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New UCAS publication shines a light on the higher education admissions landscape

UCAS has today released the Provisional End of Cycle Report 2009/2010, a new publication that gives a range of statistical analyses of the 2010 higher education admissions cycle.

This includes admissions by domicile, institution country, age group, gender and ethnicity as well as a range of other factors.

UCAS Chief Executive Mary Curnock Cook said: 'For the first time, this publication gives us all the opportunity to reflect in rich detail on the admissions year we've just experienced.

'It's clear that the number of applications (in other words, the demand for higher education) has grown strongly, but the number accepted (the supply of places) has stayed about the same.

'Getting a place has become more competitive, and we see that reflected in both the extra 52,938 applicants unplaced this year and the overall share of applicants finding a place falling just below 70 per cent, compared to 75.3% last year.

'But it's equally clear that there is much complexity behind these headlines: the data show that increased competition in the admissions landscape has been experienced in different ways by different applicant groups - we see variations by age, background, country and other factors.

'The data also show that of the 200,000+ applicants who were unplaced in 2010, over 94,000 of them either declined all their offers or withdrew voluntarily from the applications process.

'Our intention with the release of this publication and in the months to come is to unpick some of that complexity. UCAS is committed to looking at new sources of information and at new ways of interpreting and presenting this kind of data to give both applicants and the higher education sector the tools they need to make effective decisions.

'To that end, we are actively seeking feedback on the 2010 Report in order that we can make improvements for 2011.'

In the light of this increasingly competitive environment, applicants need to think harder than ever about the choices they make in applying to study, and about the application they submit.

Extensive advice on making a successful application - including writing an impactful personal statement, and fully researching choices - is available from ucas.com.

Notes to editors:

UCAS is a charity and is the world's leading shared admissions service for higher education. We manage applications for full-time undergraduate courses, together with applications through GTTR (Graduate Teacher Training Registry), CUKAS (Conservatoires UK Admissions Service) and UKPASS (UK Postgraduate Application and Statistical Service). Since its inception in 1993, UCAS has processed around 30 million applications and placed over 5 million students on higher education courses.

Services include:

  • An informative website (www.ucas.com) enabling students and parents to access a wealth of information designed to help their application to higher education run smoothly.
  • A state-of-the-art contact centre (0871 468 0468) providing a point of contact for students, schools and higher education institutions.
  • An online application system.
  • A simple, straightforward tracking service enabling students and schools advisers to access up-to-date information about their applications at the click of a button.
  • Over 50 higher education events each year providing 250,000 students with face-to-face advice on the UCAS process. Internationally, we participated in events in over 12 countries and also provided training and professional development throughout Europe and beyond.
  • www.yougofurther.co.uk is UCAS' student networking site. It allows future and present applicants to interact with each other and provides further advice on higher education.

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