Boom of International Students in the UK May Spell Danger for Domestic Students

In recent UCAS news, the influx of international students to educational institutions in the UK may spell ill fortunes for middle-class British students. In a report by The Telegraph, Mark Corver, a former director of UCAS revealed that the arrival of international students in the new academic year could reduce the chances of thousands of domestic students getting admission into their preferred universities.

According to the report, the recent UK university news states that the number of international students in the UK may increase in the coming months with universities looking to expand their wings internationally. This comes as universities have now begun focusing more on international students. UCAS applications from international students have reached a record high, which means, students are also willing to pay more for their education in the UK. This international students UK news has come with a sense of danger for many citizens in the country. The top universities are reported to increase their international intake by 30%, which means that the 10,000 seats available for UK students may take a strong hit. 

The new reforms introduced last year by the British government witnessed that the cap for tuition fees for domestic students stood at £9,250. While the same cap stood at around £10,000 to £30,000 for international, a number significantly higher. This move by the universities is seen to combat the inflation post-COVID phase has brought on. “Every extra foreigner displaces a Brit because the colleges don’t want to get any bigger at an undergraduate level. But that is increasingly spreading to elsewhere in the sector,” says Nick Hilman, the Director of the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) in the recent UK university news.

According to HESA for this UCAS news, the total number of students enrolled in UK universities was 2.86 million in 21/22, out of which 679,970 were international, a lot of whom applied via the UCAS portal. The number has only gone up since then, with nearly 80% of UK universities reporting a rapid increase in international students since the year 2016/17. 

The UK houses some of the most well-renowned universities in the world, and it is no surprise that students from around the world are eager to learn their trade from such institutions. But it might come at the cost of domestic students’ chances for higher education in their own country.

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