Hello again, hot isn’t it?!

It’s been pretty quiet this week so far in the office but at this kinda time it’s really just the calm before the storm and people waiting for their results. For a lot of applicants it is just a waiting game so to speak. We’ve had callers asking if there really is anything they should be doing at this stage. Well the answer is as long as you’ve sorted your accommodation and your Student loans form is in then relax and enjoy yourself! There really is nothing you can do until you have your results!

Yet understandably at this time there are still questions you guys may have. One of the questions cropping up at the moment is how many unis can you apply to once you know you’re in Clearing. The answer is that once you are eligible and you have your Clearing Passport you can start to contact the universities you’re most interested in studying at directly.

You could contact as many as you like but you can obviously only confirm one uni place. Once you have done this you will then receive a UCAS letter with a reply slip for you to send back to confirm you want to attend this uni course. So if you are talking to more than one uni make it clear to them that you definitely want to take up the place to help them out as much as possible!!

Until next time guys enjoy the sunshine! ( hope I haven’t cursed it for rain now!). Roll on the weekend! Even I get a break! Everyone’s happy then!

As ever, any probs give us a call in Customer Services on the usual no. 0871 468 0 468.

Craig.

Here we go again!

So here we go again, the lead up to the busiest but often most rewarding time in the UCAS calendar. Clearing is upon us and anyone who has not managed to obtain a place at uni or is thinking of applying for the first time can use Clearing to get themselves a place this summer. Throughout the coming weeks I’ll be giving my account of what it’s like to be an Adviser in UCAS covering the highs, the lows and the 12 hour shifts!

Just to explain though, Clearing has begun but many of you won’t know if you’re eligible until you receive your results. For those lucky few who already have results you can start ringing around now to find a place through the Clearing process. The official list of what is available will not be posted on www.ucas.com until 14 August, so if you do already have your results then you might want to get ringing around to your choice of uni’s to see what’s available before then!

With Clearing underway for some already I’ve been taking various calls regarding how applicants can use Clearing and the processes involved in getting a place.

Quite a lot of callers are in a position where if they’ve used less than five choices and have not been successful with these, how do they go about applying for a new course? The answer is that as long as you have paid £15 originally, we will send you a Clearing Passport. Once you’ve received this, you can call any uni’s you’re interested in directly, quoting your Clearing No. and they’ll let you know if you’ve been successful. Simple.

On a lighter note I made a call-back to an applicant in Spain today regarding accepting his offer - I applaud his choice of holiday as it seems to be a positive place to be at the moment being as the nation recently won the Euros and Nadal's brilliant victory on our turf at Wimbledon! Although I bet his holiday’s not being stopped by rain delays! It’s quite often that I speak to applicants abroad whilst they’re on their holidays and as nice as our office is (honest), I’m definitely due one this year!! Any suggestions are welcome!

Right, I’m off for now, but in the mean time if you have any Clearing specific questions, members of yougo (www.yougofurther.co.uk) can view the forums and get involved with the daily webchats that Murry and his team are running, regarding all your current queries so get on and have a read. I’ll be in there on Thursdays from 3pm answering your questions so get online.

Until then enjoy yourselves and don’t be afraid to call Customer Services on 0871 468 0468 with any queries at all!

Craig Fish