The available information is shown in the tables. The figures are taken from data collected by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) which are limited to students who apply to full-time undergraduate courses via the UCAS application system. The figures do not therefore cover part-time students, nor those full-time students who apply directly to Higher Education Institutions.
UCAS do not allocate applicants to specific course types because students can submit up to six applications to one or more of First Degree, Foundation Degree, HMD or other courses. For acceptances, the figures for Degrees include both First Degrees and Foundation Degrees.
From 2002 entry, the information is only available by four broad age bands. A new classification of social background, the National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC), was introduced in 2002, which replaced the classification based on Social Class. The two classifications are not directly comparable.
Year of entry: 1997 Age Social class Under 18 18 19 20 21 to 24 25 to 29 30 and over Total I Professional 1,862 28,479 10,552 3,046 2,283 944 1,257 48,423 II Intermediate 4,456 78,534 30,878 9,776 9,843 6,391 10,416 150,294 IIIM Skilled Manual 1,569 28,710 13,491 5,138 5,142 2,773 3,912 60,735 IIIN Skilled Non-Manual 1,063 19,947 8,810 3,243 6,724 4,079 5,701 49,567 IV Partly Skilled 662 12,637 6,157 2,493 4,512 2,540 3,199 32,200 V Unskilled 151 3,133 1,859 789 959 451 562 7,904 X Unknown 716 11,283 7,550 3,942 11,537 5,791 8,385 49,204 Total 10,479 182,723 79,297 28,427 41,000 22,969 33,432 398,327
Age Social class Under 18 18 19 20 21 to 24 25 to 29 30 and over Total I Professional 1,745 28,001 10,362 2,880 2,171 768 1,097 47,024 II Intermediate 4,411 79,181 31,223 9,299 9,039 5,239 8,917 147,309 IIIM Skilled Manual 1,630 29,225 13,321 4,693 4,411 2,317 3,297 58,894 IIIN Skilled Non-Manual 1,077 20,458 8,734 2,904 5,846 3,365 4,673 47,057 IV Partly Skilled 751 12,833 6,177 2,347 4,021 2,064 2,819 31,012 V Unskilled 118 2,996 1,833 713 842 352 451 7,305 X Unknown 813 13,053 8,573 4,378 10,957 5,351 7,862 50,987 Total 10,545 185,747 80,223 27,214 37,287 19,456 29,116 389,588
Age Social class Under 18 18 19 20 21 to 24 25 to 29 30 and over Total I Professional 1,821 27,567 10,958 3,091 1,563 560 973 46,533 II Intermediate 4,254 77,611 32,944 9,981 7,399 4,346 8,269 144,804 IIIM Skilled Manual 1,642 28,829 14,203 5,067 3,857 2,006 2,936 58,540 IIIN Skilled Non-Manual 1,042 20,134 9,528 3,231 5,829 3,064 4,274 47,102 IV Partly Skilled 700 12,567 6,535 2,499 3,763 1,959 2,782 30,805 V Unskilled 127 2,974 1,972 849 752 305 472 7,451 X Unknown 804 12,100 9,070 4,709 13,198 5,538 8,037 53,456 Total 10,390 181,782 85,210 29,427 36,361 17,778 27,743 388,691
Age Social class Under 18 18 19 20 21 to 24 25 to 29 30 and over Total I Professional 1,688 27,197 10,895 3,095 1,513 480 893 45,761 II Intermediate 4,161 76,341 33,229 10,574 7,800 4,245 8,339 144,689 IIIM Skilled Manual 1,568 27,974 13,943 5,097 3,794 1,837 2,998 57,211 IIIN Skilled Non-Manual 1,095 20,309 9,683 3,564 6,247 2,912 4,278 48,088 IV Partly Skilled 765 12,826 6,628 2,705 3,843 1,965 2,957 31,689 V Unskilled 137 3,100 1,897 834 701 273 397 7,339 X Unknown 940 12,638 9,174 4,974 13,264 5,343 7,981 54,314 Total 10,354 180,385 85,449 30,843 37,162 17,055 27,843 389,091
Age Social class Under 18 18 19 20 21 to 24 25 to 29 30 and over Total I Professional 1,666 27,263 10,800 3,177 1,516 467 954 45,843 II Intermediate 4,182 77,689 32,187 10,388 7,963 3,951 8,472 144,832 IIIM Skilled Manual 1,755 30,348 14,185 5,074 4,161 1,876 3,166 60,565 IIIN Skilled Non-Manual 1,008 20,021 9,175 3,453 7,045 2,935 4,416 48,053 IV Partly Skilled 658 11,727 5,993 2,373 3,964 1,862 3,029 29,606 V Unskilled 135 3,246 1,796 784 592 228 356 7,137 X Unknown 1,032 16,070 11,075 5,918 15,367 5,631 8,516 63,609 Total 10,436 186,364 85,211 31,167 40,608 16,950 28,909 399,645
Year of entry 2002 Age Socio-Economic Classification 20 and under 21 to 24 25 to 39 40 and over Total 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations 66,022 2,390 1,966 676 71,054 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 85,392 5,790 6,175 2,047 99,404 3. Intermediate occupations 38,163 5,603 5,875 1,361 51,002 4. Small employers and own account workers 21,694 1,307 1,203 331 24,535 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 13,913 866 632 148 15,559 6. Semi-routine occupations 30,355 6,504 5,512 1,114 43,485 7. Routine occupations 15,514 2,352 1,733 306 19,905 8. Unknown 41,404 18,082 14,018 3,406 76,910 Total 312,457 42,894 37,114 9,389 401,854
Age Socio-Economic Classification 20 and under 21 to 24 25 to 39 40 and over Total 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations 64,143 2,367 2,413 777 69,700 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 85,627 5,928 6,749 2,161 100,465 3. Intermediate occupations 37,114 5,378 5,866 1,445 49,803 4. Small employers and own account workers 21,774 1,271 1,197 374 24,616 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 14,923 830 616 171 16,540 6. Semi-routine occupations 30,857 6,801 5,909 1,267 44,834 7. Routine occupations 14,914 2,443 1,602 284 19,243 8. Unknown 47,438 18,998 14,760 3,571 84,767 Total 316,790 44,016 39,112 10,050 409,968
Age Socio-Economic Classification 20 and under 21 to 24 25 to 39 40 and over Total 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations 64,652 2,238 2,401 768 70,059 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 87,243 6,040 7,103 2,351 102,737 3. Intermediate occupations 37,795 5,322 5,949 1,434 50,500 4. Small employers and own account workers 21,981 1,257 1,113 312 24,663 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 14,550 768 570 166 16,054 6. Semi-routine occupations 31,228 6,857 6,337 1,367 45,789 7. Routine occupations 15,065 2,499 1,549 245 19,358 8. Unknown 46,234 19,427 14,879 3,634 84,174 Total 318,748 44,408 39,901 10,277 413,334
Age Socio-Economic Classification 20 and under 21 to 24 25 to 39 40 and over Total 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations 63,796 2,433 2,630 772 69,631 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 88,307 6,661 8,098 2,632 105,698 3. Intermediate occupations 38,636 5,743 6,499 1,545 52,423 4. Small employers and own account workers 22,403 1,339 1,280 372 25,394 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 14,870 792 538 148 16,348 6. Semi-routine occupations 33,888 7,867 7,159 1,649 50,563 7. Routine occupations 15,616 2,737 1,723 316 20,392 8. Unknown 62,953 20,536 16,518 4,174 104,181 Total 340,469 48,108 44,445 11,608 444,630
Age Socio-Economic Classification 20 and under 21 to 24 25 to 39 40 and over Total 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations 62,602 2,128 1,955 565 67,250 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 84,387 5,704 5,856 1,721 97,668 3. Intermediate occupations 36,453 4,533 4,530 1,002 46,518 4. Small employers and own account workers 22,232 1,200 864 228 24,524 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 13,939 717 377 80 15,113 6. Semi-routine occupations 32,143 6,833 5,455 1,230 45,661 7. Routine occupations 15,336 2,593 1,361 200 19,490 8. Unknown 62,817 24,002 22,524 6,629 115,972 Total 329,909 47,710 42,922 11,655 432,196 Source: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
Year of entry: 1997 Degree Social class Under 18 18 19 20 21 to 24 25 to 29 30 and over Total I Professional 1,494 23,088 8,325 2,119 1,428 528 776 37,758 II Intermediate 3,302 60,740 22,491 6,411 5,934 3,734 6,408 109,020 IIIM Skilled Manual 1,065 19,986 8,618 3,045 2,921 1,619 2,442 39,696 IIIN Skilled Non-Manual 764 14,911 6,136 2,028 4,028 2,508 3,713 34,088 IV Partly Skilled 466 8,920 3,985 1,491 2,616 1,439 1,934 20,851 V Unskilled 110 2,121 1,122 414 522 270 336 4,895 X Unknown 482 7,394 4,477 2,212 6,768 3,467 5,395 30,195 Total 7,683 137,160 55,154 17,720 24,217 13,565 21,004 276,503
Social class Under 18 18 19 20 21 to 24 25 to 29 30 and over Total I Professional 34 874 513 221 150 46 48 1,886 II Intermediate 145 3,552 2,278 881 718 323 443 8,340 IIIM Skilled Manual 65 1,984 1,392 619 518 242 288 5,108 IIIN Skilled Non-Manual 31 1,054 767 318 562 226 287 3,245 IV Partly Skilled 21 896 643 318 428 174 176 2,656 V Unskilled 3 227 201 101 120 38 35 725 X Unknown 26 1,009 1,039 590 1,100 464 627 4,855 Total 325 9,596 6,833 3,048 3,596 1,513 1,904 26,815
Degree Social class Under 18 18 19 20 21 to 24 25 to 29 30 and over Total I Professional 1399 22621 8250 2077 1411 433 657 36848 II Intermediate 3,238 61,077 23,067 6,208 5,607 3,069 5,429 107,695 IIIM Skilled Manual 1,083 20,756 8,749 2,859 2,648 1,355 2,053 39,503 IIIN Skilled Non-Manual 748 15,166 6,064 1,874 3,592 2,076 2,956 32,476 IV Partly Skilled 510 9,041 4,066 1,430 2,384 1,225 1,687 20,343 V Unskilled 74 2,033 1,131 410 468 209 279 4,604 X Unknown 451 8,316 5,051 2,511 6,486 3,181 4,875 30,871 Total 7,503 139,010 56,378 17,369 22,596 11,548 17,936 272,340
Social class Under 18 18 19 20 21 to 24 25 to 29 30 and over Total I Professional 34 874 513 221 150 46 48 1,886 II Intermediate 145 3,552 2,278 881 718 323 443 8,340 IIIM Skilled Manual 65 1,984 1,392 619 518 242 288 5,108 IIIN Skilled Non-Manual 31 1,054 767 318 562 226 287 3,245 IV Partly Skilled 21 896 643 318 428 174 176 2,656 V Unskilled 3 227 201 101 120 38 35 725 X Unknown 26 1,009 1,039 590 1,100 464 627 4,855 Total 325 9,596 6,833 3,048 3,596 1,513 1,904 26,815
Degree Social class Under 18 18 19 20 21 to 24 25 to 29 30 and over Total I Professional 1,467 22,599 8,856 2,319 1,066 317 628 37,252 II Intermediate 3,172 60,422 24,944 6,856 4,786 2,606 5,244 108,030 IIIM Skilled Manual 1,157 20,572 9,618 3,189 2,337 1,210 1,837 39,920 IIIN Skilled Non-Manual 734 15,267 6,787 2,148 3,656 1,899 2,722 33,213 IV Partly Skilled 458 9,013 4,420 1,561 2,270 1,173 1,688 20,583 V Unskilled 78 2,028 1,239 523 436 176 291 4,771 X Unknown 477 7,851 5,685 2,860 8,072 3,402 5,224 33,571 Total 7,543 137,752 61,549 19,456 22,623 10,783 17,634 277,340
Social class Under 18 18 19 20 21 to 24 25 to 29 30 and over Total I Professional 32 707 524 175 108 24 42 1,612 II Intermediate 157 3,181 2,191 929 534 242 403 7,637 IIIM Skilled Manual 80 1,792 1,376 538 377 177 214 4,554 IIIN Skilled Non-Manual 36 968 799 319 468 216 267 3,073 IV Partly Skilled 45 839 673 287 355 145 170 2,514 V Unskilled 7 231 238 117 101 40 33 767 X Unknown 67 1,200 1,168 650 1,238 523 722 5,568 Total 424 8,918 6,969 3,015 3,181 1,367 1,851 25,725
Degree Social class Under 18 18 19 20 21 to 24 25 to 29 30 and over Total I Professional 1,396 22,695 9,015 2,361 1,046 263 529 37,305 II Intermediate 3,237 60,561 25,762 7,480 5,095 2,502 5,185 109,822 IIIM Skilled Manual 1,098 20,361 9,654 3,307 2,339 1,131 1,892 39,782 IIIN Skilled Non-Manual 836 15,525 7,162 2,382 3,939 1,856 2,813 34,513 IV Partly Skilled 523 9,381 4,609 1,706 2,381 1,155 1,834 21,589 V Unskilled 98 2,156 1,199 526 428 167 231 4,805 X Unknown 537 8,436 5,884 3,001 8,142 3,201 4,792 33,993 Total 7,725 139,115 63,285 20,763 23,370 10,275 17,276 281,809
Social class Under 18 18 19 20 21 to 24 25 to 29 30 and over Total I Professional 28 643 485 201 97 28 54 1,536 II Intermediate 149 3,132 2,227 968 597 265 515 7,853 IIIM Skilled Manual 88 1,736 1,414 555 404 171 265 4,633 IIIN Skilled Non-Manual 48 1,051 729 342 601 210 284 3,265 IV Partly Skilled 54 820 677 311 376 146 179 2,563 V Unskilled 9 226 240 99 88 27 41 730 X Unknown 175 1,263 1,203 788 1,352 592 956 6,329 Total 551 8,871 6,975 3,264 3,515 1,439 2,294 26,909
Degree Social class Under 18 18 19 20 21 to 24 25 to 29 30 and Over Total I Professional 1,415 23,183 9,171 2,481 1,063 291 592 38,196 II Intermediate 3,256 63,344 25,625 7,594 5,406 2,477 5,585 113,287 IIIM Skilled Manual 1,229 23,000 10,101 3,407 2,676 1,183 1,972 43,568 IIIN Skilled Non-Manual 734 15,828 6,982 2,413 4,701 1,880 2,988 35,526 IV Partly Skilled 444 8,811 4,325 1,626 2,530 1,134 1,926 20,796 V Unskilled 89 2,339 1,238 482 366 150 222 4,886 X Unknown 640 11,066 7,289 3,831 9,982 3,454 5,536 41,798 Total 7,807 147,571 64,731 21,834 26,724 10,569 18,821 298,057
Social class Under 18 18 19 20 21 to 24 25 to 29 30 and over Total I Professional 26 691 442 211 97 24 61 1,552 II Intermediate 116 3,030 2,117 903 609 249 520 7,544 IIIM Skilled Manual 94 1,874 1,372 562 422 197 323 4,844 IIIN Skilled Non-Manual 42 993 732 334 630 232 285 3,248 IV Partly Skilled 43 745 557 255 360 152 206 2,318 V Unskilled 11 242 218 98 87 23 39 718 X Unknown 95 1,644 1,505 870 1,614 604 859 7,191 Total 427 9,219 6,943 3,233 3,819 1,481 2,293 27,415
Year of entry: 2002 Degree Socio-Economic Classification 20 and under 21 to 24 25 to 39 40 and over Total 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations 55,987 1,715 1,272 453 59,427 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 70,128 4,064 4,087 1,383 79,662 3. Intermediate occupations 31,125 3,895 3,889 924 39,833 4. Small employers and own account workers 16,675 846 782 222 18,525 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 10,707 586 438 102 11,833 6. Semi-routine occupations 23,245 4,323 3,591 737 31,896 7. Routine occupations 11,426 1,565 1,129 192 14,312 8. Unknown 29,764 12,439 9,384 2,385 53,972 Total 249,057 29,433 24,572 6,398 309,460
Socio-Economic Classification 20 and under 21 to 24 25 to 39 40 and over Total 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations 1,752 114 79 47 1,992 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 3,054 360 272 128 3,814 3. Intermediate occupations 1,549 374 284 72 2,279 4. Small employers and own account workers 1,305 122 70 34 1,531 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 830 91 67 9 997 6. Semi-routine occupations 1,890 475 314 72 2,751 7. Routine occupations 1,123 232 158 30 1,543 8. Unknown 4,154 1,666 1,210 328 7,358 Total 15,657 3,434 2,454 720 22,265
Degree Socio-Economic Classification 20 and under 21 to 24 25 to 39 40 and over Total 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations 54,398 1,660 1,448 528 58,034 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 70,356 4,109 4,299 1,417 80,181 3. Intermediate occupations 30,311 3,688 3,920 1,012 38,931 4. Small employers and own account workers 16,956 873 775 241 18,845 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 11,574 600 406 113 12,693 6. Semi-routine occupations 23,815 4,593 3,815 842 33,065 7. Routine occupations 11,161 1,602 1,059 193 14,015 8. Unknown 35,061 12,903 9,967 2,547 60,478 Total 253,632 30,028 25,689 6,893 316,242
Socio-Economic Classification 20 and under 21 to 24 25 to 39 40 and over Total 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations 1,261 91 59 27 1,438 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 2,340 266 229 97 2,932 3. Intermediate occupations 1,088 282 227 48 1,645 4. Small employers and own account workers 973 85 64 25 1,147 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 670 45 34 15 764 6. Semi-routine occupations 1,545 395 197 52 2,189 7. Routine occupations 881 168 106 13 1,168 8. Unknown 3,763 1,389 1,007 258 6,417 Total 12,521 2,721 1,923 535 17,700
Degree Socio-Economic Classification 20 and under 21 to 24 25 to 39 40 and over Total 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations 55,231 1,535 1,351 476 58,593 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 72,360 4,063 4,411 1,476 82,310 3. Intermediate occupations 31,111 3,554 3,873 963 39,501 4. Small employers and own account workers 17,186 867 707 192 18,952 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 11,515 529 380 117 12,541 6. Semi-routine occupations 24,593 4,549 3,926 863 33,931 7. Routine occupations 11,494 1,660 1,013 167 14,334 8. Unknown 34,768 13,142 9,969 2,496 60,375 Total 258,258 29,899 25,630 6,750 320,537
Socio-Economic Classification 20 and under 21 to 24 25 to 39 40 and over Total 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations 951 64 43 28 1,086 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 1,846 204 183 85 2,318 3. Intermediate occupations 879 207 155 48 1,289 4. Small employers and own account workers 803 53 57 16 929 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 487 41 36 9 573 6. Semi-routine occupations 1,082 270 186 47 1,585 7. Routine occupations 646 134 75 10 865 8. Unknown 2,906 1,112 837 258 5,113 Total 9,600 2,085 1,572 501 13,758
Degree Socio-Economic Classification 20 and under 21 to 24 25 to 39 40 and over Total 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations 55,143 1,633 1,448 469 58,693 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 74,286 4,449 4,783 1,612 85,130 3. Intermediate occupations 32,267 3,843 4,067 1,012 41,189 4. Small employers and own account workers 18,006 906 813 238 19,963 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 12,005 564 354 86 13,009 6. Semi-routine occupations 27,109 5,125 4,248 1,024 37,506 7. Routine occupations 12,118 1,851 1,117 194 15,280 8. Unknown 50,189 14,089 10,900 2,900 78,078 Total 281,123 32,460 27,730 7,535 348,848
Socio-Economic Classification 20 and under 21 to 24 25 to 39 40 and over Total 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations 872 55 36 14 977 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 1,607 183 131 56 1,977 3. Intermediate occupations 731 136 127 39 1,033 4. Small employers and own account workers 614 46 27 18 705 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 380 29 23 13 445 6. Semi-routine occupations 988 232 118 22 1,360 7. Routine occupations 564 131 66 21 782 8. Unknown 2,348 882 704 183 4,117 Total 8,104 1,694 1,232 366 11,396
Degree Socio-Economic Classification 20 and under 21 to 24 25 to 39 40 and over Total 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations 53,615 1,419 1,029 338 56,401 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 70,163 3,809 3,386 1,025 78,383 3. Intermediate occupations 30,133 2,988 2,755 667 36,543 4. Small employers and own account workers 17,736 801 558 155 19,250 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 11,108 515 264 53 11,940 6. Semi-routine occupations 25,557 4,453 3,224 780 34,014 7. Routine occupations 11,900 1,796 887 128 14,711 8. Unknown 49,682 16,447 15,031 4,536 85,696 Total 269,894 32,228 27,134 7,682 336,938
Socio-Economic Classification 20 and under 21 to 24 25 to 39 40 and over Total 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations 537 45 19 8 609 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations 1,159 130 82 23 1,394 3. Intermediate occupations 476 94 65 12 647 4. Small employers and own account workers 454 40 23 4 521 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations 275 20 18 5 318 6. Semi-routine occupations 695 157 69 14 935 7. Routine occupations 429 85 36 6 556 8. Unknown 1,990 806 666 184 3,646 Total 6,015 1,377 978 256 8,626 Source: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).