Oxford beats trend as applications rise
The first university admissions figures to account for the impact of top-up fees suggest higher tuition fees have not deterred large numbers of potential students from applying to Oxford. UCAS statistics released last week show a slight increase in applications to Oxford and Cambridge, up by 0.3 per cent to 26,665 from 25,888. Critics of government higher education policy had predicted concern over increased debts would discourage students from applying.
The number of applications received for all universities by the initial UCAS deadline of 15th October shows a 2.1 per cent fall in UK students applying, which is more than compensated for by a substantial rise in overseas applications. Applications from other EU countries are up by 15.1 per cent, while those from countries outside the EU increased by 5.42 per cent.
An Oxford University spokeswoman refused to speculate on the causes of the rise, saying: “We don’t publish our own offi cial fi gures for ages.” The university has only recently made public its fi gures for last year’s admissions cycle. “The university has certainly tried hard to ensure that fi nancial worries won’t be a deterrant to anyone wanting to come to Oxford.
We have the most generous bursary scheme in the country to cover living costs whilst here, and students won’t have to pay back fees until after they graduate and are earning over a certain amount.” Mark Wormald, Admissions Tutor at Corpus Christi, said: “We will need proper analysis of the data before any firmer conclusions can be drawn.
My view is that we will need fi gures for at least three years before we can say for sure that there has been no signifi cant effect of the introduction of top up fees.”
17th Nov 2005