Whatuni and Complete University Guide launch brand new content hubs for Clearing 2021

Despite increasing numbers of students going through Clearing every year, for many students, it’s still a very scary and stressful prospect. We want to ‘rebrand’ the experience, and make students realise that it’s actually an amazing, life-changing opportunity to find their perfect course at a university that suits them. 

Whatuni’s the Clearing Squad and the Complete University Guide’s the Clearing Concierge guide students, their parents and teachers through the entire Clearing process.

These tools enable students to search and filter unis and courses, read Clearing-specific uni and course content, get top tips and personalised advice, and call the universities directly. In addition, in a product feature unique to IDP, students can enter their grades and see their chance of acceptance on courses.

Support for students

Recognising that despite many people thinking that Clearing is only for students who don’t get their expected grades, IDP’s research focused on five distinct types of personas who need Clearing advice: 

• The Traditional Applicant, as above – who didn’t get the grades they wanted  
• The Direct Applicant – who missed the 30 June UCAS deadline or is a mature student  
• The Adjuster – who got better grades than expected 
• The Mind-changer – who wants to change their course or uni  
• The Parent – who wants to support their child through Clearing  

Support for parents and teachers

Two surveys, one collecting responses from 52 teachers and careers advisors from across the country, in addition to a separate study with 112 parents, formed the basis of developing the content aimed at parents and teachers. 

For teachers, learning more about how and when students should start preparing for Clearing was the most important piece of information, while for parents, their main concern was about discussing it with their child without making them more anxious.  

These findings underlined to IDP the need for an emotional approach to Clearing, besides the pragmatic one utilised across many other sites.

The Clearing Squad

The Clearing Squad is a team of real people (4 students and a parent, each of whom embodies one of our personas) who give bespoke, tailored advice to students whoever they are, wherever they are in their journey. The content in the hub aims to show students that they’re part of a community of worthy and capable students who are facing a challenge that can be exciting and life-changing, rather than stressful.

The Clearing Concierge

The Complete University Guide’s hub stars the Clearing Concierge, students’ personal guide to help them navigate the Clearing process. The Concierge ensures students, as well as their parents and teachers, can easily access official information, rankings, and guidance to help them make more informed choices. 

We think the tailored content and unique tools can really help students through this stressful time, sp please spread the word!