Student applications are up by around 50,000 compared to last year, but there are only 10,000 extra places available. However, 67% of Year 13 students surveyed by Whatuni.com are confident of going to their first choice university and 80% are confident of going to any university.
This confidence does not mean they are unaware of the issues surrounding university places: 65% of those surveyed thought there were more students applying this year than last, and 71% thought the Government could provide either more or a lot more funding to help create places at universities for future students.
There is, however, not only a lack of knowledge surrounding the number of Clearing places (the process through which achieved grades are matched with available places) available this year, but also the Clearing process in general. Although 38% of surveyed members thought there was a possibility that they would have to go through Clearing, the same number did not know what Clearing was. Additionally, only 20% thought that there were less or a lot less Clearing places than last year, whereas in fact recent research indicates that Clearing places could be cut by around 60%.
Editor of Whatuni.com Oliver Brann comments: "Although it's great that so many students are being positive about going to university, it's worrying that such a high proportion are either not aware of what Clearing is, or that so many places have been cut. Although it would be very unhelpful to cause future students to panic - as a majority will be accepted onto a university place - I also think it's important that they are aware of what they might potentially be facing when they receive their exam results."
Even if students are not able to secure a place at university in 2009, there seems to be a shared determination to keep up with their attempts to become university students. If they do not get a place this year, 90% of Whatuni.com Year 13 students will apply again next year, and will spend the intervening months either on a gap year (30%) or trying to find a job (60%). Only 3% would be deterred from applying to university again.
Given that 96% of Year 13 members think it is either quite or very likely that going to university will lead to better careers (with 65% thinking it very likely), this determination to eventually graduate from a UK university is not surprising.
Hotcourses founded in 1996 by Mike Elms and Jeremy Hunt MP (and now Shadow Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport). Hotcourses develops UK education websites for school-leavers and life-long learners as well as international websites in India, China, Malaysia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Singapore, Turkey and the Middle East which combined are visited by over 22 million people a year making Hotcourses the most highly visited publisher of education websites in the UK. Hotcourses employs 230 people in the UK, India, Australia and South Africa and includes on its Advisory Board Baroness Estelle Morris (former Secretary of State for Education) and Professor Michael Arthur, Vice Chancellor of the University of Leeds. Through the Hotcourses Foundation, Hotcourses supports the education of over 300 HIV-affected children in Kenya.
