Warwick applications down by up to 21%

Figures published by Ucas last week have revealed that university applications have dropped by almost ten per cent, and Warwick has also seen a drop in applications.

Around 17,500 home and EU applicants and 7,000 overseas students have applied to Warwick.

A ratio of roughly seven applicants for every place last year has dropped to around six per place this year.

However, the University stated: “We have actually been actively planning for a decrease in our applications to concentrate on the very best qualified candidates.”

“We have sought to do this by increasing almost every degree programme to AAB at A Level. The University of Warwick wants to be unashamedly academically elitist while remaining socially inclusive.

“We want the very brightest young people, from every economic background, to have the chance to study at what is one of the UK’s top ten universities.”

The drop in applications may be down to the rise in tuition fees that comes into force this September, as some have suggested.

Whilst there has been a drop in applications throughout the UK, the biggest fall has been seen in England, where fees are set to triple.

Warwick’s fall in applications reflects a similar decline in most of the top universities. Three quarters of Russell Group universities saw applications fall, whilst demand for cheaper colleges and private universities increased.

Perhaps surprisingly, a sharper fall has been seen in applicants from wealthier backgrounds.

Ucas figures show the number of teenagers applying from the wealthiest fifth of the country dropped by 3,000 and are from families in postcodes that are most likely to send children to university.

Pupils applying from the poorest fifth of England only fell by around 280 students, however. Some have argued this fall is due to the fact that wealthier students do not have access to the same system of grants and fee-waivers proposed to increase equality for poorer candidates in light of the fee increase.

However, the number of school-leavers from affluent backgrounds applying for university was still significantly higher than from lower-income groups.

Universities minister David Willetts told the Guardian: “It is encouraging that applications from people from some of the most disadvantaged backgrounds remain strong.”

Applications from mature students saw the greatest dip, believed to be as a result of the higher tuition fees. In virtually every age group of applicants aged over 21 there was a drop in numbers of over 10 per cent.

The University saw a drop in Home and EU numbers for Postgraduate Taught programs, though an increase in international applicants has compensated.

The biggest drop has been in non-European language courses, with a 21.5 per cent drop in applicants. There was also a bigger drop in the number of male applicants than the drop in females.

Although the University does not at present have the necessary level of detail to reveal which subjects have had the most significant drop in applications, Warwick Students’ Union Education Officer Sean Ruston offered his own perspective. “It might be subjects that are deemed unemployable – or less obviously employable – that have seen the greatest drop. I would wager that less people are doing subjects for academic merit alone.”

Ruston claimed that the University had seen a 20 per cent drop in subjects such as German, Chemistry and Sociology. “What we’re really worried about is some departments increasing masters fees – the effect is predictable.”