Record early applications from China offset domestic decline

The number of early applications to UK universities rose for the first time in three years as record interest from China offset another drop in interest from domestic school-leavers, figures reveal.

Figures for the 15 October deadline from admissions service Ucas  also show that applications to study medicine fell to their lowest level in six years.

A total of 72,740 people have applied to medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses, or to study at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge for the 2025-26 academic year. This was up 1.3 per cent on the year before, arresting two years of falling demand.

Applications from the largest section – 18-year-olds from across the UK – fell by 0.9 per cent, mainly as a result of falling interest from England.

Applications from 18-year-olds in Wales remained unchanged, while they fell 5.4 per cent in Northern Ireland and increased 8.4 per cent in Scotland.

However, falling demand from the core UK market was balanced out by a 4.7 per cent increase in international undergraduate applicants.

A total of 4,970 (23 per cent) of these were from China, the largest international market. This was a 14.5 per cent rise from 4,340 the year before and a record high.

There was also a large increase in demand from the US, the UK’s second biggest contributor of early university applications. The 1,870 applications recorded was a 15.4 per cent jump and double the number from eight years ago.

Other big markets also saw healthy increases, including Singapore (3.1 per cent), Hong Kong (3.5 per cent), and India (13.3 per cent).

Jo Saxton, chief executive at Ucas, said she was pleased by the overall year-on-year increase in applications for early deadline courses, including among mature students.

“It’s welcome news to see that global confidence in the UK’s higher education sector remains strong, with an increase in international undergraduate applicants to UK universities and colleges for early deadline courses,” she added.

The Ucas figures also show that 23,350 people applied to medicine courses – 3.3 per cent fewer than the year before.

This was the third successive year medicine applications have fallen, with the total number dropping to their lowest level since 2019.

Ucas said this could be attributed mainly to a decline in the overall number of UK 18-year-olds applying for university, and that it reflected a continued trend of declining demand for healthcare courses since the peak seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Medicine remains a competitive subject with many more applications than available places, even with the decline in applicants seen in recent years, following the peak demand during the pandemic,” commented Dr Saxton.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com