Clearing this year to be so very different from 2013. It's a crowded scene with a lot of universities trying to attract the best students, so inevitably it's about highlighting your own strengths and helping students make an informed decision. Students are saturated with information these days and they'll be using social media more than ever to get a feel for which institution might be right for them, so the universities that recognise the importance of engaging with prospective students on Twitter and the like may see more interest. I think next year is where the big change will be, as the removal of the student number control is likely to make Clearing a different ball game." (Ian Denning, recruitment communications manager at Coventry University)
Tell students about the option to trade up their university place
"We found adjustment – where students who get higher-than-expected grades can trade up and go to what might be perceived to be a more prestigious university or course – more useful than Clearing because few of our students needed to use Clearing last year. That worked out very positively for us. Our team manager was pretty much entirely deployed, not on helping out students who didn't get in, but ringing and contacting those successful students and saying: 'Are you aware that you can reconsider, that you have a window in which to see if you can secure a place at a more prestigious university?'
"The challenge for us comes earlier, at the application stage, and we will challenge students quite strongly if we think they are either underselling or overselling themselves. I think the skill really should be in doing that because if you do that job well with students, then Clearing doesn't really come into it. I think there is something going wrong in a school or college which is generating a high number of Clearing referrals – they need to be looking at the advice and guidance that they are providing students with at the application stage.
"This is the first year that there have been no January exams and we are all crystal ball-gazing on what the impact of that will be on results. It could be the first year where we have more cause to use Clearing because it is really difficult to predict what students' grade profile is likely to be." (Chris Sherwin, principal of Long Road Sixth-Form College, Cambridge)
Making unconditional offers isn't necessarily a good idea
"We wonder if, in the future, the model adopted by some universities – where candidates are made unconditional offers regardless of their A-level performance – could make students' GCSE profiles the determiner when it comes to admission decisions. If lots of universities do it, and you as a parent know that your son or daughter is going to get an unconditional offer on the basis of what their GCSEs look like, then you would really hammer them in terms of those exams. The worry is that the student would get a wonderful crop of GCSEs, then think: come end of Year 12 I will get my unconditional offer and that's it.
"From an institution's perspective, if you have a really good applicant who is predicted three As and they have applied to universities that aren't going to make unconditional offers – if you make an unconditional offer you will always be the insurance choice. You'll find that you're the second bite of the cherry, completely reliant on them failing to get into another institution. If someone puts you down as conditional firm, you as the institution have the control – and probably 60-70% will get the conditions of the offer. If you're the insurance choice, probably only 10% will convert." (Richard Broom, head of admissions at City University London)
We need to adjust our offers to reflect recent dips in A-level performance
"A lot will depend on what happens with A-level grades. Over the last couple of years, grades have dipped very slightly, and if that continues to happen there will probably be a period of recalibration with offers and grades in general. We've seen it happen the other way – as students have got better, offers have increased. It would be natural, and inevitable, for the reverse to happen, because what we're looking at is something that is quiet comparative." (Lynsey Hopkins, head of admissions at Sheffield University)
Students know which universities they want to approach
"What is clear from last year is that students understand the Clearing and adjustment opportunity better than ever, and will make carefully-considered choices about which universities they will approach during this period. It is therefore extremely important that through our website and videos, students can get a full picture of what life at Surrey University will be like and whether it is the right choice for them." (David Ashton, vice-president and registrar of the University of Surrey)
Five things we learned from last year's (2013) admissions cycle:
1) More people than ever before went into higher education, up 6.6% on 2012.
2) Institutions increased the number of offers they made to applicants by 9% to 1.7 million – over half of applicants had four or more offers to choose between.
3) 18-year olds from the UK and EU were 10% more likely to get an offer than in 2011.
4) Women were 32% more likely to enter higher education than men.
5) Higher-tariff institutions increased acceptances by 10%, with a 4% increase to young applicants who were holding ABB+ qualifications by the end of the cycle and a 9% increase to those with lower attainment levels.
What's the one thing you learned from Clearing last year? Share your experiences in the comments below.
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