Final figures for 2007 entry - 5.8% rise in accepted applicants

17 January 2008

The number of full-time students accepted on to undergraduate courses starting in 2007 rose by 5.8% according to end of year data released by UCAS. 22,540 more students were accepted in 2007, taking the total from 390,890 in 2006 to 413,430.

The overall number applying was up by 5.6% from 506,304 in 2006 to 534,495 in 2007. These headline figures break the previous records for the number of students applying and being accepted which were set in 2005. The graph below shows applicant and accepted applicant trends over the last decade.

Anthony McClaran, Chief Executive of UCAS, said: "These figures are encouraging news for the higher education sector and demonstrate that students' desire for a university education in the UK has not diminished.

"There were many predictions that the new fee system would deter students from progressing to higher education, but today's statistics portray an impressive recovery in application numbers, a pattern that was also evident following the introduction of fees in the 1990s".

There was a rise of 5.9% for accepted applicants aged 20 and under, a rise of 6.9% for those aged 21 to 24 and a 3.3% rise in those aged 25 and over. Whilst the year-on-year rise for those aged 25 plus was less pronounced, the overall share of this age group remained the same as last year at 10%.

The proportion of acceptances from females grew from 53.8% to 54.1% continuing the long-term trend of more women going to university than men. In terms of year-on-year growth the percentage of women accepted rose by 6.4% and males by 5.1%.

Nationally, the percentage of students accepted from the lower socio-economic groups (groups 4 to 7) increased by 6.9% from 82,245 in 2006 to 87,946 in 2007. The growth of the other groups was marked by a 5.5% rise. The proportion of accepted applicants from the low socio-economic groups has increased from 32.1% in 2006 to 32.4% in 2007.

When looking at accepted applicants from England, the number from the low socio-economic groups has risen by 7.7% compared with 6.0% from other groups. In 2007 32.1% of accepted applicants from England were from the low socio-economic groups compared with 31.7% in 2006. Percentages have been made calculated excluding unknowns/not classified.

There was a rise of 7.9% in overseas accepted applicants. Norway (17.5%), Malaysia (14.4%), China (12.4%), Sri Lanka (8.6%), Hong Kong (7.9%) and Canada (7.5%) saw the largest rises outside of the EU.



Table 1 - Applicants and acceptances by gender (all domiciles)

Year Applicants Accepted Applicants
Male Female Total Male Female Total
2007 240,904 293,591 534,495 189,685 223,745 413,430
2006 229,121 277,183 506,304 180,556 210,334 390,890
% change 5.1% 5.9% 5.6% 5.1% 6.4% 5.8%


Table 2 - Applicants and acceptances by age (all domiciles)

Year Applicants Accepted Applicants
20 and under 21 to 24 25 and over Total 20 and under 21 to 24 25 and over Total
2007 401,016 69,412 64,067 534,495 323,220 47,949 42,261 413,430
2006 377,333 65,532 63,439 506,304 305,121 44,844 40,925 390,890
% change 6.3% 5.9% 1.0% 5.6% 5.9% 6.9% 3.3% 5.8%


Table 3 - Accepted applicants (all domiciles) by age and gender

  Male Female Total
20 and under 2007 148,508 174,712 323,220
2006 141,032 164,089 305,121
% change 5.3% 6.5% 5.9%
21 to 24 years 2007 24,270 23,679 47,949
2006 23,004 21,840 44,844
% change 5.5% 8.4% 6.9%
25 years and over 2007 16,907 25,354 42,261
2006 16,520 24,405 40,925
% change 2.3% 3.9% 3.3%
Total 2007 189,685 223,745 413,430
2006 180,556 210,334 390,890
% change 5.1% 6.4% 5.8%


Table 4 - Accepted applicants (UK domiciled) by age and gender

  Male Female Total
20 and under 2007 132,699 157,848 290,547
2006 126,703 149,206 275,909
% change 4.7% 5.8% 5.3%
21 to 24 years 2007 17,826 18,508 36,334
2006 16,723 16,882 33,605
% change 6.6% 9.6% 8.1%
25 years and over 2007 13,985 23,678 37,663
2006 13,464 22,586 36,050
% change 3.9% 4.8% 4.5%
Total 2007 164,510 200,034 364,544
2006 156,890 188,674 345,564
% change 4.9% 6.0% 5.5%


Table 5 - Accepted applicants (UK domicile only) by age group and UK country of residence


 Home country of applicant
England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland Total
20 and under 2007 245,120 13,592 20,663 11,172 290,547
2006 231,040 13,516 20,666 10,687 275,909
% change 6.1% 0.6% 0.0% 4.5% 5.3%
21 to 24 years 2007 30,234 1,713 3,275 1,112 36,334
2006 27,971 1,636 2,976 1,022 33,605
% change 8.1% 4.7% 10.0% 8.8% 8.1%
25 years and over 2007 31,605 2,061 3,280 717 37,663
2006 30,218 1,996 3,160 676 36,050
% change 4.6% 3.3% 3.8% 6.1% 4.5%
Total 2007 306,959 17,366 27,218 13,001 364,544
2006 289,229 17,148 26,802 12,385 345,564
% change 6.1% 1.3% 1.6% 5.0% 5.5%


Table 6 - Accepted applicants (all domiciles) by area of permanent residence and country of accepting institution

Area of Permanent Residence Country of institution Total
England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland
England 2007 294,533 8,483 3,814 129 306,959
2006 277,237 8,302 3,599 91 289,229
% change 6.2% 2.2% 6.0% 41.8% 6.1%
Wales 2007 5,306 11,945 108 7 17,366
2006 5,434 11,616 94 4 17,148
% change -2.4% 2.8% 14.9% 75.0% 1.3%
Scotland 2007 1,754 44 25,395 25 27,218
2006 1,743 58 24,988 13 26,802
% change 0.6% -24.1% 1.6% 92.3% 1.6%
Northern Ireland 2007 3,203 101 1,114 8,583 13,001
2006 2,995 110 1,231 8,049 12,385
% change 6.9% -8.2% -9.5% 6.6% 5.0%
Rep. of Ireland 2007 1,215 185 701 471 2,572
2006 1,352 249 727 347 2,675
% change -10.1% -25.7% -3.6% 35.7% -3.9%
Other EU 2007 14,793 594 2,686 16 18,089
2006 12,936 494 2,157 18 15,605
% change 14.4% 20.2% 24.5% -11.1% 15.9%
Other overseas 2007 24,377 1,136 2,657 55 28,225
2006 23,557 920 2,522 47 27,046
% change 3.5% 23.5% 5.4% 17.0% 4.4%
Total 2007 345,181 22,488 36,475 9,286 413,430
2006 325,254 21,749 35,318 8,569 390,890
% change 6.1% 3.4% 3.3% 8.4% 5.8%

Note: For 2006 Bulgaria (124 acceptances) and Romania (79 acceptances) are accounted for under "Other overseas" whereas for 2007 Bulgaria (393 acceptances) and Romania (262 acceptances) are accounted for under "Other EU".



Table 7 - Accepted applicants from overseas domiciled applicants by country of domicile - countries with 600 or more acceptances in the 2007 cycle

Country 2007 2006 Percent change
Cyprus 2,593 2,022 28.2%
Poland 1,973 1,555 26.9%
Norway 652 555 17.5%
Malaysia 1,942 1,698 14.4%
China 5,058 4,502 12.4%
Sri Lanka 708 652 8.6%
Hong Kong 2,546 2,360 7.9%
Italy 646 600 7.7%
Canada 645 600 7.5%
Greece 1,632 1,521 7.3%
France 2,559 2,388 7.2%
Germany 2,226 2,077 7.2%
Spain 752 703 7.0%
United States of America 1,179 1,121 5.2%
Sweden 727 710 2.4%
Pakistan 1,384 1,362 1.6%
Singapore 732 729 0.4%
India 1,506 1,518 -0.8%
Ireland 2,572 2,675 -3.9%
Nigeria 1,913 2,078 -7.9%
All overseas 48,886 45,326 7.9%


Table 8 - Accepted applicants who had an Area of Permanent Residence within a 'new' EU member country by country of residence

Country 2007 2006 % change
Cyprus 2,593 2,022 28.2%
Poland 1,973 1,555 26.9%
Lithuania 572 481 18.9%
Bulgaria 393 124 216.9%
Latvia 338 287 17.8%
Romania 262 79 231.6%
Czech Republic 214 231 -7.4%
Slovakia 203 192 5.7%
Estonia 202 127 59.1%
Hungary 170 175 -2.9%
Malta 70 84 -16.7%
Slovenia 34 25 36.0%
Total 7,024 5,382 30.5%


Table 9 - Acceptances by subject (opens in a new window)



Table 10 - Accepted Applicants (UK domiciled) by year, simplified version of the National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC) and country of residence.


 Home country of applicant
England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland Total
1. Higher managerial and professional occupations 2007 51,792 2,424 4,828 1,448 60,492
2006 48,529 2,305 4,829 1,347 57,010
% change 6.7% 5.2% 0.0% 7.5% 6.1%
2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 2007 70,726 3,959 6,252 3,138 84,075
2006 66,823 3,848 6,189 2,917 79,777
% change 5.8% 2.9% 1.0% 7.6% 5.4%
3. Intermediate occupations 2007 32,184 1,965 2,929 1,942 39,020
2006 30,649 1,809 2,899 1,833 37,190
% change 5.0% 8.6% 1.0% 5.9% 4.9%
4. Small employers and own account workers 2007 17,065 1,011 1,444 1,406 20,926
2006 15,926 1,055 1,441 1,349 19,771
% change 7.2% -4.2% 0.2% 4.2% 5.8%
5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 2007 10,444 683 1,003 627 12,757
2006 10,030 677 976 575 12,258
% change 4.1% 0.9% 2.8% 9.0% 4.1%
6. Semi-routine occupations 2007 32,154 1,881 2,690 1,356 38,081
2006 29,309 1,838 2,545 1,257 34,949
% change 9.7% 2.3% 5.7% 7.9% 9.0%
7. Routine occupations 2007 13,431 924 1,050 777 16,182
2006 12,577 886 1,042 762 15,267
% change 6.8% 4.3% 0.8% 2.0% 6.0%
8. Not Classified - Unknown 2007 79,163 4,519 7,022 2,307 93,011
2006 75,386 4,730 6,881 2,345 89,342
% change 5.0% -4.5% 2.0% -1.6% 4.1%
Total 2007 306,959 17,366 27,218 13,001 364,544
2006 289,229 17,148 26,802 12,385 345,564
% change 6.1% 1.3% 1.6% 5.0% 5.5%

Media contacts

Byron Price, Communications Executive

Telephone: 01242 544987

Email: communications@ucas.ac.uk

Out of hours: 07768 740 461

Notes to editors

  • UCAS is the organisation responsible for managing applications to UK higher education courses.
  • A UCAS spokesperson is available for interview.
  • The figures cited within this press release are for the close of file for 2007 entry, i.e. - for applicants who commenced courses in autumn 2007. Please note that a proportion of applicants will defer entry to 2008. Data on this will be available later in the year.
  • Latest figures for the current 2008 cycle will be issued on Wednesday 13 February.