‘Ideal time’ for school leavers to apply for university, says UCAS

UCAS’ 2019 End of Cycle Report has revealed ‘unprecedented opportunity’ for any young person considering university, as half of students receive an offer for a degree place with lower-than-advertised grades.

The figures show that intense competition amongst universities has led to forty-nine new students in 2019 failing to achieve the grades expected for their court. This figure rises to 60% of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are also eligible for ‘contextual’ offers, where universities adjust admissions requirements to assist students who have lacked the resources or opportunities of their peers.

"Findings from the 2019 cycle suggest that applicants should not be deterred from applying to courses with challenging entry requirements," the UCAS report says. 2020 may also be a good year for applicants as the 18-year-old population is due to fall to its lowest point in recent years.

The report showed that 73.6% of the UK’s 18-year-olds who were accepted onto a university course got a place at their first-choice university. In addition, the number of places offered through Clearing has continued to rise, with a record 14% of the 2019 intake securing a place this way. “Today’s report shows the unprecedented opportunity for anyone currently thinking of applying to university to be ambitious in their choices,” concluded UCAS Chief Executive Clare Marchant.

Now is an ‘ideal time’ to get a university place, Ucas says (The Times) 'Best time ever': school-leavers have pick of university courses, says Ucas (The Guardian) Half of university places go to 'substandard' students as school leavers are accepted for degree courses with lower A-level grades than the results generally demanded (The Daily Mail) Half of students get degree place with lower grades (BBC)

Why should this matter to me? This report shows that more and more students are benefiting from the current competitive climate in the university sector, and that 2020 is expected to be something of a feeding frenzy, with fewer 18-year-olds applying. Some schools may be keen to step up their careers provision this year, while others may look to optimise their revision resources and time-management tools to help students make the most of this opportunity.