UNIVERSITIES are making record levels of offers to would-be students amid intense competition to attract good candidates, official figures suggest.
Young people in England and Wales have never been more likely to win a degree place than they were in 2014, according to Ucas, which has published a detailed analysis of university admissions.
MORE TOP STORIES:
The data showed a surge in the numbers of youngsters going to university, but also shows wide gaps between men and women and differences according to where applicants live.
And it suggested that an English teenager’s chances of going to a top university without scoring the best grades at A-level have dramatically increased.
Overall, the number of students securing places on degree courses through Ucas topped half a million for the first time in 2014, at 512,400 people in total gaining places.
This was up by nearly 17,000 students (3.4 per cent) compared to last year.
There was also a rise in the number of UK students accepted - up 3.2 per cent to 447,500 this year compared to 2013.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here