A north-south divide has opened up in university applications, with cash-strapped students fuelling a boom in interest in courses in northern England and the Midlands of up to 50%, while falling numbers target elite centres in the south such as Oxford, Cambridge and University College London (UCL).
The growth in the north is being attributed to the recession, with increasing numbers of local teenagers opting to study from home, with further applications coming from students outside the region who want to move to cheaper northern cities.
Last week the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) released figures showing a 2.5% overall increase in applications so far, compared with 2010. The increase has been put down to students making sure they apply this year rather than