Falling entry requirements as courses in seventeen departments at Warwick advertised through Clearing

The University of Warwick is advertising spaces for students on 134 different possible courses in 17 different departments through Clearing on A-Level Results Day, with many entry requirements lowered.

Some courses have seen entry requirements significantly lowered, for example the entry requirements for History have been lowered from AAA to ABB.

Clearing and Adjustment are touted to be even more important this year with the competition for university places described as a “buyer’s market.”

This year has seen a 4% fall in university applications, leaving a total of over 4,000 courses at a number of Russell Group universities with unfilled places.

However, a study by Northumbria University, Newcastle has found that half of students in the West Midlands don’t fully understand the Clearing process for university places. 30% of students also admitted that they had not heard of Adjustment.

The entry requirements for History have been lowered from AAA to ABB.

The study comes with fears that many students are not fully aware of the options available to them on Results Day, with UCAS’ Clearing system allowing candidates to apply for courses at universities with open spaces if they fail to meet their firm and insurance offers.

Adjustment also allows students to apply for an alternative course if they exceed the grades needed for their firm choice and want to change to one with higher entry requirements.

Only 26% of students surveyed said they would use Clearing if they received worse grades than anticipated, while 74% of students in the West Midlands said they would accept their existing offer even if their grades were better rather than using Adjustment.

The departments advertising courses at Warwick are Applied Linguistics, Biology, Chemistry, Classics, Education, Engineering, English, Film and Television Studies, Global Sustainable Development, History, History of Art, Liberal Arts, Modern Languages, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology and Theatre.

Places on two courses in the Physics department are also available through Adjustment only.

You can find one student’s account of coming to the University of Warwick through Clearing here.