UCAS: 5,000 fewer students applying for university

By  Graeme Paton, Education Editor

The number of students applying to university has dropped by 5,000 in a year following warnings over a decline in graduate job prospects. 

Figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show that the overall number of applications from British students is down by four per cent so far this academic year. 

The disclosure came on the day that the Government announced it was cutting £100 million from the National Scholarship Programme – a fund for poor students. 

It also follows the publication of figures from the Office for National Statistics showing that half of recent graduates are working in jobs that do not require degree-level qualifications. 

But university leaders dismissed the figures today, insisting that they were not a “particularly useful indicator of final demand”. 

The data relates to applications lodged by mid-November for degrees beginning in autumn 2014. Most students do not apply until closer to the official mid-January deadline for most courses. 

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, said: “It is very early in the applications cycle and, as we have seen in recent years, applicants are increasingly using the whole applications period, and applying right up to the 15 January deadline.” 

She added: “While there remain concerns about the number of part-time and mature applicants, it is clear that overall demand for higher education remains high.” 

A spokesman for UCAS said: "In recent cycles, applicant totals have increased by around 300 per cent between the November interim comparison point and the January deadline." 

According to UCAS, a total of 140,890 people have applied to British universities for courses starting next autumn. It was down by three per cent on the 144,980 who applied at the same point last year. 

Among British students alone, demand is down by four per cent – 5,000 – to 114,450 this year. 

Applications dropped by seven per cent from Northern Ireland, six per cent from Wales, four per cent from England and two per ent from Scotland. Demand from students from EU member states, who pay the same fees at British counterparts, remained at 2012 levels. 

However, the figures show a significant rise in applications from international students who can be charged far more for a degree. 

In total, 17,460 people from countries outside the EU applied by mid-November – up seven per cent on last year. 

This comes despite claims in a report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) this week that a toughening up of immigration rules was driving away foreign students. 

Meanwhile, on Thursday the Government announced it was slashing its National Scholarship Programme by two-thirds – from £150m to £50m in 2014/15. It had been planning to make this reduction 12 months later. 

David Willetts, the Universities Minister, insisted that 100,000 poor students “could still receive” a cash bursary which will go towards living costs. 

Prof Les Ebdon, director of the Government’s Office for Fair Access, said: “I am disappointed that there has been a cut in the overall Government budget supporting students from poorer backgrounds.” 

Rachel Wenstone, vice-president of the National Union of Students, added: “It is totally unacceptable that Ministers are looking to fill a black hole in the Business Department’s budget by scaling back on fair access funding for poorer students.”