Governance News Alert: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) Day 28 data for the 2025 application cycle

UCAS has published data on its interactive dashboard showing numbers and proportions of applicants who have been accepted on to UK higher education courses 28 days after A-level results day on 14 August. The data shows acceptances by age, gender, domicile, subject, tariff group, deprivation, ethnicity and other characteristics. 

The dashboard can be found at: https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/statistical-releases-daily-clearing-analysis-2025

At-a-glance:

• A total of 512,270 students have been accepted onto undergraduate higher education courses by the 28th day after A-level results were published - a 3 per cent increase on the same point last year
• UK 18-year-old acceptances show a 4 per cent increase on 2024. Some 36.1 per cent of the UK 18-year-old population will attend university this autumn, representing just a 0.1 percentage point fall on last year’s figure
• International undergraduate student acceptances, at 64,530, were up 6 per cent compared to last year
• Higher tariff universities saw an 8 per cent jump in acceptances (all ages and domiciles), while medium tariff numbers rose by 2 per cent. Low tariff universities saw a 2 per cent drop
• For international students, higher tariff acceptances rose by 13 per cent. In contrast, medium tariff international undergraduate numbers fell by 5 per cent and low tariff by 10 per cent
• Acceptances for UK applicants from the most deprived quintile rose by 2 per cent, and by 3 per cent for those from the lowest participation neighbourhoods. For UK 18-year-olds, the figures were 4 per cent and 5 per cent respectively
• Increases in UK 18-year-old acceptances were recorded across all ethnicities
• Subjects recording the biggest increase in acceptances (all ages and domiciles) include engineering and technology (up 13 per cent), maths (9 per cent), architecture and planning (9 per cent) and law (8 per cent)
• Computing (-7 per cent), languages (-5 per cent) and agriculture (-3 per cent) saw the biggest declines in acceptances
• All UK regions saw increases in overall acceptances, apart from Scotland where they dropped by 1 per cent

Implications for governance:

Institutions may welcome the increase in student numbers confirmed by the last set of UCAS acceptance data, particularly the 6 per cent rise in international undergraduate recruitment – although as the figures show, some lower tariff institutions may have less to celebrate.

Much of international rise in demand is driven by China, where applicant numbers increased by 20 per cent per cent to 17,840 - only a few hundred short of the total student cohort from Wales. Chinese students now account for 28 per cent of the foreign undergraduate intake. Less positive, however, were the undergraduate figures from India, where acceptances were 8 per cent down.

Whether these fluctuations are mirrored in postgraduate recruitment for 2025 remains to be seen. 

Digging deeper into the UCAS data reveals that the picture across the sector is more mixed than the headline figures suggest.

Once again, higher tariff institutions have taken the lion’s share of the rise in acceptances. As governors will know, the impact of any reduction in recruitment on institutions which are already struggling financially is likely to be serious. 

Vice chancellors warned this summer that the instability created as higher-tariff universities accept a larger share of the student cohort would lead to mergers or the adoption of new operating models. Some evidence of such developments are already beginning to emerge. Universities UK’s efficiency and transformation taskforce highlights interest across the sector in collaborations, such as the multi-academy trust model in schools. 

The jump in popularity of engineering, technology and maths degrees also reflects hard-nosed decisions being taken, this time by students who face rising debts and a tough jobs market.

According to Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), the single biggest reason students go into higher education is to find a fulfilling career afterwards and the combination of high fees and high living costs “is concentrating people's minds even more”.

UCAS data also shows that students from the most disadvantaged quintile are coming to university in record numbers, although there was also growth in the proportions accepted from more affluent households. Widening participation teams are having some impact, particularly with sixth formers, it appears. The figures suggest that recent efforts to work more closely with schools, a request of the former government and outlined in many Access and Participation Plans, are bearing fruit.

Acceptances also rose across all ethnicities, including White UK 18-year-old males, a category that was alone in seeing decreases in recruitment levels in 2023 and 2024, suggesting that efforts to target that group are also showing signs of success. Governors may have noted that Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has made a point recent of highlighting the underachievement and low university participation rates of white working class students.

There are clearly many positives the sector can glean from the latest UCAS data, but governors will no doubt wish to look beyond the headlines to see how their own institution has fared compared with competitors, and consider what action may need to be taken to address any emerging issues.