Students learn tough lessons in battle for university places

Published on Thursday 6 August 2009 10:17

ACROSS the country yesterday thousands of pupils were anxiously opening brown envelopes which contained the key to their future.

Even as they waited for their exam results however many would have been aware that they were facing a greater challenge than ever before in winning a place at university.

UCAS, the body which governs university admissions, has seen a 10 per cent increase in applications on last year, with the credit-crunch keeping more school-leavers out of the workplace, and forcing mature students who have been made redundant back into education.

An increase in the number of pupils passing their higher exams also means more youngsters are winning the right to get into university, only to find there are not enough places to take them.

So how much harder is it going to be this year? And what are the options for those who miss out on what they initially wanted to do?

As one of the most prestigious UK educational institutions, it is little surprise that places at Edinburgh University are at a premium. And while they say the panic over students getting places is greater in England, they acknowledge the same pressures are having an effect north of the border.

In 2008/09 the University saw 40,509 UK/EU people apply for just 4,000 places, and this year they have seen a three per cent increase, with 41,881 applicants looking to fill the same number of courses.

Elizabeth Lister, director of Student Recruitment and Admissions services, stresses that students who meet the conditions of any offer they received have nothing to worry about.

However, she adds: "If a student does not meet the condition of their offer they will not get a place here, and we will not have any places available in clearing.

"The pressure is far greater in England, where they have seen a huge rise in 18 year olds applying to university as well as mature students. Applicants are definitely looking for courses which lead more directly into the job market, so science and engineering degrees have probably seen the biggest increase."

This drive for more practical courses has seen application to Heriot-Watt rise by more than 10 per cent over the past year, but thanks to the Scottish Government removing a cap on places for sectors such as science and technology at the university, they expect to be able to accept most of the applicants who meet their requirements.

This year they have had applications from 7,413 students, an increase of 10.4 per cent on the 6,716 of last year.

They say that all students who meet the criteria of their offers will be given a place and expect to offer a number of places in the clearances. With pressure on other universities, and more students looking at taking practical courses, they also expect to see the acceptance rate from prospective students jump 21 per cent. Mike Bates, director of recruitment and admissions at Heriot-Watt University, says: "There is no question that the pressure is growing and I think part of the reason we have seen such a large increase – which is above the Scottish national increase of around 6 per cent – is because our courses are geared more towards the job market, which is what students are looking for."

Pressure on students trying to get a place at their first choice university is not exactly a new phenomenon.

Edinburgh Napier University had an average of 3.4 applicants for every undergraduate place it had to fill in 2007/08, and that figure has only increased.

So far this year they have had 11,680 UK/EU applications for the 2,665 places on undergraduate courses for 2009/10, which is significantly higher than the 10,282 applicants who applied for just 2,952 full-time undergraduate places last year

As things stood yesterday they had just 130 places available through clearings, which might sound optimistic until you realise that at the same point last year there were 750 clearing places available.

An Edinburgh Napier spokesman said: "We have seen a significant rise in the number of applications for our undergraduate courses from across the UK and beyond.

"Edinburgh Napier is in the top ten for graduate employment in the UK and is proving an increasingly attractive destination for prospective students, especially in the current economic climate."

Queen Margaret University this year has 6,000 applicants for 800 places, and only expects to offer a small number of places available through clearing this year – between 50 and 60.

This is actually a slight decrease on applications for last year, although they expect numbers to pick up rapidly.

And with more job losses expected, and employers demanding a greater degree of education at all levels of their workforce, it is likely that the pressure on university places will only continue to increase in the years to come.