Beat your predicted grades? How to trade up through Clearing

Most students end up with grades close to, or a little below, their predictions. But some do better, sometimes much better. If that’s you on results day, you might wonder whether you could now get into a university or course you didn’t think was within reach.

You can try, but the rules changed a few years ago, and the way it works now has a real risk if you get it wrong. This guide explains what happens, how to decide whether moving is worth it, and how to do it safely.

Adjustment doesn’t exist any more

Until 2021, UCAS ran a scheme called Adjustment. If you beat the conditions of your firm offer, you could look for a better place while your original place stayed safe. If nothing came up, you simply kept it.

UCAS ended Adjustment from 2022 entry. Very few students used it: in 2021, only about 570 were placed through Adjustment in the first week of Clearing, compared with about 42,000 placed through Clearing overall.

Instead, there’s now a Decline my place button in UCAS Hub. It releases you into Clearing, where you can apply for courses that still have places. The big difference: pressing it gives up your place straight away. There’s no safety net.

What happens on results day

If your grades meet or beat your firm offer, your firm university confirms your place, usually on the morning of results day. For 2027 entry, A-level results day is Thursday 12 August 2027. At that point:

• your firm place is confirmed (your offer becomes unconditional)
• your insurance choice is released, because you won’t need it
• you’re still free to stay exactly where you are, and most students do

Nothing changes unless you choose to act.

Should you try to trade up?

Better grades open doors, but a “better” university isn’t automatically better for you. Before you do anything, ask yourself:

• Why did you choose your firm in the first place? The course content, the city, the cost of living, being near home, a placement year? Those reasons haven’t changed.
• Is the new course actually better for what you care about? Compare student satisfaction, how many students stay on the course and graduate outcomes on our subject rankings, or put courses side by side with compare. There’s more on this in what makes a good university.
• What would you lose? Accommodation you’ve already booked, a scholarship, friends going to the same place.
• Is there really a place? Very competitive courses, such as medicine, often fill completely and rarely appear in Clearing. Vacancies at selective universities can go within hours.

If you’re happy with your firm choice, staying is a perfectly good decision.

How to do it safely

If you decide to look elsewhere, the order of these steps matters.

1. Find courses with vacancies. Clearing opens on 2 July 2027, and the UCAS search tool lists courses with places. Many update on results day itself. Our Clearing finder can help you see where your actual grades fit.
2. Phone the university. Have your UCAS ID (Personal ID) and grades ready. Ask whether they have a place on that specific course for someone with your grades, and whether they’ll make you an offer.
3. Get the offer confirmed, ideally in writing. An email confirming they’ll accept you is much safer than a “should be fine” on the phone.
4. Only then press Decline my place. UCAS says to use it only if you’re sure you no longer want your firm place, and after talking to the university or an adviser at school. It releases you into Clearing.
5. Add the new course as your Clearing choice in UCAS Hub, once the university tells you to. The university then confirms your place.
6. Sort out the practical things: update your student finance application with your new university and course, and apply for accommodation at the new university as soon as you can.

If you want to stay but change course

If you’d like to stay at the same university but switch to a different course, don’t press the button. UCAS says to contact the university directly. They may be able to move you without you losing your place, accommodation or scholarships.

If your firm offer is still “conditional” on results day

Sometimes a university hasn’t made a decision yet, for example because it’s still waiting for a result. If your firm offer is still showing as conditional and you want to apply elsewhere, contact the university first to find out what’s happening. If you still want to go elsewhere, you can ask UCAS to release you into Clearing, but that gives up both your firm and insurance choices.

Another option: apply again next year

If you beat your predictions by a lot and the course you really want has no Clearing places, you could take a year out and apply again in the next cycle with your actual grades. Universities then know exactly what you’ve achieved, so offers are often unconditional.

It’s a big decision, so talk to your school and the universities first. You’d need to withdraw from this year’s place, and each university has its own rules about reapplying.

Plan ahead, but don’t plan around it

Only a small minority of students beat their predictions: one study found just 8% were under-predicted, while about three-quarters were over-predicted. So choose a firm and insurance you’d genuinely be happy at, using how to pick your 5 UCAS choices. There’s more on how predictions work in our predicted grades guide.

If you do beat your grades in August, you’ll have options. That’s good news, not a problem to solve.

The key points

• Adjustment ended in 2022. If you beat your grades and want to move, you now release yourself into Clearing with Decline my place.
• Declining is permanent: it cancels your firm place, insurance place, and any accommodation and scholarships linked to it.
• Get a confirmed offer from the new university before you press the button.
• Want the same university but a different course? Talk to them, don’t decline.
• Staying at your firm choice is a good outcome too. Always check the university’s own course page and UCAS for the final word.

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