The Russell Group of Universities Dr Wendy Piatt Director General of The Russell Group 24 June 2011 The Russell Group of universities: Advising your students

The Russell Group of universities

About the Russell Group We represent 12% of the higher education sector by number and: Educate 20% of HE students (341,000 UG & 155,760 PG) – including 58% of PhD students Employ approximately 40% of academic staff Secure 68% (over £2.9bn) of UK universities’ research grant and contract income Win the majority of the competitively available research funding: 69% of Research Council grants, 64% of business investment, 75% of charity research funding Have an economic output of £22.3bn per annum (40% of HE sector) 3

Why choose a Russell Group university? (1) International leaders in higher education All RG institutions were in the Top 200 of the QS rankings in UK universities were in the Top 100, of which 16 were Russell Group institutions Research-intensive environments Teaching is conducted by researchers who are at the forefront of their fields, across a wide range of disciplines: research-based learning Challenging and dynamic courses Including a variety of lectures, seminars, tutorials and independent learning Highly rated by the Quality Assurance Agency Excellent facilities Libraries, specialist equipment, IT etc 4

Why choose a Russell Group university? (2) 1.This world-class learning experience means that Russell Group universities have high retention rates and student satisfaction Not exclusive: can be more vocationally-focused The average satisfaction rate of 86% compared with an average of 82% across the sector Low drop-out rate of 3.65% compared with national average of 6.54% 2.There are significant benefits to students in terms of employment outcomes Studying at a Russell Group university confers a wage premium of about 10%. Russell Group graduates are highly sought after by employers: 12 ranked in the world top 50 universities in a 2010 survey of graduate recruiters. 5

Student Finance Changes to the costs of going to university in England for courses starting from September No upfront costs to taking a degree in England A student loan completely covers tuition fees Loan repayments only begin when graduates earn over £21,000 a year A higher fee will not lead to higher monthly payments: these will be a manageable 9% of income above £21,000, regardless of the original fee This loan is written off after 30 years if the graduate has not yet repaid it In addition to the student loan, Government and universities will provide a range of grants, fee waivers and scholarships on the basis of students’ individual circumstances 6

7 UCAS applicants and accepted places over time Competitive across the sector

8 Top 10 most competitive courses in the UK by number applying in admissions round Competitive Courses (1) SubjectApplicationsAcceptances Number of applications for each acceptance Nursing194,21427, Design studies104,00318, Law94,86216, Psychology94,30316, Social Work81,56011, Pre-clinical Medicine81,4227, Management studies72,11812, Business & Admin Studies64,47110, English studies60,99210,1166 Business studies59,46012,2654.8

9 Top 10 most competitive courses by acceptance rates in admissions round Competitive Courses (2) SubjectApplicationsAcceptances Number of applications for each acceptance Pre-clinical Medicine81,4227, Pre-clinical Dentistry13,1791, Pre-clinical Veterinary Medicine8, Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology27,7003, Japanese studies1, Training Teachers57,0637, Aural and Oral Sciences6, Social Studies: any area of study3, Social Work81,56011, Nursing194,21427,0797.2

10 Applications per place for admissions round Competitive Russell Group Universities Russell Group InstitutionAll degree applicationsAll accepted degree applicationsRatio London School of Economics and Political Science19,6551, The University of Bristol41,0653, University College London33,6103, The University of Warwick34,3953, The University of Edinburgh46,0855, King's College London30,4703, The University of Southampton33,7004, The University of Leeds50,5206, The University of Liverpool29,4054, The University of Birmingham40,3705, The University of Sheffield33,2855, The University of Nottingham40,8506, Cardiff University32,7705, The University of Manchester54,1458, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine14,1802, The University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne25,9554, The University of Glasgow26,5854, The Queen's University of Belfast19,2953, The University of Oxford16,0503, The University of Cambridge15,9253, RG Total638,31590,

Within the Russell Group, particular courses are especially competitive: There are more than 9 applicants for each place to study Medicine at Russell Group universities, with the figure being greater than 18 at the University of Bristol. High application rates are not confined to Medicine, with an average across the Russell Group of over 7 applicants per place for Law, up to a high of over 20 at UCL. Source: UCAS Statistics, admissions round. Some groups of students apply for heavily oversubscribed courses: 44% of all black applicants apply for Oxford’s three most oversubscribed subjects compared to just 17% of all white applicants. Competitive Russell Group Courses 11

Challenges in selecting candidates with the highest grades 12 RG courses often heavily over-subscribed: In the admissions round, LSE had over 19,500 applications for just 1,430 places (i.e. About 1 in 14 were successful) Of those who entered Oxbridge in 2010, over 98% had 3 As at A-level or better. Increasing numbers of A level candidates with top grades: 27% of all A-levels were awarded an A* or A grade in There were approximately 267,350 A-level candidates last year of which 34,200 (13%) achieved 3A*-As.

13 The Russell Group has recently published a guide to subject choice, Informed Choices, available to download from: Choices final.pdf Not all applicants have studied the subjects that will prepare them best for their chosen degree course

14 Certain university courses require students to have studied particular subjects at A-level or equivalent Therefore, certain A-level choices keep open a wider range of university options. These choices are referred to as ‘facilitating subjects’ in Informed Choices, and comprise: Course and Entrance Requirements (1) Mathematics and Further MathematicsEnglish (Literature) PhysicsBiology ChemistryGeography Languages (Classical and Modern)History

15 Find out more by going online to: > University of Oxford > Admissions > Undergraduate courses > Courses > Courses and Entrance Requirements Course and Entrance Requirements (2) The University of Oxford publishes its entrance requirements in a clear table, available on its website or to download as a pdf.

16 Students in state schools are less likely to choose key science subjects & foreign languages Many courses at Russell Group institutions require qualifications in science, maths or modern languages. Up to half of all A-levels accepted by some universities are in these subjects. But, independent and grammar school students are far more likely to take these subjects. E.g. pupils at independent schools are roughly 3 times more likely to be doing Further Maths and nearly 2.5 times more likely to be doing a language A-level than those at state schools. Roughly 3% of Media Studies A-level entries are in independent schools compared to 15% on average across subjects. 35% of Further Maths entries and 34% of MFL entries are in independent schools. Less than 1 in 10 students in mainstream and science specialised schools take one or more separate science subject at A-level, compared to roughly 1 in 3 at grammar and independent schools.

17 Russell Group universities consider admissions as part of a holistic process. Each university and course will have its own entrance requirements, but crucial issues are: Grades Previous qualifications (GCSEs/AS-levels or equivalents) Subjects chosen for A-level (or equivalent) Academic reference Personal Statement Additional tests for some universities – e.g. Oxford has a number of specific subject tests and Cambridge may ask for STEP exams. Course and Entrance Requirements (3)

In numbers: Russell Group universities’ work to widen participation 18 Russell Group universities engage with thousands of young people annually to help raise aspirations and attainment, and widen participation in HE: In , the University of Manchester's widening participation programmes engaged 17,338 pre-16 school pupils over a total of 85,341 contact hours, including academic enrichment activities in STEM, Languages, and Medical and Healthcare Sciences. LSE runs an annual Summer School, offering 120 school pupils with no history of family involvement in higher education the chance to spend a week at LSE in the summer following their GCSEs. Over 2,000 students have engaged in hands-on demonstrations in the University of Bristol’s mobile teaching units for the Medical Sciences and Chemistry. The new Chemistry LabSkills e- learning tool will support learning about scientific experimentation in up to 4,000 secondary schools. The Pathways to the Professions scheme run by the University of Edinburgh works with all 46 state schools in Edinburgh and the Lothians, with over 500 students aged registered at any one time. The scheme has engaged with more than 3,000 students since its inception in 2001.

19 CAMBRIDGE AREA LINKS SCHEME: Each college at the University of Cambridge is twinned with a Local Authority with the aim of developing long-term aspiration raising programmes. For example, St John’s College is twinned with a disadvantaged London borough and through the EAGLE project, the college provides extra tuition in the classrooms as well as information and advice during College visits. As of 2009, every area of the UK has a formal link with a Cambridge college. ACCESS COURSES: Access 2 Birmingham is an alternative entry scheme offering special consideration and alternative grade offers to applicants from educationally, financially and socially disadvantaged backgrounds. Applications are encouraged from students who meet the eligibility criteria and have the potential to study at the university but, for a variety of reasons, have not had the opportunity to demonstrate such potential at school. FURTHER EDUCATION TO HIGHER EDUCATION: The Universities of Warwick and Liverpool run various ‘1+3’ year and ‘2+2’ year foundation courses with local FE colleges as progression opportunities into university degrees. These include degree programmes in medicine and dentistry, science and engineering, computer science and information systems, earth sciences, geography, mathematics and physical sciences. FOUNDATION YEARS: University of Leeds runs an Interdisciplinary Science Foundation Year as part of a four-year degree programme in any science degree programme, specifically designed for applicants who have not studied suitable subjects prior to entry but have attained the required academic level. Supported entry routes to Russell Group universities

Tips for applicants: Birmingham’s Tips and FAQs Find out more by going online to: > University of Birmingham > Students > Courses > Undergraduate Courses > How to Apply

Tips for applicants: Oxford’s Podcasts Find out more by going online to: > University of Oxford > Admissions > Undergraduate courses > Courses > Courses and Entrance Requirements