A-Level Results Day can be a very stressful occasion for many, especially with a place at university potentially on the line.

For some, results may not quite have been good enough to get a place on a certain course and some may not have received any offers they had wanted to accept in the first place.

This is where clearing comes in as universities look to fill in any places they still have left on their courses.

Some students may have questions on how it works, particularly on if universities will accept lower grades in the clearing process.

How does clearing work?

On the UCAS website, it says that "you can apply for a course using clearing if you’re not already holding an offer from a university or college, and the course still has places."

This can be done if you didn’t meet the conditions of your university offers, you didn't receive any offers (or didn't receive any you wanted to accept) or you’ve declined your firm place using the ‘decline my place’ button in your application.

Once you've decided to commit to clearing you can talk to an adviser at your school, college, centre, or careers office to discuss alternative courses and subjects.

Do universities accept lower grades in Clearing?

Even if you have missed out on the grade levels for your choice of subject and university, it doesn't guarantee that you will need to go through clearing.

If you’re only just below the entry requirements they may still have given you a place.

However, if you haven't been accepted for the course then looking through for clearing for alternative options is usually quite helpful.

If a university is looking to fill spaces on some of its courses they could accept you even if your grades are slightly below their entry requirements.

The ApplyToUni page says: "Most universities that have course vacancies during clearing will be prepared to accept you if your grades are below their entry requirements as long as you sound passionate and are right for the degree subject.

"They may also accept you based on the UCAS points you’ve accumulated rather than your final grades. For example, the entry requirements might be AAA and you’ve got ABB but your UCAS points might add up to enough to make the university give you a place."

Even if you are more than a grade away from the entry requirements having a good idea of why you want to take the course and a good telephone manner with the admissions tutor you are speaking to might win them over.

How long is the clearing process open for?

Clearing will close on Tuesday, October 17 but students have been encouraged to not waste time in going through the process.

Do you have to pay for clearing?

You only have to pay for clearing if you originally only applied for one course for the reduced fee of £22.50.

The usual fee for multiple choice application is £27 so you will need to pay the remaining £4.50 to use the clearing service.