By Hazel Shearing
Education correspondent
Students will need to be “quick off the mark” to get a place at a top university through clearing this year, according to the head of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas).
Clare Marchant said “highly selective courses” would “go quite quickly”.
But she said there would be a “wide range of opportunities” elsewhere.
Clearing allows students who want to go to university to search for courses that still have vacancies.
It is often used by those who missed the A-level or equivalent grades they needed to take up a university offer.
But it is also used by applicants who achieved higher grades than they expected, or who have changed their minds.
Results for A-levels, T-levels, BTecs and other Level 3 results will be released next week on 17 August.
The number of 18-year-olds in the population is growing, so it could be more competitive to get a place at universities asking for the highest grades, like elite Russell Group universities.
Applications to undergraduate courses from international students are also up slightly on last year.
Ms Marchant told the PA News Agency that “highly selective courses at highly selective institutions” would go quickly in clearing.
“Places are filled up quicker and therefore there are slightly less in clearing and the competitive stuff that is in clearing is likely to go faster,” she said. “So certainly, my advice to students…is to be pretty quick off the mark if that’s what you’re looking for.”
In a separate statement sent to BBC News, Ms Marchant said applications this year were “likely to be more competitive than in recent years”.
She said most students who want to go to university “will have secured their preferred choice”, and there remained a “wide range of opportunities” for students – with 28,000 courses currently available through clearing.
The Russell Group said it was “not unusual” for its member universities to have “fewer courses than other universities in clearing”.
“The confirmation from Ofqual that grade distributions will return to 2019 levels has given universities more confidence in making offers compared to last year, which may mean universities have less flexibility to offer courses in clearing in some subjects,” it said.
“However, most Russell Group universities have courses available in clearing this year, across a range of subjects, as they have done in past years and more courses will become available after results day.”
Clearing closes on 17 October.
Last year, 34,875 18-year-olds secured a university place through the system.
Ms Marchant said last month that while there is a “small gradual decline in the number of courses” in clearing, “we must collectively reassure applicants that there will still be plenty of choices available for those still actively seeking progression to HE after results day”.
Students in Scotland received their exam results on Thursday. The pass rate fell – but remains higher than before the Covid pandemic.
Results in England are predicted to fall back in line with pre-pandemic levels this year, after three years of higher grades.
However, because of the disruption caused by Covid, exam boards will be “slightly” more lenient than before the pandemic when deciding grade boundaries. This will protect students who performed slightly less well in these exams than expected.
Pupils in Wales and Northern Ireland were given advance information about papers this year – but that was not the case in England.
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