Figures from the university admissions service, Ucas, show it was the highest number for five years.
Students placed through clearing tend to be those who did not get the grades for their favoured courses.
But a dip in university applications has left universities looking to fill more places than usual.
There have been reports of some leading universities offering places through clearing.
This year's early figure is nearly double the number of students placed through the system at the same point five years ago.
Overall, 437,070 students have been accepted on to university courses - the vast majority getting the grades for their chosen places of study.
This is down 1.3% on the same point last year, Ucas figures show.
About 134,840 students are still registered as looking for places in clearing.
Since 2013, universities have been able to recruit unlimited numbers of students who achieved certain grades in their A-levels.
It comes after the proportion of candidates awarded top grades rose slightly on last year.
Ucas chief executive Clare Marchant said with nearly 45,000 courses looking for students there was a huge amount of choice out there.

Paulo Roberto Costa - who is in jail and being investigated for involvement in the alleged scheme - named a minister, governors and congressmen.
Among them were members of the governing Workers Party and groups which back President Dilma Rousseff.
But the names, published in a magazine, also included rivals of Ms Rousseff.
Many of the names were published in Veja, one of Brazil's leading magazines, just weeks before the presidential election in which Ms Rousseff is running for a second term in office.
Several politicians mentioned have denied involvement.
Mr Costa claimed that politicians received 3% commissions on the values of contracts signed with Petrobras when he was working there from 2004 to 2012.
He alleged that the scheme was used to buy support for the government in congressional votes.
Mr Costa was arrested in 2013. He is now in jail and struck a plea-bargain deal with prosecutors before giving the names.
Ahead of the election, Ms Rousseff's approval ratings have been slipping in opinion polls in favour of her rival, former Environment Minister Marina Silva.
The BBC's Wyre Davies in Rio de Janeiro says the latest allegations could hurt the incumbent further, as during her presidency Petrobras has dramatically underperformed and its costs have risen sharply.
It has become one of the world's most indebted oil companies and lost half of its market value in three years.
The BBC has requested a comment from Petrobras about the latest allegations and is awaiting a response.
Some 11,180 students were placed on undergraduate courses in the UK through clearing in the first 24 hours after yesterday's A-level results.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
An ex-director of Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras is reported to have accused more than 40 politicians of involvement in a kickback scheme.