A text messages sent by Bradford University to students waiting for A-level results reading "Hoping 4 gr8 results Thursday :-) frm bfd uni" is one of the latest moves in the scramble by universities to fill their places.
This year there are signs that there will be more vacant places than ever, giving students the chance to shop around when they get their results. And with universities under pressure to recruit students as their financial safety net is withdrawn by the government funding councils, the battle for student hearts and minds is expected to be fast and furious in this year's clearing round.
UK institutions are still nowhere near the position in the US where even the most prestigious private universities like Harvard and Stanford spend a lot of time and money in wooing students, but the trend is unmistakable.
Bradford, which pioneered text messages last year, is this year offering e-cards on its clearing website with messages such as "cheers", "congratulations", "just a note", "good luck" and "fancy meeting up?" in an effort to get more young people and their families visiting the site (www.bradford.ac.uk/clearing).
The university's web officer, Claire Gibbons, said the e-cards were an ideal way for family and friends wishing to help in the search for a course to pass on information without "interfering".
The city's image was dented by riots two years ago and the clearing website aims to counter bad impressions by plugging it as "the least expensive student city in the UK".
Queen Mary, University of London, has a virtual agony aunt to give advice on clearing while at Middlesex, which has been advertising on television, a clearing team will be manning the phones from 7.30am on the morning of A-level results day on August 14.
There is hard cash on offer as well as frothy promotions to attract students. Now that the government has decided it needs social workers after all, anyone starting the new BA in social work - Bradford is one of the institutions offering it - could be eligible for bursaries of up to £3,000 a year, including £500 travel costs to work placements.
Leeds Metropolitan is making 15 bursaries of £3,000 available for students from low income families in its area in an effort to widen access and overcome fears of debt.
Other universities are hoping that sexy new courses will attract undecided students. Kingston University, for instance, is offering a new degree in forensic science and investigative analysis, which will teach the scientific techniques for collecting and interpreting evidence.
Propelled by a rash of television dramas, forensic science has become a bandwagon since it was pioneered by Staffordshire University, which found that while straight chemistry courses were struggling to recruit, if students could dress up in white suits and analyse a bloodstained bathroom then there was no stopping them.
