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August 2013 - Education

The latest market research poll published by Which? consumer group, found that almost half (48%) of students find the clearing process stressful. Of students, one in six (15%) who find a place via clearing are likely to regret their choice of course, as opposed to less than a tenth (9%) of other students.

The poll shows that one in five (20%) of the 390 first-year university students surveyed, who gained their place via clearing, felt unsupported and on their own during the process, while around a quarter (27%) felt unprepared and almost two fifths felt panicked (38%).

More than a third (37%) of respondents said that they felt pressured into taking the first offer they got through clearing. Additionally, nearly half (45%) rushed into making a decision about where to go.

Less than half (46%) felt prepared when contacting universities about available courses, and around three in four (73%) were not sure what to expect when they called them.

Jenni Allen, from Which? University, said:

“Choosing the right university and course is hugely important so, even in clearing, students shouldn’t rush or feel pressured into a decision they may later regret.”

Last year a record 55,700 people accepted places through clearing, up almost a tenth (8.9%) on the year before.

Helen Thorne, Director of Policy and Research at Clearing Body UCAS, said:

“A Ucs survey last year found that 94% of those placed in clearing were ‘very confident’ or ‘fairly confident’ that they made the right choice…Clearing has become a respected application route, evidenced by the fact that record numbers (55,000) were placed through the scheme last year.”

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