Four out of 10 UK students are being rejected by elite universities in favour of overseas candidates who pay up to £24,000 a year – as school leavers face scramble for places after A-level results this week
- Overseas students are surpassing British students to gain entry to universities
- For first time, four in ten UK applicants were rejected by Oxford and Cambridge
- A study of Russell Group undergraduates shows one in four are from overseas
- Chinese and Indian students typically pay £24,000 in fees, triple those from UK
Overseas students are surpassing British teenagers in gaining entry to some of the country’s elite universities, leaving many clambering for places when A-level results are announced this week, it has emerged.
For the first time, four in ten UK applicants were turned away from the two most esteemed universities – Oxford and Cambridge.
Higher education experts claim some redbrick institutions are focusing on high fee-paying overseas students from China and India who pay on average £24,000 a year, The Sunday Times reports.
The fee is almost triple that of domestic students. A study of undergraduates in Russell Group universities in England shows that one in four are overseas students.
Mark Corver, former head of data at the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), said: ‘This is the toughest competition for UK students to get a degree place, especially at one of our leading universities, for a generation.
Overseas students are surpassing British teenagers in gaining entry to some of the country’s elite universities, leaving many clambering for places when A-level results are announced this week
‘Selective universities have not recruited more UK students because they don’t pay as much as overseas students. The gap between UK and international fees is likely to be around £15,000 this year. That’s getting on for £50,000 of additional income per student over a three-year course.
‘Unable to increase fees for UK students to cover rising costs, many universities feel forced to dedicate an increasing share of places to overseas students just to keep going.’
Statistics from the London School of Economics show 70 per cent of students are from overseas, while the figure at Edinburgh and King’s College London comes in at 40 per cent. Manchester Metropolitan has recently announced its plans to double its number of overseas students.
For the first time, four in ten UK applicants were turned away from the two most esteemed universities – Oxford and Cambridge (pictured: Cambridge University)
Elsewhere, concerns continue that many UK students are missing out on top grades as a result of teacher-assessed work while exams slowly revert back to their pre-pandemic format.
In June, UCAS’s chief executive Clare Marchant warned that this year will ‘undoubtedly be more competitive for some courses and providers’, with 49% of teachers having told the admissions service they were less confident their students would get their first choice of university compared with previous years and around two in five teachers expecting their students to use the clearing process.
Prof Smithers has also predicted that the gap between girls and boys’ results will narrow, but said he thinks girls will stay ahead.
He said some of the help given to pupils this year to help them transition back to full exams, such as advance notice of topics, ‘plays to girls’ strengths’.
The professor also predicted that England’s and Wales’s results will be close, but ‘still lag appreciably behind those of Northern Ireland’.
A spokesman for exams regulator Ofqual said there is ‘no link between grades and the supply of places’.
He said: ‘While there may be fewer top grades this year compared to 2021, when a different method of assessment (teacher-assessed grades) was used, universities understand what grades will look like overall this year and have made offers accordingly.
Elite universities such as Oxford (pictured) rejected four in ten UK applicants this year
‘According to UCAS, while the number of people deferring last year to this year did increase slightly, it won’t affect the vast majority of courses this year.’
Responding to the report, Ms Marchant said UCAS is predicting a ‘record, or near record, number of 18-year-olds getting their first choice this year’ but added that ‘as in any year, some students will be disappointed when they receive their grades’.
Sarah Hannafin, senior policy adviser for school leaders’ union NAHT, called on universities to be flexible and work with students ‘to get them on the right courses and paths for their futures’ having taken account of ‘the disruption this year’s students have experienced’.
A Department for Education spokesman rejected suggestions around deferrals and increased demand from overseas students, saying: ‘Last year did not see a high number of deferrals compared to previous years and UK students take up the vast majority of places on university undergraduate courses compared to international students, so it is not right to suggest that these factors have caused a squeeze on places.
‘Competition for places at the most selective universities has always been high and this year is no different – but there will always be lots of options for students either at another university, through clearing or high-quality vocational options that are just as prestigious and rewarding as academic routes.’
WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM THE 2022 EXAM RESULTS?
Students are eagerly awaiting their A-level results this week, having sat exams for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic.
Here is all you need to know ahead of results day:
When are exam results this year?
A-level results are out on Thursday August 18, while GCSEs will follow a week later on August 25.
The results of T-levels – described by the Government as new qualifications helping young people progress on to skilled employment, university or apprenticeships – will also be published for the first time on August 18.
What is expected?
It is generally accepted grades will take a hit this year, following an exceptional two years for schools and colleges due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Government has said grades are still expected to be higher than in 2019 – the last year GCSE, AS and A level students sat summer exams before the pandemic hit.
Education minister Will Quince said grades are likely to drop this summer compared with last year, and then again in 2023, as part of a transition back to pre-pandemic arrangements.
Was anything done to try and support students sitting exams for the first time since the pandemic?
The Department for Education said exams would be graded more generously this year “providing a safety net for students”.
Students were given some information in advance to help “focus their revision” and exam boards provided advance information for exams in most subjects.
Pupils were given a choice of topics or content in some other GCSE subjects.
Exam boards provided a sheet of formulae and an updated equation sheet for students sitting their GCSE maths, physics and combined science exams.
So, with grades down, will students struggle to get into the university of their choice?
Some courses and providers will “undoubtedly” be more competitive this year, the chief executive of Ucas said earlier this summer.
Clare Marchant, in a blog published in June, said 49% of teachers had told the admissions service they were less confident that their students would get their first choice of university compared with previous years, while around two in five teachers expected their students to use the clearing process.
Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, has predicted there could be 80,000 fewer top grades – A* or A – awarded than in 2021, leaving around 40,000 students possibly missing out on their chosen course or university.
In response to Prof Smithers’ report, Ucas said it was predicting a “record, or near record, number of 18-year-olds getting their first choice this year”, but that “as in any year, some students will be disappointed when they receive their grades”.
What can students do if their results are not what they had hoped and they do not get accepted to their first choice course or university?
Students can use the clearing process to see what courses or universities might be available to them if they need a plan B.
Ucas said the figures for courses available are “dynamic” as universities and colleges move their courses in and out of clearing in the period ahead of results day on Thursday.
The admissions service has created a series of podcasts to help students prepare for exam results day and said it will have more than 250 people supporting students on its different channels on Thursday. Students can visit www.ucas.com/contactus to find out more.
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