Tens of thousands of high school graduates are predicted to lose their university spots this week, and many more may likely find it difficult to find a substitute.
According to a Daily Mail analysis, there will be more rivalry than ever to enrol in Clearing courses on the day of the A-level results, with some anticipating the greatest squeeze in recent memory.
According to statistics, the number of last-minute courses offered at prestigious Russell Group institutions has decreased by half in only two years.
It implies that people who don’t get the marks required for their first-choice course would probably feel let down again when they look for a replacement.
According to Buckingham University’s Alan Smithers, a professor of education, “It will be one of the most competitive years, maybe the most competitive year ever.”
Furthermore, Lee Elliot Major, a professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, issued the following warning: “Students who get grades below a B will have to compete fiercely for positions.”
The prior years’ assurances won’t apply this year.
Even students who get outstanding marks would have a difficult time getting into desired Clearing courses, Mr. Major said, adding: “High-achieving students will have to jockey for spots.”
Missing classes might have a significant impact on a person’s future.
For the first time since the outbreak of the epidemic, teenagers will get their A-level results on Thursday after taking their examinations as usual this year.
However, 60,000 students may not get the projected results because of stricter grading as authorities work to stop grade inflation that is out of control.
By connecting them with open degree programmes on the Ucas website, clearing gives students a second opportunity to get into college.
The record number of 18-year-old applicants this year, however, will contribute to a decrease in the number of elite spots available.
Universities are also attempting to recover control of their enrollment following a rise in the previous two years.
Many schools urged thousands of A-level students to postpone their place last year because of this, and they will be filling spaces this year.
There are few openings, which is exacerbated by the fact that institutions overrecruited students the previous year, Mr. Major said. Additionally, the population of 18-year-olds is growing.
Yesterday, university administrators issued a warning that the push to enrol financially rewarding international students may also be causing a shortage of available spots.
While the amount of foreign students attending Russell Group universities has increased, so too has the percentage of UK applicants who are turned down.
According to a Daily Mail study, just 2,353 full-time undergraduate degree programmes at 17 of the 24 Russell Group institutions in England were being promoted via Clearing at the end of last week, just before results day.
When compared to a comparable snapshot poll conducted five days before to A-level results day last year, the number of offered courses has decreased by 24%.
Students in England might enrol in 3,085 degree programmes at 15 leading institutions in 2021 because to clearing.
In 2020, when 4,509 top courses were advertised at 17 Russell Group universities a week before the day of the A-level results, the number of top courses in Clearing was 48% lower.
As opposed to 38.6% in 2020 and 25.5% in 2019, a record 44.8% of submissions were rated at A or A* last year.
In 2021, 19.1% of submissions received an A*, compared to 7.8% in 2019 and 14.4% in 2020.
According to Ofqual’s announcement, the grade boundaries for this year will be generally placed between the pre-pandemic levels of 2019 and the teacher assessments used to determine grades in 2021.
Return to Exams, a study written by Mr. Smithers and released on Saturday, predicted that 13.5 percent of submissions would get an A* and 35 percent an A or A*.
These numbers indicate a drop in A* and A grades of around 82,500 from the previous year.
The research said that more than 40,000 candidates “would be at danger of losing their chosen spot” if an average of two grades are reduced by each applicant impacted. But it’s possible the number may reach 60,000.
Students may need to be “a little more flexible on topic or university than in prior years,” according to Mark Corver of the DataHE consultancy.
As of last night, 28,000 A-level students who applied to attend university had not yet received an offer, according to research by DataHE that was reported in The Guardian.
In 2019, there were only 16,000 applicants at this level of the admissions process.
Universities are “working hard to provide as many individuals the chance to study with them as they can,” according to a Russell Group representative.