UCAS Clearing 2011 Only 40,000 University Places Available

UCAS Clearing 2011: Only 40,000 University Places Available

UCAS Clearing 2011:

There are just 40,000 university places left to successful applicants this year leaving 310,000 aspiring students with no chance of persuing their higher education ambition.

When A-level results are published on Thursday, it is expected that at least 7 students will have to battle it out to gain just one university place.

Less than 150 places are being offered by the renowned Russell Group Universities with Manchester expecting to offer fewer than 12 places.

University College London, London School of Economic’s, Imperial College London, Oxford, Cambridge, Birmingham, Bristol and Edinburgh are not entering UCAS Clearing 2011 at all.

Many lower ranked universities including, Sussex, Chester, Oxford Brooks, Exeter and Bath Spa are also closed to UCAS Clearing 2011.

The 100 places available at Newcastle University are expected to be gone within one hour, and compared to 850 places offered last year, Wolverhampton University are anticipating less than 100 places available this year.

London South Bank estimates that it will have just 250 places available compared to last years 1,250.

With UCAS Clearing a meagre 40,000 places come Thursday, thousands of students anxiously waiting for their A-level results will face further agony if their grades are lower than anticipated especially now that there are so few places left to apply for, and each student facing a full-on battle with more than seven fellow students all desperate to secure a place.

And if that isn’t bad enough, any student lucky enough to secure a place in university next year will also have to deal with the added pressure of increased tuition fees as charges are set to soar to £9,000.

General Secretary of the University and College Union Sally Hunt said:

“The stakes have never been higher for university applicants.

“I fear that UCAS Clearing 2011 will be the most frantic and stressful in living memory with thousands of young people, encouraged to aspire to university throughout their lives, left disappointed.”

Universities highly anticipate that available places will be extremely difficult to secure, all phone lines will be completely jammed minutes after they open on Thursday and by midday all UCAS clearing places 2011 will have been taken.