School leavers across the UK have shrugged off fears about the continuing impact of Covid and applied for undergraduate places in record numbers, according to data from Ucas, the university admissions administrator.
The admissions service said that across-the-board increases in applications and offers of places meant the highest ever number of students would be starting university or college courses in the autumn, with particularly high rates of applications coming from women and sixth-formers.
The push for places suggests students in England are undeterred by the government’s repeated warnings about “low-value” degrees that offer little boost to graduate pay, or by the prospects of student loans of more than £40,000 on average by the time they complete their degree.
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Ucas said 311,000 UK 18-year-olds had applied for higher education places by its deadline at the end of June, 10% more than the previous record of 281,000 last year. More than 50% of school leavers in Northern Ireland have applied for university places, and 44% in England.
The total number of applicants through Ucas, including mature and international students, also hit a new high of 682,000, with a record 400,000 women applying.
The pandemic appears to have encouraged record numbers to apply to nursing courses: nearly 66,000 people of all ages have sought places this year, a 19% increase compared with 2020. Applications for medicine and dentistry places were up by 23%.
Universities have responded to the extra demand by increasing their offers of places, including a 20% rise since 2019 in offers to students living in disadvantaged areas. Ucas said it had also seen record traffic and applications on its site for degree apprenticeships.
“These numbers show the clear demand for undergraduate study and apprenticeships is growing, rising significantly during the pandemic,” said Clare Marchant, Ucas’s chief executive.
“Universities are ready to welcome more students on to courses this autumn and have worked hard to be flexible, enabling students to progress to their next level of study.”
The Association of School and College Leaders warned that universities needed to prepare for the “significant educational disruption” experienced by the new cohort since March last year.
“Despite the best efforts of schools and colleges, the learning of students will have been affected to a greatly varying extent, and the mental health and wellbeing of many young people will have been impacted by the pandemic,” the group said.
Hollie Chandler, the head of higher education policy for the Russell Group of leading research universities, said: “The increase in offers by higher tariff providers to UK 18-year-olds, including those from the most deprived areas, reflects our universities’ commitment to be as fair and flexible as possible to ensure students are not disadvantaged in their applications by the changes in the awarding of A-levels this year.”
Jo Grady, the general secretary of the University and College Union, said the record numbers of places being offered were not being matched by higher levels of staff employment, pointing to redundancies and course cuts at universities across England.
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“Ultimately, cuts impact on students as staff become increasingly stressed and burned out, so it’s important that universities match increased student numbers with increased investment in their staff,” Grady said.
But she said it was encouraging to see increases in the numbers applying to study humanities, social sciences and creative arts across England, despite the government’s attacks and funding cuts aimed at these subjects.
“If ministers are serious about delivering a strong post-pandemic recovery, they must abandon all proposed funding cuts to the arts and take action to bolster this vital sector of the UK economy,” Grady said.
