Brexit is getting blamed for everything these days. Bad weather, the price of fish; you name it, it is the fault of Brexit. So, with this theme in mind, we thought we’d add another negative bit of Brexit press.
To be fair, though, recent figures have shown a 9 per cent reduction in the people applying for university from the EU – which is a little startling and probably not a coincidence.
The figures come from UCAS – the admissions hub.
Brexit really is to blame in this instance. No, really. Because of the referendum result many EU students didn’t know whether they would be eligible for loans and grants. Four days before the early application deadline, however, officials announced that EU students coming to the UK to study would be allowed to access funding as normal – unfortunately though, this seemed to have cut it a little too fine for people’s confidence with some EU students opting to study elsewhere. Nine per cent doesn’t sound like a lot but it is a considerable amount when it has been brought about by uncertainty.
The powers–that–be both at UCAS and universities in general, however, are keen to stress that there should be no immediate panic and have said that the figures don’t show a true picture as only a handful of students apply at this early stage anyway.
Chief executive of Universities UK Nicola Dandridge believes that there is no substance in the figures – yet. She said: “Only a small percentage of applicants apply by this date and we must wait until the main January deadline before we see the full picture for this application cycle. We know that demand from overseas for UK university courses remains strong due to the high quality of British universities.
"This fall does, however, highlight the importance of ensuring that prospective European applicants are made fully aware of the fees and financial support arrangements well in advance of the applications window. It is important also that we make clear that European students continue to be welcome in coming to the UK to study."
Government ministers are also keen to stress the importance of foreign students and what they bring to the UK’s universities.