Sometimes it can be hard to pick up the pieces. Your friends have all got the grades they needed and are looking forward to packing their bags and starting a new life in October. You have not, and you are sitting there thinking that you won’t be going anywhere — ever.

Well, don’t. Disappointments can often turn out to be blessings in disguise. The worst-case scenario is that the course you have failed to get into is the only course you ever wanted to do. If this is your situation, then you have no option: you need to resit the exam or exams you fluffed and re-apply. But look on the bright side. You are going to have time to take up new activities, find work that might be relevant to a future career, broaden your CV in ways that could make all the difference when it comes to that first job interview.

Maybe, though, you were not that certain about the course or the university. Your failure to secure the necessary grades means that you can think about what it is you actually want to do. The fundamental question is: do you really want to go to university, and, if the answer is yes, do you need to?

For many students sixth form study and university application is a bit of a conveyor belt. Government propaganda would have you believe that everyone has to have a degree. The truth is that they don’t. More and more employers are saying that it makes sense to recruit 18-year-olds who can be trained on the job. Many graduates find it hard to secure work that requires degree-level skills. The financial advantage that the graduate has enjoyed over the non-graduate is diminishing as more people obtain degrees. And you do not need me to remind you that three years at university can lead to a hefty debt — particularly since this is the first year that students will have to pay £3,000 tuition fees a year at all bar four universities.

So step back and take stock. See this blip in your life as an opportunity to consider your options. If you know that you want to be a doctor, then you need a degree in medicine. Other career options may not, however, benefit from three years at university. Time spent working on a local paper may be a better investment than a media studies degree if you want to be a journalist.

If you decide that you do want to go to university, all is not lost. Last year 99,609 of the 500,000 or so students who applied to university found that they had not achieved the grades they needed for their first choice or their second “insurance” course. A total of 37,197 of these students found places through the clearing system of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas), which matches unfilled vacancies on degree courses to applicants without a place.

This year the chances of being accepted are better than last because the introduction of top up fees has meant that there has been a 4% drop in applications nationwide, leaving some universities struggling to fill places. There are fewer applicants eligible for clearing — 96,257 this year and early indications suggest that popular subjects they are chasing on the 37,500 courses which still have vacancies include law, economics, business studies and psychology.

Remember, too, that about 4,500 students every year achieve better A-level grades than expected and use clearing to search out more attractive university courses. It is a risk because you have to give up your confirmed course and shop around in a fast moving market, but it may be a risk worth taking. This year some universities are offering scholarships worth up to £5,000 a year to candidates with good exam results.

Ucas sends an explanatory booklet and an entry form known as a “clearing passport” to every applicant who holds no offers, who has not had their offers confirmed, who has declined their offers, or who applied after June 30. Check that the details on your passport are correct and keep a note of the entry number and your original Ucas application number. If you decide to approach a university you will be asked for this information.

Information on courses with vacancies is published from August 17 until late September on the Ucas website (www.ucas.com), in the media and on university websites. Ucas recommends that candidates use its web-based Track service to keep up to speed with vacancies. You will need your Ucas application number, Track user name and password. You can also telephone Ucas (0870 112 2211) until August 28.

The Sunday Times University Guide (www.timesonline.co.uk/universityguide) will help you to decide whether a course that interests you is any good. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education website (www.qaa.ac.uk) gives information on drop-out rates and teacher ratings for courses.

Once you have decided on a particular course, contact the university or college to see if it will accept you. You should do this yourself because the admissions tutor will want to speak to you personally, not to your parent or teacher. So, hard though it may be, it is best to postpone holiday plans.

If you are offered a place, the admissions tutor might ask you to send your clearing passport. Don’t, though, post the form until you are sure that the course is right for you and you have a firm promise that the university intends to accept you. ()

Times recommends

• Students face big rise in university fees
• Students to rate lecturers online
• Lord heads team to look at raising tuition fees