Fewer applying for university courses

Monday 24th October 2011, 11:15AM BST.

Applications for university courses for 2012 are down nine per cent compared to those for this year, the admission service for students Ucas said today.

The number of applicants has fallen from 76,612 students at this stage for 2011 to 69,724 for 2012.

Ucas published the data following an October 15 deadline for applications to medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses and courses at Oxford and Cambridge, but also included the number of students who have applied so far for other university courses, which have a January 15 application deadline.

Unions representing university students and lecturers accused the Government’s higher education policies of scaring off applicants.

Paul Travill, academic registrar at Wolverhampton University, which has a campus in Priorslee, Telford, said: “We have received 769 applications so far, compared with 898 at the same point in the application process last year and 830 the year before.”

View more: Wolverhampton University news.