Rise in demand for UK undergraduate courses despite fee increases

Demand for UK undergraduate courses for the next academic year has surpassed peak pandemic levels as a result of record interest from 18-year-old domestic students, Ucas figures show.

New data from the admissions service show that a total of 619,360 people applied for courses by the equal consideration date of 14 January. This was a 3 per cent rise on 2025, and higher than the previous record total of 616,360 in 2021.

Demand rose 5 per cent among UK 18-year-olds, pushing this cohort to 69 per cent of the sector total.

Ucas said this reflected the growing size of the UK 18-year-old population and suggested participation is returning to pre-pandemic levels – with the application rate for this age group rising slightly to 40.7 per cent.

There was an increase of 2 per cent among 19-year-old applicants, but all other age groups saw demand fall – although Ucas said this group typically applies later in the year.

Those applying for entry in autumn 2026 will face paying tuition fees of £9,790 a year for most courses after two consecutive years of rises following a long freeze in fees. In their second year, they will pay £10,050 – the first time fees have gone over £10,000.

With cost-of-living pressures still severe, 45 per cent of UK 18-year-olds stated that they had made at least one choice where they intend to live at home for their studies – up from 43 per cent the year before. Among the total student population, this proportion is now almost half (49 per cent).

Amid concerns around the domination of recruitment by elite universities, the Ucas figures show that a record 73 per cent of UK 18-year-olds applied to higher tariff institutions and just 53 per cent to a lower tariff provider.

The Ucas categories, which have been updated for 2026, also show that demand for higher tariff providers grew by 7 per cent on 2025. Medium tariff institutions saw 2.8 per cent growth while lower tariff institutions recorded 1.8 per cent.

Ucas is now grouping specialist institutions separately and said these had seen a slight decline of 2.3 per cent in 18-year-old applicants, but smaller institutions, another new category defined as having fewer than 100 acceptances a year, saw applicants increase 4.2 per cent. 

After a surge during the early application stage, the full dataset shows that international demand for undergraduate courses continued to rise by 5 per cent.

There were 124,830 overseas applicants in 2026 – including an increase of 10 per cent from China, 2 per cent from India and 3.5 per cent from the US.

Although international undergraduate students represent just 30 per cent of the total market, the figures will be welcome news for universities following separate data yesterday which showed a record fall in overseas students in 2024-25.

Jo Saxton, chief executive of Ucas, said it was really encouraging to see more students from disadvantaged backgrounds applying to higher education across the UK.

The number of 18-year-old applicants from the most disadvantaged backgrounds increased by 6 per cent in England, 14 per cent in Wales, 10 per cent in Scotland, and 7 per cent in Northern Ireland.

“We know that choosing whether and where to study is a big decision, and for many people it comes with real financial and personal pressures,” added Saxton.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com