Edinburgh Napier University

You can apply in Clearing if:

• You are applying after 30 June to start in September.
• You didn’t receive any offers if you already applied through UCAS.
• You don’t want to accept the offers that you have.
• You didn’t get the grades to meet the conditions of your offer.

You can also apply in Clearing if you haven’t thought about university before and have never applied through UCAS. From 5 July our phone-line team are available every week day and can guide you through the process.

Clearing officially opens on 5 July.

Before clearing opens you can make a late application through UCAS, if you have previous qualifications that meet the entry requirements for your course. Clearing is often the last time to apply to start in September that same academic year.

If you’re waiting for exam results the timeline for your summer will look something like this:

• April to May – exams take place.
• 4 June – the last day to accept any offers you have through the main UCAS application process this year.
• 5 July – Clearing opens. If you do have exam results already, call us to apply.
• 5 August – SQA results day.
• 14 August – A-Level results day.
• September – Clearing closes and accepted students start at the university.

If you’re still waiting for results, you can do other things to prepare whilst you’re waiting for results day:

• Do course and university research online (and visit in person if you can).
• Put your results day in your calendar.
• Save our Clearing Phone number - available on our Clearing web page from 5 July
• Fill in our Clearing Enquiry Form.
• From 5 July you can call us on any weekday, but we won’t be able to give you an offer unless you meet our entry requirements.
• From 5 July you can check our web page to see what courses are available in Clearing.
• Call us as soon as possible after you have got your grades.

Look at our study areas to find your course. Then, when Clearing opens, research what course places we have available. If you don’t know what you want to do that’s fine too, we can talk you through the different options. It’s worth thinking about what you enjoy, what your career aspirations are, and what you could see yourself studying for the next four years.

Register your interest by completing our Clearing Enquiry Form. You will then be the first to know what courses we have available when Clearing opens on 5 July.

You can call us from 5 July to enquire, or to apply. We may be able to give you a verbal offer for a course if you already meet our Clearing entry criteria. If you have taken exams this year you will need to wait until you have received your exam results in August before being eligible for an offer.

Whilst our standard entry requirements are advertised on each course page within a study area, during Clearing we can sometimes consider applicants who do not quite meet these normal requirements. Please contact us to check if you would meet our entry requirements in Clearing.

You do need to know your grades before applying in Clearing, as we can’t give you a conditional offer, you must already meet the entry requirements set for the course during this time.

You do not need to write a new personal statement for Clearing. Our Clearing team will be able to discuss your options, and can give verbal offers on the phone, based on your qualifications and the results you have received. If there are any further entry requirements for your chosen course, or other touch-points such as an applicant visit day, they will be able to let you know.

For students who take exams in Scotland, SQA results day is 5 August 2025.

Students who took A-levels this year get their grades on 14 August 2025.

If you have already applied to universities through UCAS, log on to your UCAS Hub to see the status of your firm and insurance choice university applications. If you have not met the conditions of any conditional offers, this will show, and you can enter Clearing.

You can also go into Clearing by declining the offers you have received - if you have changed your mind. You should only release yourself from your current University offer once you have formally received a verbal offer for your preferred course from your chosen University in Clearing.

You can make Clearing calls as soon as you have your exam results.  If you have a UCAS application, write down your UCAS Personal ID number as this is one of the first things we will ask for when you call us.

Have your exam results to hand as we will also need to know subjects you have studied and the grades you have achieved.

Before you apply to Clearing, write down the phone numbers of universities that you want to contact, or even better, save them in your phone. We advise having a couple of universities in mind that you know you will call first, like a top choice and a back-up plan for your desired Clearing applications.

If you have applied to Napier through your main UCAS application, we will not be able to change our decision on a course you have already applied to. However, we may have very similar courses available in Clearing, so it’s worth giving us a call first if we're your top University choice.

You might feel it’s the most important phone call you've ever made, but calling a university in Clearing is very straightforward. Here are few tips to make that call as easy as possible:

• Save Edinburgh Napier’s phone number to your contacts in advance (this will be available on our Clearing web page from 5 July)
• The first thing our operators will ask for is your UCAS Personal ID number if you have one. Write it down or have it on a second device nearby.
• Research what courses we have available in Clearing on our Clearing web page before you call.
• If you don’t know what you want to study that’s fine too, we can talk you through the different options.

Communicating effectively is all about being yourself. You might find it helpful to write down what you want to say before you call. All our Clearing operators are here to support you, so that we can hopefully offer you a place at Edinburgh Napier.

We will also ask you for some personal details such as your address, preferred contact number, and email address. The email address you provide is where all communications about your Clearing application will be sent, so make sure it is an email address you have easy access to.

If you have any additional needs or support requirements, this is a good time to let us know, so that our Wellbeing and Inclusion Team can get in contact with you to discuss your needs.

If we give you an offer on the phone, you should complete the following steps if you wish to accept your place:

• If you have already applied through UCAS, log onto UCAS Hub and refer yourself to us using the course code in your offer email.
• If you did not apply through UCAS you will be sent an RPA (Record of Prior Acceptance) form to complete.
• Email us a copy of your qualifications.
• Once we receive your UCAS referral or completed RPA form, and your qualifications, we will verify your qualifications to ensure that you meet our requirements and then confirm your place.
• Finally you should advise your funding body of your change of course, and apply for student accommodation if you need to.
• You will start to receive communications from the University about completing the registration process and about your induction week.

If you don’t get an offer for the first course you had set your mind on, there are still lots of opportunities to start studying this year.

Consider alternative options, such as starting study in your preferred subject through a college course. Maybe there is a different degree that has lots of crossover content with your first-choice course.

If it’s just not possible for you to start University this year, have a think about how to enhance your qualifications, CV, and experience during a gap year. There are so many options:

• Retake some exams or get some different qualifications.
• Volunteer for a charity or programme that is in your study area.
• If you have the means and opportunity, working abroad can enhance language ability and give you more life skills.
• Look for short courses in your subject, you may even be able to do these alongside part time work.

You can do all your Clearing research into other universities and courses, without declining any offers that you currently hold. There are not ‘firm’ and ‘insurance’ choices in the Clearing application process though, so make sure you have a recent (within 24 hours) verbal offer of your new course and university before declining any previous offers.

If you applied through UCAS this year and you change your mind about an offer you have already accepted, you can follow these steps to apply to Edinburgh Napier University:

• Do your research – is the course that you’re changing your mind to available with us in Clearing?
• Fill a Clearing Enquiry Form or call us on the Clearing phone line.
• Receive a verbal offer from Edinburgh Napier.
• Either self-release from your former choice on UCAS Hub, or you can contact the university you are holding an offer with and ask them to release you into Clearing.
• You will then be able to formally accept your verbal offer from Edinburgh Napier, online, by following the instructions in your offer email.

Remember to keep your options open, Clearing is a very changeable time period when it comes to course availability. You should only release yourself from your current choice in the 24 hours after receiving a verbal offer from Edinburgh Napier. If you have held the verbal offer for more than 24 hours and have decided you wish to accept the offer, please call the Clearing team again to confirm the course is still open before releasing yourself from another choice.