Model had to accept university place (7)
I believe the answer is:
situate
'place' is the definition.
(situate can mean to place or position)
'model had to accept university' is the wordplay.
'model' becomes 'sit' (e.g. for a painting).
'had' becomes 'ate' (e.g. I had an ice cream).
'to accept' indicates putting letters inside.
'university' becomes 'U' (abbreviation for university).
'sit'+'ate'='sitate'
'sitate' going around 'u' is 'SITUATE'.
(Other definitions for situate that I've seen before include "Locate" , "station" , "Position" , "put in context" , "Place in a particular location" .)