Buyers' market as school leavers 'well placed' to get to university

Prospective undergraduates could get offers even if their A-results are 'near-misses' as universities compete to recruit more home students. Eleanor Busby reports

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UNIVERSITIES will be keen to offer places on degree courses to school leavers on A-level results day even if they have narrowly missed out on grades, experts have suggested.

A record number of 18-year-olds are expected to wake up on Thursday next week to the news that they have been successful in securing their first-choice university, the head of Ucas has predicted.

Nearly three out of four top institutions have courses available through clearing which matches applicants to university places yet to be filled in the week before A-level results day, analysis has found.

There will be competition between universities to fill places with more UK applicants, creating a "buyer's market" for students, it is suggested.

It comes as universities have been warning of financial pressures due to uncertainty about the recruitment of overseas students as well as years of frozen tuition fees by domestic students.

A Press Association sample of 129 of the UK's largest higher education providers showed more than 22,600 courses with vacancies for undergraduate students living in England were available on the Ucas clearing site as of Wednesday. Seventeen of the 24 elite Russell Group universities had vacancies on courses for English residents - 3,630 courses between them.

A similar analysis last year, in the week before A-level results day, showed 18 of the 24 universities had vacancies on courses for English residents a total of 3,892 courses on the clearing site.

Clearing is available to students who do not meet the conditions of their offer on A-level results day, as well as those who did not receive any offers. Students who have changed their mind about what or where they wish to study, and those who have applied outside the normal application window, can also use clearing.