31st Jan 12
UK university applicant numbers fall 8.7%
by Harry Oldfield
Study break: thousands of UK school leavers deciding against uni
Study break: thousands of UK school leavers deciding against uni
The UK university applicant number has fallen by 8.7 per cent – although school leavers have not been put off by the tuition fees tripling, with the sharper decline being among the more affluent candidates in comparison with those from less privileged backgrounds, show official figures.
The controversial decision to allow universities to increase undergraduate fees to a £9,000 maximum provoked widespread criticism and battered Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats party’s credibility after they had vowed to phase fees out during the election.
However, the latest Ucas figures show the number of 18-year-old-applicants from the UK has gone down by 3.6 per cent in comparison with last year, representing a fall of just below 8,500 candidates. The UK’s population has also seen a decline of 11,000 18-year-olds this year (1.4 per cent), with the figure now standing at 772,000, revealed the Office for National Statistics.
But the overall applicant numbers, including mature and overseas candidates, are 7.4 per cent below what they were at the same time last year, says Ucas. The number of UK applicants has gone down by 8.7 per cent. The decline has been sharper among male applicants than females, with the proportion of men falling by 8.5 per cent and women by 6.7 per cent. Meanwhile, overseas applicants from non-EU countries have increased by 13.7 per cent.
Ucas’s chief executive Mary Curnock Cook said that their analysis reveals that falls in demand are marginally larger in more privileged groups than the less well-off groups. She explained that widely expressed concerns regarding the recent changes in the funding arrangements of higher education impacting the disadvantaged groups more have not been proven by this data.
Demand is set to continue to be higher than supply in terms of university places in 2012. There are currently 50,000 more university applications this year than there were acceptances last year. Competition will also be more intense because the amount of government-funded places at universities in England will drop by 10,000.
There are big declines in the number of applications from mature students this year: almost 2,400 less 30- to 39-year-olds, and over 1,000 less students above the age of 40. Doing a second university course is more expensive this year for anyone that already has a degree because student loans are only given for first degrees.
Universities UK’s chief executive Nicola Dandridge said that while overall applicants have gone down in comparison with the same period last year, the decline is much less dramatic than many experts had predicted. She also pointed out that when looking at the amount of 18-year-old candidates from the UK it is worth noting that the falls have only been 3.6 per cent during a time when the overall population of 18-year-olds is declining.
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