Yesterday, UCAS published their undergraduate analysis report on UK application rates by the January 2017 deadline.
The January deadline applicate rates are particularly important as it is the ‘first reliable indicator of demand for full-time higher education’ for young applications in the UK (excluding Scotland), although more difficult to interpret results for older age groups as they tend to apply later on in the cycle.
For the January 2017 deadline, the application rate of 18 year olds in England applying through UCAS reached the highest level recorded since 2006. Both Wales and Norther Ireland, however, saw a fall in their application rate. The results also show a small increase of 1.2 % proportionally from 2016 application rates, which marks the ‘fifth successive increase in the application rate following a decrease in 2012 (coinciding with the introduction of higher and more variable tuition fees)’.
Focusing regionally on England, the report illustrates that since 2006, London has had the highest application rate in each of the years, making 18 year olds from London 43% more likely to apply than those from South West England, which had the lowest application rate in 2017 among all the regions. The South West has also had the smallest proportional increase since 2006.
As for first time 19 year old application rates, which is the next largest age specific application rate, numbers are continuing to fall. In 2015, England reached a peak of 9.5%, but then dropped for the first time since 2012.
The bigger picture demonstrates that there is now a move away from patterns of growth witnessed since 2012.
Note: All data and figures are taken directly from the UCAS report.