UCAS has monitored decisions made by the students across the UK whose grades changed following the announcement about centre assessed grades (CAGs) for A levels, regrades for some BTECs, and teacher estimates for Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers.
155,000 (89% of 174,000) who received a grade increase are now placed at their original firm or insurance choice university or college, or have used Clearing, Adjustment, or Extra to find at a place on a course at a university or college in the same tariff banding as their original firm choice
The UCAS data issued today breaks this down for students studying across all four nations and by qualification type.
Where we can track the original offer conditions, we estimate up to 15,000 A level students across the UK who did not have their firm choice confirmed on A level results day may have subsequently achieved the academic requirements of their offer since CAGs were issued.
87% of these students are now placed at their original firm or insurance choice university or college, or at another comparable1 university or college. Fewer than 10% of the 15,000 students are currently not placed2.
UCAS Chief Executive, Clare Marchant, said: ‘We are pleased to report that universities and colleges have moved quickly and flexibly to confirm places for students who are qualified with their revised grades.
‘Universities and colleges continue to contact students and assess the capacity they have to run courses in 2020 in a safe way.
‘We expect more students to be confirmed in the coming days at their original choice, but we also know that some students will have made a new choice in Clearing and will be looking to retain that place and commence their studies in the coming weeks. Some students will have also made other plans and may not choose to take up their place this year; something that happens every year.
‘We will release further analysis on the overall number of students finding places in the coming weeks, but it’s clear that despite the ongoing challenges, record numbers have found places.
‘My message to those students who have not found a place with their revised grades is that it’s not too late. Clearing is still open, with more than 25,000 courses available. I would encourage students to contact UCAS for advice and to continue the conversation with their original firm or insurance choice university or college. We, as a sector, are still focused on securing the best possible outcome for students who received revised results.’
1A university or college within the same or higher tariff band as an applicant’s firm choice university or college.
2Although students may have met the A level requirements for their firm choices, many courses carry other conditions, including professional tests, that students may not have necessarily met.
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Notes for editors
These figures are based on 22 days after JCQ results day, of which a wider view of the data can be found in our daily Clearing analysis for the 2020 cycle.
UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, is an independent charity, and the UK's shared admissions service for higher education. We manage almost three million applications, from around 700,000 people each year, for full-time undergraduate courses at over 380 universities and colleges across the UK.