He said: “Clearing has a reputation as a rushed process where you make a big decision about your future in a hurry but it doesn’t need to be like this. If you think you may want to use Clearing, either because your grades may not be what you hoped, or because you just want to use the Clearing route anyway – as many students do – get clear on Clearing in advance and go in prepared.”

Here are five top tips for making the most of the Clearing process: 

1) Get ahead now and think about the things that are most important to you when choosing a university. Do you want to be closer to home or do you have your heart set on living in a city? Is the type of course on offer the most important thing for you? Be clear about what you want out of your university experience as this will help you make decisions.

2) Ask questions! Once you start speaking to universities the process can happen really quickly. Make sure you understand everything that’s being said to you and if you don’t, ask questions. There’s no such thing as a silly question.

3) Have your A Level results to hand – once you have your results get in touch with your chosen university through Clearing as soon as you can. Make sure you have your results, qualifications – including the full qualification name and UCAS ID (if you have one) – and a list of the courses you’re interested in studying in front of you when you contact the admissions team. It’ll make it so much easier for the Clearing team to help you if you can provide all the details they need straight away.

4) Think before you switch – you might be tempted to use Clearing to switch universities after receiving you’re A Level results, especially if you got better results than you expected. Be cautious with this and do your research. Rushing to try your luck at a different institution, when you have a place already secured somewhere else, might turn out to be the wrong decision. You need to really think through why you want to switch; is it just because you got better grades or would another university really be the best fit for you?

5) Keep calm and have an open mind – Clearing is a great opportunity to find the course of your dreams and even if you don’t get your first choice of course, there will be others that will be right for you. You are allowed to change your mind and exploring options through Clearing can help you find the perfect place and course for you.

If you’re interested in applying to a course at the University of Bedfordshire via Clearing, visit: www.beds.ac.uk/clearing

Alternatively you can call the dedicated Clearing hotline on 0300 3300 073 which is open 24 hours a day throughout August.