Results better than expected? You may be able to use Adjustment...

As we approach results day, you may start thinking about other courses and options. It might be possible to apply to them using Adjustment. Read on to find out how…

What is Adjustment?

Adjustment runs from 13 August to 31 August and is open to anyone who has met and exceeded the conditions of their firm choice only. Your firm choice will confirm through Track whether you have met and exceeded your offer. You cannot use Adjustment if you’re confirmed at your insurance choice.

How to use Adjustment in 4 steps

1. Make a shortlist

You need to research the unis you’re interested in. You’ll find all the course information you need in our search tool. You can ask to be considered for any course in Adjustment, and when you speak to the universities you’re interested in, they’ll let you know if they have any places available. 

2. Register 

So that universities can see your application when you contact them, you need to register for Adjustment – you do this in Track. Remember, just because you’ve registered for Adjustment, it doesn’t mean you’ll lose your current place! If you register, you have five 24 hour periods to find a place. This starts from the moment you register in Track.  

3. Get talking

Contact the universities on your shortlist and ask if they’ll consider you for your chosen course through Adjustment. It’s important you let them know you’re using Adjustment and not Clearing. 

You can speak to as many unis as you like, but make sure you don’t accept a place if you’re not 100% sure you want it!

4. How do I accept a place in Adjustment?

Once you’ve been offered a place that you want to accept in Adjustment, let the uni know and then it’s up to them to update Track to show you’ve been accepted. Remember, you only have five days before your Adjustment period ends, so if time is running out, it’s a good idea to contact the uni to remind them. 

And that’s it – the university that had originally confirmed your place will be notified that you’ve found an alternative place through Adjustment, and your new Confirmation letter will appear in Track within a week.

Remember – if you register for Adjustment by mistake, don’t worry! Your firm choice won’t be affected as long as you don’t ask another uni to accept you! 

Want to know a bit more about how to use Adjustment? Check out this video…

Do you have any further questions about Adjustment? Have a look at our website or get in touch with our advisers on Facebook or Twitter.

5 things you need to know about A Level results day!

As you can imagine there are lots of questions and comments flying around right now about A level results day and Clearing.We'll be sending out advice based on your queries in the run-up to results day, as indeed we've done for the past few weeks. We've also got a handy video to help you prepare for getting those all-important grades. However, many students often have concerns and expectations that go unnoticed because they never ask us a question about them. Fortunately we're a vigilant lot, so with all this in mind, here are 5 things you need to know about A Level results day!

1. Track doesn't go live at midnight! It'll start updating at 08:00 (UK time) on 15 August. So from that time you'll be able to check the decisions made by your university choices.

2.  The vast majority of universities will update their decisions on Track on results day... but not all of them will. We've got lots of information about this on our 'Still Waiting' page, but in a nutshell it'll usually be for one of the following reasons:

• You've narrowly missed meeting the conditions of the offer and the university are still giving your application consideration. They'll usually wait to see how other applicants for the course have done and then make a decision then.
• They've not got your exam results. If their conditions included a qualification for which we don't pass on the results then they'll need you to send them the results. Details of exam results we handle can be found here
• If you've been asked to achieve a certain grade in a GCSE, the university won't be able to confirm your place until the results for those are out on 23 August. You'd need to pass the results to them.

3. Track has had some BIG improvements since last year. All of our technology has been through thorough testing to make sure that all our attention can be focused on helping students through the Clearing process on results day.

4. We'll be sending emails to you to let you know the universities' decisions.These won't be the standard Track updates you usually get telling you that there's been a change to the status. These emails will be telling you whether or not you've got into your chosen university. 

5. You won't be able to add a Clearing choice until the afternoon on 15 August. This gives you time to research your options and make informed decisions before potentially adding a choice. Check our Clearing guidance for what to do if you're using Clearing.