University applicant figures fall two years in a row

UNIVERSITY applications have plummeted for the second year running, figures show, sparking fresh fears that UK students are still being turned off by higher fees of up to £9,000-a-year.

New UCAS statistics show that 265,730 people living in the UK had applied to start degree courses this autumn by December 17 - down 6.3 per cent compared with the same point the previous year.

Among students in England alone, applications have plummeted by 6.5 per cent, with 229,932 applying by December 17.

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The figures also show a slight drop among other EU students, with applications down 1.9 per cent.

But the number of overseas students from outside the EU hoping to study at UK universities this autumn has risen by 0.8 per cent, the statistics show.

Some university groups said the falls were a “worrying trend” while the government insisted it was still too early to form a definitive picture on applications.

The latest drop in applications follows a larger fall last year which saw applications from Yorkshire down 8.3 per cent on the level received in 2011.

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By the end of last June 39,924 had applied for courses starting in 2012 from Yorkshire compared with 43,541 a year earlier.

Overall by mid-December 2011, 245,882 people had applied to start degree courses in autumn 2012, down 7.6 per cent on the previous year. Tuition fees were trebled last autumn, with UK students now charged up to £9,000 a year. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, governments have put measures in place to subsidise their students’ fees.

Overall, the numbers applying to university is now at its lowest level since 2009, when 266,296 UK students had applied by mid-December.

Pam Tatlow, chief executive of university group million+ said: “The worrying trend of falling university applications continues, according to the most recent statistics published by UCAS. We urge the Government to step in with a national campaign to promote the value of university for potential students currently considering their options, whether they are about to leave school or considering a university course later in life.”

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Dr Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group, which represents 24 of the UK’s top universities, said: “As UCAS themselves say, it’s likely that around 40 per cent of students have yet to apply so let’s not jump the gun - it’s still too early in the year to say what the overall applications numbers will be.

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said it was too early to form a definitive picture about applications and was important people were not put off because they did not have information about the financial support available.