That’s the message from the Student Loans Company (SLC) ahead of A-level results day on 13 August and as the Clearing process gets underway.

“Clearing” is a system that matches university applicants who haven’t had an offer with institutions that still have unfilled places. Students going through Clearing might not have applied for university yet, or may have not achieved the grades required to take up their offered places.

Get your finance sorted

The SLC is encouraging students going through Clearing to make sorting out their student finance a top priority.

Figures released by UCAS show that last year more than 73,000 students used the Clearing service, and more than 19,600 of them only applied for a course after their exam results came through.

Derek Ross, SLC‘s director of operations, said: “It is important that students complete their finance applications as soon as possible to ensure that their first payments are available for the start of term. The sooner they submit their application the sooner we can get their finance in place.

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“Those students who have already applied for student finance but want to change their course, university or college should update their details on their online account at www.gov.uk/student-finance.”

Students who have still to apply should do so as soon as possible as it can take six weeks to process an application. Student Finance England will make an initial assessment, so you have some money as close to the start of your course as possible.

Tips for making applying for student finance as smooth as possible

• Have your National Insurance number and UK passport details to hand before you start your online application as you will be asked for this information as part of the process.
• Keep a note of the email address you use when applying for student finance and make sure you choose a password that you’ll remember. You’ll be able to check the progress of your application, update your details and check your payments from your online account.
• Upload any evidence that’s been asked for using the new digital evidence submission service as soon as possible.
• If you have already applied for finance for a different course, update your online account with the new course or provider details.