How university rankings can help you through Clearing 2026

CONTENTS

1. What is Clearing 2026?

2. Why use Clearing?

3. Using league tables to find a place through Clearing

4. How to use the rankings to find your ideal uni

5. Preparing before results day

6. On results day and beyond

What is Clearing 2026?

Clearing matches universities that have places to offer with students who are still looking for a place. This could be if they:

• have not met their expected grades
• have done better than expected
• decide they’d like to do a different course
• didn’t apply during the main application cycle
• want to apply directly to the university

Going through Clearing can be daunting, no matter your circumstances. But using our university league tables can help you make informed decisions about which courses to apply for. Our rankings focus on universities in the UK. As our rankings are released only a month or so before Clearing opens, they give you the latest data to compare universities.

Why use Clearing?

Many students will find a course through UCAS Clearing 2026, whether they missed their grades or want a different university. There's a wide range of universities with places available in Clearing. It gives you the chance to find a course at a university you’d hoped to go to, or a completely different opportunity at a university you may never have considered.

You can apply directly into Clearing, meaning you can apply for a Clearing course when you haven’t already applied to university, with or without going through UCAS. Any student applying to university for the first time after the 30 June 2026 will have to make a direct Clearing application.   

Using league tables to find a place through Clearing

Our league tables can play a part in helping you choose a university. They help you identify and refine your list of unis and, ultimately, your university shortlist – overall and by subject area. 

You can see how well a uni ranks for your chosen subject area. You can also use the graduate prospects or research measures, or discover how satisfied students are with the quality of teaching they receive.

How do I know if a course is in Clearing?

While Clearing is open, you will be able to see the universities that are offering Clearing courses as they’ll have “IN CLEARING” added next to their name in the league tables. 

Which rankings should I check?

The Complete University Guide gives you three types of league table:   

University League Tables – our main table ranks 130 UK universities on their overall performance. This league table can help by showing you the top universities in the UK. But during Clearing, iti may be more helpful to focus on specific subject areas.

Performing Arts Table – – ranks 14 specialist colleges and conservatoires. We only include institutions where the majority of degree students study performing arts subjects.

Subject League Tables – these rankings compare unis across 74 different subject areas. If you want to know what courses a subject area includes, they are listed in the menu you use when you select a subject area.

By comparing universities using our filters and your chosen metrics, you can start to get a clear picture of which one is the right one for you.

Watch our video or read on to find out how to use the rankings

How to use the rankings to find your ideal uni

We create our rankings using the measures that are most important to students. They include Student satisfaction, Graduate prospects, and Research – so that you know you're learning cutting-edge practices.

We then put that data into your hands. All our tables allow you to filter or sort them by what is important to you. For example, you might want to know who gets the top rating for Student satisfaction or Graduate prospects, and more.

Above each table you’ll find buttons you can use to filter them by subject area, UK region, or university group. You can filter by more than one category. If you’ve filtered a table, the button will be highlighted. You’ll find subject and region filters at the top and the foot of the tables. 

Sort by the measures that matter to you

You can also sort our league tables by measure. Click the measures at the top of the table. Some of them you can only see if you click ‘Full table’.

Follow the links to see the tables measured by the different filters explained below: 

Overall score – this is the universities’ total score calculated by our trusted methodology.

Entry standards – this shows the average UCAS tariff score of the students entering the university.  

Student satisfaction – this shows how satisfied the students are with the quality of teaching they receive at the university.  

Research quality – this is a measure of the quality of research at the university. 

Research intensity – this shows the number of teaching staff involved in high-quality research at the university.  

Academic services spend – this shows how much the university spends on supporting services such as IT and libraries.  

Facilities spend – this shows how much the university spends on supporting things like careers centres and sports facilities.  

Continuation – this shows the number of first-year students that continue their studies.  

Student/staff ratio – this shows the average staffing levels at the university.  

Graduate prospects-outcomes – this is the success of the graduates after they leave the university.  

Graduate prospects-on track – this is a measure of whether recent graduates agree that their current activity fits with their future plans.  

Preparing before results day

Before results day 2026, have a look at our subject league tables. If you need to go through Clearing, start by looking at what subject you’d like to study. You can find the top universities that offer this subject and find out which one will be best suited to you.

In 2026, results day is on 13 August for A Levels, and on 4th August for students taking Scottish Highers.

On results day and beyond

Once you have your results, head to our league tables to find universities marked "IN CLEARING". Use the filters to narrow down your options by subject, region, or the measures that matter most to you — whether that's graduate prospects, student satisfaction, or something else.

If you find a course you're interested in, contact the university directly. Have your UCAS ID, results, and personal statement to hand – things can move quickly on results day.

Clearing 2026 remains open until 19th October, so there's no need to rush into a decision that doesn't feel right.