UCAS Adjustment: Discontinued, and What to Do Instead

UCAS Adjustment no longer exists. UCAS removed it for 2022 entry, so it ended after the 2021 cycle, and there's no Adjustment for 2027 entry. If you meet and exceed your conditional firm offer and want to move, you can release yourself into Clearing with "Decline my place", but that step can't be undone.

If you've landed here because your results beat your offer, congratulations. That's a good problem to have. The old safety net has gone, though, so the order you do things in matters far more than it used to. Want to see what your grades are worth before you read on? Work out your UCAS points in under a minute.

What was UCAS Adjustment?

Adjustment was a UCAS service for students whose results beat the conditions of their conditional firm offer. It let them look for a place on a different course while their confirmed place stayed safe in the background. If nothing better turned up, they simply kept the place they already had. That safety net is the part that no longer exists.

Is UCAS Adjustment still available in 2027?

No. UCAS removed Adjustment for the 2022 entry cycle, and it hasn't returned. UCAS's own briefing on what was different for Clearing 2022 lists "Adjustment has been removed" as one of the changes. No current UCAS page offers it as an option, for 2027 entry or any other year.

If an old guide, forum thread or school handout talks about registering for Adjustment, it's out of date. You may also read that UCAS dropped it because too few students used it. That explanation comes from other websites rather than from UCAS, so treat it as unconfirmed.

The good news is that the outcome Adjustment was built for, moving to a course your results now reach, is still possible. You just get there a different way, and with more risk.

What can you do instead if you beat your firm offer?

Today's route uses two things already built into your UCAS application: the "Decline my place" button and Clearing.

UCAS's adviser guidance says that if your results not only meet but exceed the conditions of your conditional firm offer, you can decline your place and apply through Clearing. If you then use Clearing Plus (the student pages call it "Your Clearing matches"), UCAS signposts universities with spaces whose entry requirements match your results. You can then mark the courses you're interested in. Our guide to how Clearing Plus matches work explains what happens after that.

There's a second situation too. From 2 July, the day Clearing opens, if you're holding an unconditional firm place you can also use "Decline my place" to release yourself into Clearing.

For 2027 entry, Clearing runs from 2 July to 18 October 2027 (the last date to add a Clearing choice). Our guide to UCAS deadlines and key dates for 2027 entry puts these dates alongside the rest of the cycle.

Which parts are confirmed for 2027 entry?

UCAS hasn't yet published its 2027 edition of the Confirmation and Clearing adviser toolkit, which is where the "meet and exceed" guidance comes from. So it helps to be clear about which details are confirmed for which year:

Until UCAS publishes its 2027 guidance, treat the 2026 description as the best guide available, and check UCAS's pages again before your results day.

How to switch courses safely: do it in this order

The order matters more than anything else here. Get it wrong and you could end up with no place at all.

1. Check your results against your offer. Make sure you've met and exceeded the conditions of your conditional firm offer, and read your status in your UCAS application. Put your grades into the UCAS points calculator too, because some courses state entry requirements in Tariff points.
2. Research courses with vacancies. From 2 July 2027, Clearing vacancies show in UCAS's search tool. Our tool showing what you can study with your UCAS points helps you see which courses your total now reaches.
3. Contact the university before you touch your application. Call or email admissions, give your results, and explain that you're holding a firm place but want to move. Ask whether they'll offer you a place.
4. Get a clear yes. Note who you spoke to, the course and any conditions. Don't go any further until the university has agreed to take you.
5. Only then use "Decline my place". This releases you into Clearing and cancels both your firm and insurance choices.
6. Add the new course as your Clearing choice. Give the university your Clearing number (it appears under "Application status" once you're eligible) and your Personal ID. The university must give permission before you add the choice, and adding it counts as accepting the offer.

The one rule to remember: never decline your place on the strength of a hope. UCAS itself says to secure a new place first, because the step isn't reversible.

Should you actually switch?

Beating your offer is a brilliant result, but it doesn't mean you have to move. You chose your firm choice for good reasons, and most of them probably still stand. Before you pick up the phone, it's worth being honest with yourself about what the new course gives you that your current one doesn't.

Questions worth answering first:

• Is the new course a better fit for what you want to study, or just a higher-ranked name?
• Have you compared the course content, not only the entry requirements?
• Have you thought about accommodation, which you'd need to sort out again at a new university?
• Would you be happy to lose your current place if the new one fell through?

Here's how your realistic options compare:

If you'd like a year out but want to keep your place, ask the university about deferring. It's their decision, and our guide to deferred entry explains how late deferral works and why you can only have one live UCAS application at a time.

If your firm and insurance choices still feel like the right pair, our guide to firm vs insurance choices is a useful sense-check. And if you're weighing up how a new offer might be worded, conditional vs unconditional offers explains the difference.

What if your results went the other way?

This page is about beating your offer. If your grades came in below your conditions instead, it's a different situation, and Clearing is one of the routes open to people who missed their offer conditions. Our guide on what to do if you missed your grades takes you through it, and our guide to how UCAS Clearing works covers the process itself.

See what your grades could get you