UniFutures | Excellence for the future
Questions about courses, countries and careers come up every autumn and this year two pieces of news make them more pressing. If you are in Year 13, the first UCAS deadline is only weeks away. If you are in Year 12, this is the best time to work out what you want a degree to do for you.
More students than ever are getting places but it isn’t getting easier
On A-level results day, UCAS reported a record 262,820 UK 18-year-olds accepted, up 3% from 255,130 last year. That growth comes from a larger population of 18-year-olds rather than a bigger share going to university, because the entry rate stayed flat at 31.6%. Competition for first choices also increased: 79% of applicants from England, Wales and Northern Ireland who were holding an offer were placed at their firm choice, down from 82% last year, while 13% went to their insurance choice, up from 11%.
For international applicants the picture was steady. 53,740 were accepted onto UK undergraduate courses, up 2% on last year.
Graduate jobs are moving the other way
Adzuna recorded 8,383 graduate vacancies in July, down from 15,397 a year earlie, and that is the lowest since it began recording in 2016. The Institute of Student Employers (ISE) reports 140 applications per graduate vacancy, the highest in the three decades it has collected the data.
It is tempting to put all of this down to AI but employers see it more mildly. In the ISE’s 2026 survey, 40% of employers expect no entry-level roles to be replaced by AI over the next three years, 42% expect a small share (1-10%) to be replaced and 18% expect larger-scale replacement. Most expect AI to reshape early-career jobs rather than remove them. One more shift is worth noticing: ISE data shows graduate hiring fell 8% while apprentice hiring rose 8%.
Both figures are snapshots. Adzuna is a job board and the ISE mainly reflects larger employers. The direction of travel is still clear.
What this means for your choices
- Look past the university name. Check what the course involves, whether it offers placements and where graduates end up. Discover Uni is a good starting point for UK courses.
- Start building evidence early. Work experience, wider reading, projects and competitions all count. They also give you real material for your application and for interviews.
- Keep more than one route open. Degree apprenticeships, universities in the UAE and universities in other countries are all worth comparing. A sensible Plan B is part of a good plan not a lack of confidence.
- Choose courses you can explain. Whatever happens in the job market, being able to say why you chose a course and what you have done to prepare for it will help you at every stage.
Dates and rules to know now
For 2027 entry, the early deadline of 15 October 2026 applies to Oxford, Cambridge and most medicine, dentistry and veterinary science courses. For most other courses, applications must arrive by 18:00 UK time on 13 January 2027.
The personal statement is now three questions, each needing at least 350 characters within a 4,000-character total. UCAS also uses software to detect similarity between statements, so write in your own words and start early.
A note for families thinking about a career in the UK
For Graduate Route applications made on or after 1 January 2027, the UK post-study work visa will be granted for 18 months instead of two years. The route itself is staying, but students starting a degree in 2027 will graduate under the shorter period unless the rules change again. If working in the UK after graduation is part of the plan, it is worth factoring in from the start.
The bottom line
University is still a strong route for many students, and places are at record levels. But a record number of applicants and a tighter graduate job market reward students who choose deliberately, build real evidence and plan ahead. If you would like to talk through your options, get in touch with the UniFutures team.