A report variety of 18-year-olds are more likely to get into their first alternative of college this 12 months, the pinnacle of the Universities and Faculties Admissions Service (Ucas) has stated – even when they narrowly miss their grades.
Dr Jo Saxton stated universities have been eager to enrol UK undergraduates as a result of there was extra “uncertainty” round worldwide scholar numbers.
She stated they’d “fairly presumably” settle for college students who didn’t meet the circumstances of their supply including that home college students provided universities “stability” for “monetary planning”.
The prediction comes as hundreds of scholars will open A-level, T-level, Btec and different level-three outcomes subsequent week.
Dr Saxton stated it was a “actually, actually good 12 months to be a UK-domiciled 18-year-old that wishes to go to certainly one of our world-class universities”.
“I might anticipate a report variety of 18-year-olds will get up with affirmation, fairly presumably even the place they’re near-misses,” she stated.
She added that universities have been “recognising, really, {that a} three-year undergraduate scholar is stability in your educating and studying, in your college group, in your monetary planning”.
Vivienne Stern, chief government of Universities UK, stated universities have been “actually aggressive” with each other, which meant candidates had “a lot of alternative”.
Ucas says universities have made extra provides this 12 months, which it says “usually interprets into extra acceptances”.
Dr Saxton stated she anticipated there to be “barely fewer” locations in clearing consequently – as a result of if extra locations are taken up by college students who’ve obtained provides, there will probably be fewer locations to checklist.
Ucas’s clearing system lets college students seek for college programs with accessible locations.
Greater than 22,600 programs had listed vacancies for undergraduate college students from England this week, in keeping with a Press Affiliation evaluation of 129 universities.
There have been greater than 3,600 programs marketed throughout 17 of the selective Russell Group universities.
Nick Hillman, director of the Larger Schooling Coverage Institute, stated 12 months 13 college students have been “properly positioned” to review the place they needed to.
“The monetary plight of universities makes them very eager to fill their programs and they are going to be falling over themselves to enroll good potential college students,” he stated.
College students from England and Wales can pay increased tuition charges for college this 12 months, after the sector known as for assist with its funds.
Tuition fees have risen from £9,250 to £9,535 for the 2025-26 educational 12 months.
It’s the first time they’ve gone up in England since 2017, and comes after universities stated their real-terms worth had fallen.
They’ve develop into more and more reliant on increased charges from worldwide college students in recent times to make up for frozen home charges – however the variety of abroad college students coming to the UK has fallen.
In Might, the regulator in England, the Workplace for College students, warned that greater than four in 10 universities anticipated to be in a monetary deficit by this summer season.
Upkeep loans have additionally gone up this 12 months, which implies college students can borrow extra to assist with day-to-day dwelling prices.
In England, the utmost upkeep mortgage for college students from England who dwell away from their dad and mom exterior London has elevated to £10,544 a 12 months, up from £10,227.
Ucas said last month that the variety of 18-year-olds from the UK making use of to school had risen once more to 328,390.
Nonetheless, as a result of the whole variety of 18-year-olds within the UK has additionally grown, these candidates make up a barely smaller proportion of the whole 18-year-old inhabitants than final 12 months (41.2%).
College students in England, Wales and Northern Eire will obtain A-level and different level-three grades subsequent week.
In Scotland, the variety of pupils reaching an A, B or C grade at Nationwide 5, Larger and Superior Larger rose across the board this year.
The Scottish {Qualifications} Authority additionally reported a discount within the attainment hole between candidates from probably the most and least disadvantaged areas.
