Due to COVID-19, most pre-university students have decided to put off the next chapter of their lives. The pandemic means that the majority of this year’s university students will have to attend their classes online and miss out on their ‘uni experience’ and events like freshers week. With the recent government advice encouraging more learning to be done online, it seems most uni students won’t be getting what they thought they signed up for, opting instead, to defer.
The knock-on effect this will have on next year’s applicants will be huge. The volume of applicants for next year will likely be more than ever before, making it even more competitive.
What will this mean for universities? With the number of students attending uni this year looking to decline by 24% of the 2018-19 cohort, the impact of travel restrictions on international students makes for an even worse economic downturn. In 2018-19 international students made up 19.6% of the UK’s university population and in the US, Chinese students make up 33.7% of the foreign student population in higher education. With the slowing down of international travel and some students already being stranded, the number of international students is likely to decrease amidst fears of not being able to get back home. This means universities’ revenue in just tuition fees and teacher grants will decline by approximately £2.472 billion resulting in an estimated 30,000 job losses. Will this affect you?
Written by Coco Clelland
Artwork by Izzy Johns
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