Your results day plan
The best way to approach results day is to be prepared. Develop your own results day plan by working through the steps below ahead of time so you’re ready for any scenario.
Results day
Results day is an important milestone. Understand what to expect, explore your options, and start building your plan today.
Thursday 13 August
A level results day 2026
Tuesday 4 August
Qualifications Scotland results day 2026
How to prepare for results day
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1. Know where you stand | Check your firm and insurance choices, offer conditions, and how your exam results will get to you and your chosen universities or colleges. |
| 2. Think about different situations | Consider what you’ll do if your place is confirmed, your insurance choice is confirmed, your grades are different from expected, or you want to explore other options. |
| 3. Explore your options | Revisit your original choices, look at similar courses and different universities or colleges, explore Clearing, and shortlist places you’d still be happy to consider. |
| 4. Know who you might need to speak to | Save contact details for your school or college, universities or colleges, UCAS, and anyone supporting you on the day. Check your contact details are up-to-date too. |
| 5. Know where to find trusted information | Use UCAS for the most up-to-date list of Clearing vacancies and check details directly with universities or colleges before making decisions. |
| 6. Get your results day essentials ready | Get your UCAS Hub sign in, UCAS Personal ID, phone, results day plan, useful links, and contact details ready before results day. |
What happens on results day?
Here’s what happens on results day and what needs to be done at each stage of the process:
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Before results day | Most results are sent to UCAS and your chosen universities or colleges automatically – here’s the list of results we get. If yours aren't included, you'll need to send them to your chosen universities or colleges yourself. |
| Results are released | Collect your results from your school or college, or from your awarding organisation. |
| Check your application status | See the latest status of your application in your UCAS Hub and find out whether your place has been confirmed or not. |
| Plan for different situations | You may have a confirmed place, be considered by your insurance choice, have a decision pending, explore Clearing, or decide to take a different route. Learn more about your options. |
| Move forward | Follow the next steps from UCAS and your university or college to prepare for the next stage of your journey. |
If your plans change
Choose your situation to find out what to do next.
Find out what happens if you’ve been accepted to your course.
Find out what your options are if you didn’t get the grades needed.
You can explore alternative courses through Clearing if you wish.
Find out what to do if you change your mind about your options.
Search for courses in Clearing
Find which courses have Clearing vacancies.
Using AI to support your planning?
AI can help you explore your options, but it won't always have the latest information. Be sure to check important details with official sources when doing your research and before making any decisions.
AI can help you:
- explore ideas and different options
- explain unfamiliar terms or processes
- summarise and organise information
- prepare questions to ask a university or draft a Clearing call script
AI can't tell you:
- whether a course has places available through Clearing
- whether information is up-to-date and accurate
- the latest entry requirements or application decisions
- what you should do next or which course or university is right for you
Remember...
Always check important information with UCAS and universities or colleges before making decisions.
Useful links to plan for results day
Everything you need, in one place.
Once you've sent your application and received your welcome email, you can sign in at any time to see how it's progressing.
Here we explain what your application status means and what to do next.
Who to contact for help and advice about your application, and what to do next.
If you no longer want to go to your firm choice, you can use the ‘decline your place’ button in your application.
After you’ve received your results, there could be a number of reasons why your place hasn't been confirmed yet.
Find out what happens if you’ve been placed at your insurance choice and what your options are.