It was announced back in January that University Applicants across the UK had dropped by 5%. This means that there are roughly 30,000 less applicants for the 2017 year start than before.
Why Are University Applications Down?
Money
It’s no secret that universities have been relentlessly raising their fees which recently has hit a maximum of £9,250 a year. Not only this but the government has also decided to scrap the maintenance grants by replacing them with loans. According to Sorana Vieru, vice-president of The National Union of Students;
“It’s a disgraceful change that basically punishes poorer students simply for being poor, so they have to take a bigger loan than those students from privileged backgrounds.
“It could put off students from underprivileged backgrounds from applying, who might not understand how the loan system works, or are very debt-averse.”