White teens are least likely to apply for university

The latest national admission figures reveal that white teens are the least likely to apply for university places.

UCAS admission figures for 2014 have shown that white teenagers are less likely to apply for university places compared to their black and Asian counterparts.

While the figures show an increase in applications from all ethnic groups, there were proportionally less white teenagers choosing to apply to university.

Les Ebdon, director of Fair Access to Higher Education, stated: “The upwards application trends are good news, but stark gaps remain between application rates from young people from different backgrounds.”

At the University of Warwick, the number of white undergraduate entrants has followed national trends and has seen a decline in recent years.

In 2011, 63.7 percent of entrants were of a white ethnic origin, but, this figure had decreased to 55.9 percent of entrants in 2013.

Meanwhile, the number of Asian entrants has increased from 22.1 percent in 2011, to 22.7 percent in 2013.

However, Peter Dunn, a spokesperson for the University, urged: “This looks like normal annual variation.”

Mr Dunn added: “There is actually a small spike upwards [in the number of white entrants] from 2009 to 2011, from 58 percent in 2009 to 63.7 percent in 2011.”

Lissie Whittal, a first year Classical Civilisation and Philosophy student, also saw no need for caution, she insisted: ‘I see no obvious cause for it, it’s probably just one of the strange phenomenon of society. Figures like that fluctuate all the time.”

Despite national concerns, white teenagers still represent the largest number of applications nationally as they remain the largest ethnic group, with 82 percent of current 17 and 18 year olds identifying themselves as white.

In the most recent cycle, the data suggested that 45 percent of Asian teenagers applied for university places, for black teenagers the figure was 39 percent of black teenagers, while only 31 percent of white teenagers sent in applications.

Harmeet Randhawa, a first-year student and executive member of Warwick Sikh Soc, felt that the figures may reflect cultural differences. She suggested: “Many Asians come to this country with nothing and work their way up through hard work and education and they want their children to follow.”

Saveena Mangat, a first-year Economics student, also supported this view. She urged: “It may depend on how children are raised, for example Indian and Chinese parents put a lot of pressure on their children.”

Ms Mangat added: “Maybe it shows how ethnic minorities have a stronger compulsion to work hard because of low living standards in their countries.”