Universities and colleges in the United Kingdom have experienced a notable rise of 7 percent in international student applications for undergraduate programs this year. This is according to the latest data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
According to UCAS figures, the total number of international students looking for admission to UK universities reached 115,730 by the January deadline. Notably, Chinese students led the surge with 910 more applicants, followed by Turkey (a 37 percent increase) and Canada (a 14 percent increase).
Conversely, universities observed a decline in applications from Nigerian students, down by 46 percent to 1,590 students, and Indian students, down by 4 percent to 8,770 students.
Moreover, UCAS data revealed that a total of 316,850 domestic 18-year-olds have applied to university or college this year, marking a modest increase of 0.7 percent from 2023 and representing the second-highest figure on record.
The application rate for 18-year-olds now stands at 41.3 percent, indicating a slight dip from 41.5 percent in 2023 but a notable rise from 38.2 percent in 2019.
Regionally, application trends vary, with a marginal 1 percent decrease in applicants from England and a 2 percent decline from Wales. Meanwhile, applications from Northern Ireland dropped by 2 percent, while those from Scotland witnessed a 2 percent increase.
This year, there has been a modest uptick of 2 percent in the number of 18-year-old students from disadvantaged backgrounds compared to the previous year, marking a notable 30 percent increase over the past decade.
STEM courses have garnered significant interest among students this year, with a 10 percent increase in applications for engineering and technology programs and a 7 percent rise in applications for mathematics, sciences, and computing courses from all student demographics.
