Get prepared for Results Day

The countdown is on for results day. We know waiting can feel like agony especially if you need certain results to get your course place at University.

Results day can be stressful but keep calm and don’t panic. The best way to approach Clearing is research your choices so that you avoid making a panicked decision and you're ready for the day. Our guide will help you prepare for results day.

Whatever happens with your results, you will still have plenty of options. Clearing is now a common way of applying to university for many students.

Students in Scotland get their SQA results on Tuesday 5 August 2025. 

A-levels results come out on Thursday 14 August 2025.

International Baccalaureate results day is 6 July 2025.

Applying for Clearing can be hectic so it's important to research and think about your options before results day. 

• Have plans for best and worst-case scenarios. Stay focused and think about your options.
  • Is it the course or going to a particular university that is more important to you?
  • Are there other courses you could do at your university of choice?
  • What other universities have similar courses to the one you wanted to do? .
  • Is going to a further education college or starting an apprenticeship an option?
  • Have a gap year and re-apply for university the following year?
  • Talk to an adviser at your school or college. They can help with advice on alternative courses or subjects.
  • UCAS also has a lot of information on their website. They also have course matches and search tools to help yu find options.
• Make a shortlist of the universities you are interested in. It’s likely you’ll be able to register your interest in Clearing with each of your chosen universities.
• Note down the Clearing phone lines of the universities you want to contact.
• To see what it’s like to study at your chosen universities make sure you follow them on social media. You can follow Stirling on Instagram, X and Facebook.
• Make sure all your UCAS contact details are updated.
• Avoid holidays or trips that will make it difficult for you to work through the Clearing process.
• Have all your important info and documents ready before you start making calls:
  
  • UCAS personal ID number
  • Clearing number (available on UCAS Hub if you've been rejected by your first and insurance choices and therefore become eligible for Clearing)
  • results
  • personal statement - you may be asked questions about this
  • National 5 or GCSE results - they can sometimes come up

For those in Scotland doing SQA Highers, your Scottish Qualification Certificate (SQC) will arrive by first class post. If you activated your MySQA account you'll get your results by e-mail and/or text.

If you've done A-levels you’ll receive your results from your school or college.

As soon as you’ve got your results you can log into UCAS Hub from 9:00am on SQA results day and from 8:15am on A level results day to see the status of your offer.

It’s important you don’t just assume you’ve automatically lost your place if you haven’t achieved all conditions of your firm or insurance offer. The university might still accept your results so check with your original choices.

UCAS Hub will tell you if you’re eligible to go into Clearing. You can then start searching for available university places.

It's worth looking at UCAS's information on explaining what your status in Hub means and what to do next. 

Call your shortlisted universities as soon as you know your results. We want to speak to you directly so please don’t get someone else to call on your behalf unless you’ve given them nominated access.

How to get the best out of your phone call:

• Make sure you’ve fully charged up your phone the night before.
• You may want to take notes so have a spare pen or two.
• Make a list of any questions you want to ask about the university, the courses you’re interested in, or any aspect of student life such as accommodation, travel and support services.
• In busy Clearing periods, don't worry if you're on hold for a while. You will get through and universities are keen to speak to you.

If you get an offer over the phone, congratulations!! You're now at university.

You’ll be able to go onto UCAS Hub to formally accept the offer. You can then start an application for accommodation as well as student funding.