Matt Criddle, Agency Sales Manager at UCAS Media, shares the key trends and applicant behaviour during clearing.

1. Clearing Clarified –
Key Trends and Applicant Behaviour
Matt Criddle: Agency Sales Manager

2. OVERVIEW
1. Growth of the Clearing Market
2.
3.
4.
Applicant Behaviour & Decision Making
Applicant Profiling – Placed & Unplaced
How Can UCAS Media Help?5.
How Long Does Clearing Last?

3. Growth of the Clearing Market1.

4. GROWTH OF THE
CLEARING MARKET
Clearing 2014 – up 7.4% to 61,000
APPLICANTS PLACED VIA CLEARING
20112010 2012 2013 2014
46.9k
51.2k
55.7k
57.1k
61.3k

5. GROWTH OF THE
CLEARING MARKET
• 23% more applicants placed in 2014 than in
Clearing 2010
• Clearing a mature market offering choice to
applicants
• 5,000 Applicants placed at Firm or
Insurance choice, change provider during
Clearing
• Applicants changing for their Firm choice 4
times more likely to be placed via Clearing
than Adjustment

6. GROWTH OF THE
CLEARING MARKET
2014 ACCEPTED APPLICANTS
Accepted via Firm Choice
Accepted via Insurance Choice
Accepted via Clearing
• Are we seeing the formation of a buyers market?
• Increased number of/ and diverse range of HEP’s
recruiting – increased Choice for Applicants
• 18 of the 24 Russell Group Institutions actively
recruiting in Clearing 2014
• Clearing, is now a valuable recruitment channel for
an increasing number of providers
• Applicants more likely to be placed in Clearing than
via Insurance choice

7. 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

8. 2. Applicant Behaviour & Decision making2.

9. APPLICANT BEHAVIOUR AND
DECISION MAKING

10. APPLICANT BEHAVIOUR AND
DECISION MAKING
RESULTS DAY 2014 BY NUMBERS:
1,253,489 Logins to track –
av. 8.9 per second

11. APPLICANT BEHAVIOUR AND
DECISION MAKING
RESULTS DAY 2014 BY NUMBERS:
5.2million page views on
UCAS.com

12. APPLICANT BEHAVIOUR AND
DECISION MAKING
RESULTS DAY 2014 BY NUMBERS:
600,000 searches in Course Search Tool
Most popular subjects were Law, Psychology
and Economics

13. APPLICANT BEHAVIOUR AND
DECISION MAKING
RESULTS DAY 2014 BY NUMBERS:
2,980 Social Media Enquiries
- 1,603 via Facebook

14. APPLICANT BEHAVIOUR AND
DECISION MAKING
RESULTS DAY 2014 BY NUMBERS:
16,000 calls
to the UCAS Contact Centre

15. IT’S BUSY!!
But what do the students involved think?
APPLICANT BEHAVIOUR AND
DECISION MAKING
RESULTS DAY 2014 BY NUMBERS:

16. APPLICANT BEHAVIOUR AND
DECISION MAKING
Source : UCAS End of Cycle Applicant Survey – October 2014
How many Universities
/ Colleges did you
contact in Clearing
What were you most
interested in when
searching for courses
in Clearing?
What factors
influenced your
choice of course
in Clearing?
Why did you
use Clearing?
35% Missed their
required grades
24% Wanted to change
course or provider
20% Applied late
24% Received no offers
42% Only contacted 1
16% contacted 2
12% contacted 3
8% contacted 4
55% Subject
20% Entry requirements
I know I can meet
15% Institution Location
11% Institution Type
47% Parents or other
family members
29% Friends
28% School / College

17. 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

18. 3. Applicant Profiling – Placed & Unplaced

19. APPLICANT PROFILING - GENDER
44% 48% 40%
56% 52% 60%
Source : UCAS Exact Report
MAIN PLACED UNPLACED

20. APPLICANT PROFILING - AGE
Source : UCAS Exact Report
MAIN PLACED UNPLACED
11% 1% 3%
52% 44% 33%
17 and
under
18
19
20
21 and
over
21% 22% 16%
8% 9% 9%
18% 24% 38%

21. APPLICANT PROFILING - DOMICILE
Source : UCAS Exact Report
MAIN PLACED UNPLACED
74% 82.72% 56.2%ENGLAND
NORTHERN IRELAND
SCOTLAND
WALES
EU
OVERSEAS
3% 0.44% 3.3%
7% 2.16% 7.7%
4% 3.41% 2.6%
5% 3.26% 10.9%
7% 6.35% 19.2%

22. APPLICANT PROFILING - GRADE
ABB+
Source : UCAS Exact Report
MAIN PLACED UNPLACED
37% 16% 19%
ABB- 63% 84% 81%
GRADE

23. 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

24. 4. How long does Clearing last?

25. CLEARING 2014
- HOW LONG DOES IT LAST?
IS IT ALL ABOUT THE FIRST 48HRS?
7,280 Placed – 12%
48hrs

26. WHAT ABOUT THE FIRST 4 DAYS?
20,340 placed – 33%

27. SURELY IT’S ALL OVER IN THE FIRST WEEK?
41,150 placed by the end of week 1 – 67%

28. A further 20,150 (33%) applicants recruited
between week 2 and the close of cycle.

29. 22% - Around 13,000 were placed
in September

30. 187,315
were still unplaced
at the close of cycle

31. 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

32. 5. How can UCAS Media help?

33. HOW CAN UCAS MEDIA HELP?
OUR AUDIENCES
• 100% of Applicants – Placed & Unplaced
• Parents & Guardians
• Advisors at Schools & Colleges
MARKETING CHANNELS
• Digital Display Advertising
• Mobile Advertising
• SMS
• E-newsletters
• Targeted Email Campaigns
• Video wall

34. DIGITAL DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Digital Display opportunities
across key UCAS content
Position your brand in front of
students researching clearing
opportunities
Advertising formats:
• Banner Advertising
• Mobile Banner
• Button Adverts
• Text Link
• Subject Specific Keyword
Adverts

35. DIGITAL DISPLAY – CASE STUDIES
Clicks >> 200+
CTR >> 0.19%
CLIENT: The London College
DISTRIUTION PERIOD: August 5th – September 12th
TOP PERFORMING LEADERBOARD

36. DIGITAL DISPLAY – CASE STUDIES
Clicks >> 500+
CTR >> 0.24%
CLIENT: Royal Holloway
DISTRIUTION PERIOD:
August 11th – September 12th
TOP PERFORMING SKYSCRAPER

37. DIGITAL DISPLAY – MOBILE
CASE STUDIES
Clicks >> 600+
CTR >> 0.51%
CLIENT 1: Canterbury Christ Church University
DISTRIUTION PERIOD: August 5th – September 12th

38. DIGITAL DISPLAY – MOBILE
CASE STUDIES
Clicks >> 700+
CTR >> 0.48%
CLIENT 2: Queen Mary University of London
DISTRIUTION PERIOD: August 7th – September 7th

39. CLEARING UNPLACED EMAILS
WHAT?
Targeted email campaigns to UCAS Unplaced Applicant Data
WHEN?
From the Friday after Results Day
WHY?
• 2015 Clearing recruitment – Across 94 Targeted Email campaigns, 501
applicants were accepted to the institution who had sent them the email.
• January/February Starts – Great audience for targeting potential Jan/Feb
Starters – 29% Open Rate and 3% CTR across 21 campaigns sent
• 2016 Entry recruitment – Approximately 50% of 18 year olds re-apply, of
which 90% will be successful
• Early Careers Opportunities – Early Careers recruiters are successfully using
this data to promote their post 18 opportunities

40. EMAIL CASE STUDY 1
Open Rate >> 29%
CTR >> 4%
CLIENT: Liverpool Hope University
UCAS AUDIENCE: 2014 Unplaced Applicants
SUBJECT LINE: Places still available at Liverpool
Hope University
AUDIENCE SIZE: 7,000+
WHEN: Monday 18th August

41. EMAIL CASE STUDY 2
Open Rate >> 33%
CTR >> 6%
CLIENT: Jaguar Land Rover
UCAS AUDIENCE: 2014 Unplaced Applicants
SUBJECT LINE: Jaguar Land Rover Apprenticeships
DATA FILTERS: Engineering, Domiciled in the Midlands
AUDIENCE SIZE: 800+
WHEN: Monday 12th January

42. New for 2015 :
Precision Marketing Tool
Proactively target the best suited candidates with your Clearing vacancies
What is it? : An enhanced candidate matching tool powered by previous cycle clearing intelligence for your institution
How will it work? :
1. Confirm Interest with UCAS Media Account Manager
2. Access Data Catalogue - updated daily from 10th August
3. Order data for specific course requirements – By 1pm on 12th August
4. ‘Matched’ learner profiles supplied – released at 10am on Results Day
5. Call learner and make verbal offer – Between 1pm – 7pm on Results Day
6. Learner adds choice in their personal Track account which is then confirmed by HEP
7. UCAS Media Invoice fee per placed applicant

43. SUMMARY OF KEY INSIGHTS
The Clearing market is
growing - up 7.4% to
61,300. Applicants
now more likely to be
placed in Clearing than
via Insurance Choice
1
Clearing is also a highly
valuable channel for the
recruitment of high grade
candidates - 9,910 held
ABB+, while 20% of those
unplaced also had ABB+
2
Some students have a change
of heart by results day. 5,000
applicants change provider
despite having a place at
either a firm or insurance
choice
3

44. SUMMARY OF KEY INSIGHTS
42% of placed students
surveyed only contacted
one HEP during clearing
and almost 50% will be
influenced by their parent
of guardian
4
Over 25,000 students
recruited between week 2 and
close of cycle. Overall,
Clearing is a long process.
Don’t give up too early!
5
Almost 190,000 students
are looking for new
opportunities at the close of
the cycle.
6

45. THANK YOU!