Drop in number of UK 18-year-olds applying to competitive university courses

A recent data release from UCAS has revealed that the number of British teenagers applying to the most selective undergraduate courses in the UK has fallen by 0.9% since last year.

Courses included in this calculation include those offered by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, along with medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine, all of which posit an application deadline of 15 October.

According to both UCAS and the Council of Deans Health, […] this decrease [in medicine applicants] is part of a continuing downward trend in healthcare careers

Notably, the number of applicants for medicine courses has fallen by -3.3%, with 800 fewer applicants than last year. According to both UCAS and the Council of Deans Health, an organisation representing UK university faculties from nursing, midwifery, and the allied healthcare professions, this decrease is part of a continuing downward trend in healthcare careers.

Applications have steadily declined since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to a 22% rise in UK applicants to nursing courses. The overall figure has now dropped below pre-Covid levels.

However, there was an overall increase of 1.3% in the number of applications made to study early-deadline courses, with 73,720 applicants in 2024 compared to 72,730 in 2023. This growth can be explained by the increase in mature applications (aged 21 or above) to these courses.

The number of UK mature applicants increased by 3%, to a total of 5,930 in 2024. There was also a small increase in mature students applying to medicine courses.

No change was seen in the proportion of 18-year-old students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds applying to early-deadline courses.

Medicine remains a competitive subject with many more applications than available places, even with the decline in applicants seen in recent years, following the peak demand during the pandemic

Dr. Jo Saxton, UCAS Chief Executive

Several UK universities provide pathways into medicine courses for mature and disadvantaged students by offering non-accelerated medicine degrees and accepting students who have locally completed access to medicine diplomas.

Commenting on the data, the Chief Executive at UCAS, Dr. Jo Saxton, said: “I’m pleased to see an increase in applications for early deadline courses compared to last year, especially among mature students. Medicine remains a competitive subject with many more applications than available places, even with the decline in applicants seen in recent years, following the peak demand during the pandemic.”