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Clearing statistics: how many students get in through Clearing?
In 2025, 77,110 students were placed through Clearing: 15% of the 512,525 acceptances made through UCAS’s main routes, or about one in seven. In 2026, 70,580 had been placed through Clearing 28 days after A level results day.
Checked against official sources on 25 September 2026.
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Clearing at a glance
| Measure | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Placed through Clearing, whole cycle | 77,110 (15% of acceptances) | Published December 2026 |
| Placed through Clearing, 28 days after A level results day | 69,950 | 70,580 |
| … of whom applied with choices first | 51,490 | 54,190 |
| … of whom applied direct to Clearing | 18,460 | 16,390 |
| Placed through Clearing, 1 day after results day | 22,660 | 22,890 |
| Used Decline my place (28 days after results) | 42,920 | 47,370 |
| … and placed | 25,960 (60%) | 26,200 (55%) |
| Courses in Clearing on results day | around 27,000 | over 26,000 |
| All students accepted on results day | 439,180 | 446,690 |
Sources: UCAS end of cycle data 2025 (published December 2025); UCAS daily Clearing analysis 2025 and 2026 (we add UCAS’s “Clearing” and “direct to Clearing” placements together, as UCAS does in its own releases); UCAS results day news releases 2025 and 2026. For the whole 2025 cycle, 43,810 students used Decline my place and 26,085 were placed.
Placed through Clearing, 28 days after results day
What the numbers mean
- Clearing is mainstream. About one in seven accepted students got their place through it in 2025.
- Clearing starts fast but keeps going. About a third of the places filled in the four weeks after A level results day 2026 had gone by the next day (around 23,000 of 70,000), so it is worth keeping looking after results day.
- Self-release is common. Over 47,000 students used Decline my place in 2026, and just over half had a new place four weeks after results day.
- Tens of thousands apply direct to Clearing every year: 16,390 had been placed that way four weeks after results day 2026.
The whole-cycle figure for 2026 is expected in UCAS’s end of cycle release in December 2026. We will add it then.
You may use these figures with a link to this page. Always cite UCAS as the original source.
Sources
- UCAS: end of cycle data resources 2025
- UCAS: daily Clearing analysis 2026
- UCAS: results day 2026 news release
- UCAS: results day 2025 news release
Quick answers
How many students get into university through Clearing?
77,110 students were placed through Clearing in 2025, 15% of the 512,525 acceptances made through UCAS’s main routes (UCAS end of cycle data).
How many students used Decline my place in 2026?
47,370 by 10 September 2026, 28 days after A level results day; 26,200 of them had been placed (UCAS daily Clearing analysis).
How many courses are in Clearing?
UCAS reported over 26,000 courses in Clearing on results day 2026, and around 27,000 in 2025.