The government has come under further pressure to reform university admissions after new figures indicated 80% of A-level students competing for a place through the clearing system will not be successful.
According to Ucas figures released at the start of clearing on Thursday, there were around 29,000 courses which had available places on degree courses.
Of the estimated 29,000 courses, almost 18,000 have already been filled. However there are still 61,737 applicants who have not yet secured a place at university, meaning four out of every five students competing for a place will be unsuccessful.
The rush for places has given rise to calls for the university system to be overhauled.
Rick Chasey commented on the Guardian’s A-level results live blog:
“Still find it bizarre that the system can’t be arranged so that you apply and decide where you want to go AFTER you get your results, rather than this strange system with predicted grades and maybe going somewhere but maybe not.
“It makes it quite difficult to plan for things. Why does the system have to put its students through so much avoidable stress? There must be a better way than this.”
President of the National Union of Students (NUS) Liam Burns told the Huffington Post UK there was a "golden opportunity" to reform university admissions: “This would avoid the annual scrabble through a clearing process which has left many feeling like they are banging their heads against a brick wall.
“Practical changes such as bringing in post-qualification applications so students know their A-level results before they apply to university would help reduce the additional stress and panic of results day.”
He added: “Mary Curnock Cook [the chief executive of Ucas] has rightly been very vocal on the need for admissions reforms, and now it is time to deliver those reforms.”
Pressure on the government began to mount over the admissions chaos Ucas admissions chaos which ensued after the site crashed at 8.30am last Thursday 18.
An unprecedented number of students were competing for a place to study at university through the clearing process, causing the site to crash. This left thousands of students without a tracking number, meaning they did not know if they had gained a place at university or not.
A spokesperson for Ucas told Huffington Post UK: “Ucas does not definitively know the number of places available, although the number of people placed by the end of the cycle is likely to be broadly similar to last year.
"Ucas is currently undertaking a review of the admissions process to ensure it supports, fair, efficient and transparent admissions. Making it possible for more applicants to apply with their qualifications is one of a number of options being considered.”
A consultation paper, with findings, will be published by Ucas in early October, with the outputs from the consultation being made public early next year.
A spokesperson for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) said: "We signalled in the higher education white paper that Ucas are reviewing the applications process, and consulting on the barriers and benefits to introducing a post qualification application system. The current system of applications to higher education does work effectively and successfully places a large number of applicants each year.
"These potential advantages need to be weighed against the significant changes moving to a system of post qualification application (PQA) could entail. So it’s important that we consider all the issues carefully before we decide to implement any such system."
The BIS said they would await the outcome of the Ucas review before making any decisions. They have promised to work with Ucas and the Department for Education to decide whether a hybrid system will benefit future students.
The consultation deadline for the Government's white paper, titled 'students at the heart of the system', is September 20.