'I didn't think I was an Oxbridge sort of person'

What if their results exceed expectations? Beryl Dixon lists the options

Mid August does not mean bad news for all students. The majority get the grades they want and go to the university or college of their choice. A significant number even find themselves with better grades than expected. What are their options?

If they have not already applied for a higher education place this year they might decide to do so now.

Like the unplaced applicants, they will need to look through the Clearing lists and try to fine a suitable place by ringing the telephone numbers given there. They will also need to ring UCAS (0124 2227788) to get the necessary forms. The difference between them and other applicants who may still be waiting to hear whether they have been accepted or rejected is that they are free to enter Clearing and may tell admissions staff that they are not holding any offers.

If they are holding offers, technically they are not free to approach other universities.

When they signed their UCAS application forms they were agreeing to follow UCAS rules, which clearly state that candidates are committed to their CF universities or colleges – CF means Conditional Firm. It is the offer of a place accepted earlier in the year (just as a university or college is committed to take an applicant who has met the terms of the offer). A number of students do approach other institutions, and succeed in transferring to other courses or a higher status university.

If your son or daughter wants to try to 'trade up', what should they do?

They will have to be sure of an offer from the new institution while attempting to obtain release from the CF one. In practice, obtaining release is not difficult. Admissions tutors on the losing end usually give in gracefully. After all, no one wants to teach reluctant students who would rather be elsewhere. It is up to the student therefore to negotiate with the new choice institution to make sure that they will be offered a place and then call the "loser" to obtain release.

Stuart Cairns, now studying sports studies at King Alfred's, Winchester, did exactly that. "I had accepted a place at another college to sports studies in combination with another subject. I noticed that King Alfred's had places for a single honours sport which the first college didn't offer. I rang King Alfred's, got the offer of a place, and negotiated release from the first college. I had to follow my phone call with a letter giving my reasons, then apply formally through Clearing."

Trading up this year, though, is only open to a small number, since the popular places have already been snapped up and only a few will come back on the market at this stage. What then?

There are other possibilities – but all mean taking a gap year. One is to contact a preferred university and persuade selectors to offer them a place for 2003, based on their present grades. It is best not to do this immediately, at a time when admissions staff are under siege from this year's Clearing applicants. They could well find course tutors keen to take a committed student who already has the entry grades. They should, however, ask for confirmation by letter or e-mail that the place will be offered. They will then need to reapply through UCAS.

The alternative is to start again from scratch. They can get the 2003 UCAS form now, put a new set of institutions on it and send it in any time from 1 September. This offers the chance to think again about subject choice. Do they apply for the same one but at a more prestigious place? Or would they like to try for a different course? Perhaps they would have liked to apply for a competitive subject like medicine, English or history, but did not expect to get such high grades. There is no desperate hurry to make a decision. They have plenty of time to read prospectuses and visit institutions. It is always an advantage, however, to send in an early UCAS form, but if they do so by the end of September they should be ahead of the rush.

If one subject grade was below the others, it could be worth re-taking just this one in the hope of achieving three excellent grades. You will have to make arrangements to do this in time to put it on the UCAS form. One place to try is a tutorial college. Tutorial colleges are experts in concentrating on students' weaknesses and in coaching in exam technique, and can cope with all syllabuses. This is not a cheap option, however, so you may wish to consider the second option which is to retake at a sixth form or further education college if they offer a suitable course.

Case study

Trading up to Oxbridge has always been a popular choice after getting excellent exam results. This is what Paul Teulon did before reading maths and economics at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He achieved As in biology, chemistry, maths, further maths and general studies, but had not put Cambridge on his UCAS form: "I didn't think I was the right sort of person to go there, so I applied for six other high-status universities instead. During the year I began to think, 'I will never know if I could have got in', and decided to give it a go if my results were good."

Paul had to take a gap year but got a scholarship with an accountancy firm which provided work experience, travel money and a study grant. He has just graduated and is working for a year for Cambridge University to encourage more applicants from less traditional backgrounds – "payback time", as he puts it.