More students to attend UK universities in 2014

The Ucas admissions service says that based on the results being published this morning that 396,990 students have been accepted on degree courses at UK universities – a figure that is up 3% compared to last year. This could be because there’s been a rise in the number of students achieving the top grade in their A-Level exams with 8.2% of exam entries awarded an A* – a rise of 0.6% compared with 2013. There are also an extra 30,000 university places available this year and for the first time Ucas has said that the total number of university applicants is expected to top 500,000. With more students than ever looking set to attend university, demand for accommodation is also likely to be at an all-time high and many students will be spending part of today finding accommodation near to their chosen university. The extra higher education places are a result of the Government’s decision to abolish the cap on student numbers which paves the way for the expansion of the elite Russell Group of universities.

It also means that there is a continuing flexibility for universities to admit more students who achieve A-level grades of ABB or above. Industry experts are stating that it could be an unusually good year for students to apply for university which has led to fierce competition among universities seeking to attract school leavers, with scholarships being one of the incentives being offered.

More universities than usual are also expected to take part in the clearing process, which matches students looking for a place with any available courses. The University of Manchester, Southampton Solent University, The University of Exeter and The University of Bristol and Liverpool Hope University are among some of the institutions that are offering extra places to those students who didn’t quite achieve the results they were expecting.