UCAS Expected to Reach One Million in 2030

A recent study showed that UCAS applicants are expected to increase and reach one million in 2030. This is baring in mind that applicants in 2022 totalled 761,000 applicants. The expected 30% increase in UCAS applicants will increase by over 995,000 applicants in 2030.

Key Facts

The same study found that in 2022, 80% of applicants were UK nationals, 16.5% were Non-EU nationals, and the remaining 3.2% were EU nationals.

One of the vital positive factors expected to increase the number of applicants is the expected drop in the application price, which will drop to 75.7% leading to an increase of 22.4%. Another factor leading to the rise is the increasing number of applicants over the age of 18.

An interesting finding that can affect stakeholders past 2030 is that the population is expected to decline. By 2040, this number will drop to 734,000 applicants if the expected decline in population does occur. What will help in alleviating this decline is the anticipated increase in the number of international students.

Impact on PBSA Industry

The expected increase in UCAS applications will, without a doubt, drive the PBSA industry forward to accommodate the growing number of applicants. This is to help accommodate the ever-increasing student housing demand and reduce rental prices.

Impact on UCAS Processes

According to UCAS, they are dedicated to making the process of finding the applicant’s courses easier, especially when it comes to apprenticeship applicants. Many of those looking for apprenticeship programs have had trouble finding their desired course. One-third of applicants have reported that they did not find the information they were looking for regarding their desired course.

This one-third of applicants amounts to 200,000 students that still don’t know their study options or the diversity of the options available. Once the applicant number reaches one million in 2030, this number will increase to 300,000 students. 

Students have been starting to voice they want to explore the different apprenticeship options early on; this has raised the concern with UCAS making the large variety of apprenticeship options more visible to students, making navigating the apprenticeship options more straightforward.

UCAS has pledged to make the pool of applications as diverse as possible, enabling students from different cultural and financial backgrounds to get quality education. For those from disadvantaged backgrounds, UCAS will provide the latest tools to help students find their most suitable study options.

UCAS will also be utilizing the evergrowing number of applicants on the UCAS Hub and presenting them with the right tools and facilitating career navigation to be able to apply to their desired careers easily. This is to help allocate the applicants to their desired jobs, which is an immense potential for UCAS and the UK economy.