Clearing for international students

Finding a university course through Clearing can be confusing, especially for international students unsure of how it all works. Our guide helps explains what you need to do to get your place on a UK university.

Clearing is a way of matching students without a university place to universities who have course places to fill. Once your exam results are available, you can see if you’re eligible for Clearing by checking UCAS Hub.

UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) is an online system that is used for sending applications from students to their desired universities.

Students use Clearing if they:

• didn’t receive any offers from their firm and insurance choices;
• declined offers they did receive;
• didn’t meet the criteria for conditional offers;
• applied after 30 June.

Clearing starts on 5 July 2025 and finishes on 20 October 2025.

Yes. In fact, thousands of international students use Clearing just like UK students.

To use Clearing, you have to contact universities by phone or email. When Clearing opens, you can talk to us or use online chat methods and we will guide you through the Clearing process.

You should aim to go through Clearing as quickly and early as possible as there are some differences for international students.

Once you've accepted an offer through Clearing, you may need to apply for a UK visa and this can take time. Find out how we can help you with sorting out your UK visa.

You also need to think about finding accommodation before the course starts. We have a range of secure and affordable accommodation which includes over 2,800 rooms right on our beautiful campus, as well as easy-to-reach off-campus residences.

You should also think about the English language requirements needed for your course. Information on English language requirements is available on each course page or our main English language requirements page.

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this course then we can help you. Our partner INTO University of Stirling offers a range of English language courses. Find out more about our pre-sessional English language courses.

International student Camy Rosen talks about her experience of coming to Stirling via Clearing.