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Back to school for the final year!  It’s a nice feeling to have reached the top of the tree.  

If you’re applying to university through UCAS in this cycle here are a few things to think about that will help you keep your eye on the prize – you must be ambitious… but realistic!  

The overall picture is still very positive, and good, sensible candidates should get a healthy spread of offers. As you start looking it’s worth thinking about the big picture in higher education at the moment, especially if you are at an independent school.  

The number of 18-year-olds has increased and a greater percentage of them are applying to university. Last year the universities had to be cautious and not make too many offers, but the market has now restabilised so things should feel a bit more normal.  But, much more significantly, there is a discernible shift down in the number of offers received by students from independent and selective schools from the ‘elite’ class of universities.  

This is driven largely by a laudable policy by universities to increase diversity in all its forms and expand their Widening Access and Participation programmes to attract applicants less typical of their historic intake. Rightly, top institutions have become more accessible and crucially more attractive to a wider tranche of society, thereby increasing the number of well-qualified applicants. And no one can dispute that this is all for the good.  

The difficulty arises when you are at an independent or otherwise selective school and do not tick many of the new boxes, but you are a good candidate, and it is your ambition to go to a top university of your choice. A number of fantastic candidates were disappointed this year, and reasons given for rejection were sometimes nebulous and generic such as ‘others were better qualified’ or ‘your personal statement was not as good as others’. These were damning, meaningless and do not help ease the pain. Across the board, independent schools reported a drop in the number of offers from the elite universities, and this is borne out in the statistics.  

So what is to be done about the situation? The phenomenon detailed above is here to stay, so a new mindset and approach needs to be developed and adopted for those applying in the new 2023 cycle.  

First, to be clear, exceptional candidates will be recognised by the global elite institutions, regardless of background and relative opportunities in life. If you are tippity-top, you should stay ambitious and aim high – as high as possible – and ‘back yourself’, in modern parlance.  

For all the other excellent candidates there needs to be a move towards recognising a ‘new good’, ie a shift away from the typical ‘brands’ – the five or six universities that trip off the tongues of most ambitious parents – and see the enormous benefits that exist in the 350 or so other UK institutions.  In reality, this will be around 30 or 40 other institutions, but that’s still a lot of choice.  

In terms of course choice, why not go for a subject allied to the most popular, so if you love, say, history, would ancient history (far less competitive) be acceptable to you? Another example would be that, given the big drop in applications to do geography degrees in favour of the ‘sexier’ sustainability subjects, would straight geography be good (given that you’ll be doing a lot of sustainability anyway)? It’s a balance between preferred universities and a course that’s acceptable. One word of caution – bear in mind that you will have to study this for three, four or even five years.   

And when considering your choices of universities, if you are determined to study a popular subject, then by all means put one or two elite choices, but make sure that you also put three or four other choices on your application to institutions that you would ACTUALLY ATTEND. These other choices are becoming increasingly significant, and now require more thought than they ever did given the paucity of places on offer at the top of the pyramid. Visit, research and fall in love with amazing and realistic alternatives. Seek expert advice from people with experience of these universities and the fantastic courses they offer.   

Finally, be mindful of any aspects of your application that might move you up the list.  Are you on a bursary? Can you demonstrate diversity or disadvantage in any form?  Many are hesitant about detailing a disability on their application, erroneously believing it will work against them. But the opposite is true – it is illegal to discriminate, and disability widens diversity. Have your parents been to university? If not, this can be a ‘marker’ for you to flag. Have you had a situation where you have been disadvantaged in any way? Again, this should be highlighted. And diversity in this context is broad – race, gender, sexuality, disability, lack of opportunities, household income, POLAR quintile.   

So the overriding message is this: get good advice, keep an open mind, be tactical, of course be ambitious, but always keep a healthy dose of realism factored in.