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Missed your offer grades? What to do
Missing your offer does not always mean losing your place. Universities sometimes accept students who narrowly miss. Check your UCAS Hub first, then phone your firm choice, and look at Clearing at the same time.
Checked against official sources on 25 September 2026.
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What your Hub might show
| Hub shows | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Your firm place is confirmed | Your firm choice has accepted you despite the missed grade. | Nothing: you have a place. Read what the university needs next. |
| Your insurance place is confirmed | Your firm said no, but your insurance has accepted you. | You are committed to your insurance. You cannot swap firm and insurance after results. |
| A changed course offer | A university offers a different course, start date or point of entry, such as a foundation year. | Accept or decline within five days, or you lose it. Ask questions first. |
| Still conditional | The university has not decided yet. | Phone it. Prepare Clearing options in parallel. |
| “You are in Clearing” | Neither firm nor insurance has offered you a place. | Apply through Clearing. |
Phone your firm choice
If your firm choice has not decided yet, call its admissions or Clearing line. Give your Personal ID and your results. If there is a reason your results were affected, such as illness or bereavement, and your school has not already told the university, say so. Keep it short and factual.
Changed course offers
A changed course offer can be for a related course, a later start date or a foundation year. You must accept or decline it in your Hub within five days. If you decline a changed firm offer and your insurance place is confirmed, you go to your insurance; otherwise you go into Clearing. Before replying, ask how the new course differs and whether it leads where you want to go.
If you think a grade is wrong
Speak to your school or college the same day. It can request a priority review of marking (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or a priority appeal (Scotland). Grades can go down as well as up. Ask your firm choice whether it will hold your place while the review happens, and look at Clearing at the same time. See reviews and appeals.
Looking in Clearing
- Use your back-up list and your Clearing matches.
- Consider related subjects, joint honours and foundation years.
- Check the course and the university on official data before accepting: subject tables, profiles.
Other options
- Reapply next year with your actual grades. Some students find this gives them a stronger application.
- A degree apprenticeship: earn while you learn. See degree apprenticeships.
- Resitting a subject in the next exam series.
Am I in Clearing?
Sources
- UCAS: what your application status means
- UCAS: What is Clearing?
- UCAS: Confirmation and Clearing, the essentials (advisers)
- UCAS: appealing your grades
- Ofqual: what to do if you think there is a mistake in your results
Quick answers
Will a university accept me if I miss my offer by one grade?
Sometimes. It depends on the course and how many places are left. Check your UCAS Hub and phone the university.
Can I go to my insurance choice instead of my firm?
Only if your firm choice does not accept you and your insurance does. You cannot swap firm and insurance after results; the other way is to release yourself into Clearing.
How long do I have to reply to a changed course offer?
Five days. If you do not reply in time you lose the offer.