University applications decline is a ‘storm warning’

It emerged that the total number of people applying to English universities has fallen from 421,448 to 384,170 – a drop of almost nine per cent.

The Independent Commission on Fees – set up to track the effects of the new funding regime – warned that students were most likely to be put off in England, where fees are higher than elsewhere in the UK.

It insisted that declines in application rates to the most sought-after universities were higher among students from middle and upper-class backgrounds who are less likely to benefit from a generous system of grants and bursaries.

In a damning conclusion, researchers insisted there was “initial evidence that higher tuition fees are having a measurable impact” on student choices.

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