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How Clearing works

Whether you're a UK or International student, you'll find all the information you need to understand how Clearing works and complete the key steps of the process on this page.

You can now preview which courses have availability on our Clearing course vacancies page, before applications open on 5 July 2025.

What is Clearing at university?

Clearing is an opportunity for you to secure a university place, particularly if you:

  • are applying for the first time for this year of entry
  • didn't meet the conditions of your offer
  • have changed your mind about your course or university

If you are interested in Clearing at the University of Southampton, you can now register your details to receive Clearing 2025 updates.

Register your interest

You can also learn more about the Clearing process on the UCAS website.

Who can apply

You can apply for a place with us through Clearing from 5 July 2025 if:

  • you have your results and, if applicable, your English language test results
  • you've not yet applied to any universities in this cycle
  • you've achieved higher grades than expected
  • your results are not as good as predicted for your original firm and insurance choice universities, and you've been rejected by both choices
  • you may have changed your mind about your subject or university

We can't make any conditional offers in Clearing so if you don’t have all your results, you’ll need to wait until they're available.

When Clearing opens

Clearing at the University of Southampton opens on 5 July 2025, and you can now preview which courses have availability on our Clearing course vacancies page.

You can keep up to date with all of our Clearing updates by completing our short form.

How to apply through Clearing

Once Clearing opens on 5 July 2025, you'll be able to apply for courses by:

  1. exploring our courses in Clearing – you can now browse courses before applications open
  2. selecting the course you're interested in
  3. completing a short application form

We do not operate waiting lists for any of our courses.

Entry requirements

You can discuss your qualifications with our admissions team by email: admissions@southampton.ac.uk

Course availability and entry requirements are subject to change.

Contextual offers

We sometimes use additional information to consider applications to study with us. This information provides us with context for individuals' university applications and achievements. It also supports our admissions team in identifying an applicants' potential to succeed at university, regardless of their background.

You may be eligible for a contextual offer and additional support if you:

  • have been in care or looked after for 3 months or more
  • live within a postcode in a low participation neighbourhood, also known as POLAR4 quintile 1
  • have participated in one of our recognised outreach or widening participation programmes
  • were eligible for free school meals after the age of 14
  • are an estranged student aged 25 or below, studying without parental support or approval due to relationship breakdown and ceased contact
  • live within a postcode assigned to quintile 1, equivalent to decile 1 and 2, according to the English Index of Deprivation

You can use our postcode checker to check the status of your home postcode. Our postcode checker categorises postcodes by quintile, and your postcode should be listed as 1 for you to be eligible.

Find out more about contextual offers

How to contact us

If you have any queries about Clearing, you can contact our enquiries team by email: enquiries@southampton.ac.uk

We'll be opening our Clearing hotline around A level results day on 14 August 2025. We'll publish more details about our hotline, including telephone number and opening times, shortly before A level results day.

If you want to learn more about the Clearing process, you can read UCAS' guide to making the most out of Clearing.

Your next steps