UCAS has published its final interactive dashboard of the 2026 admission cycle, showing numbers and proportions of applicants who have been accepted onto UK higher education courses 28 days after A-level results day on 14 August. The dashboard shows acceptances by age, gender, domicile, subject, tariff group and deprivation. Files of data on ethnicity, disability and other categorisations are also available, although not presented in the dashboard.
The dashboard and data files can be found at: https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/statistical-releases-daily-clearing-analysis-2026
At-a-glance:
- A total of 518,310 applicants were accepted onto courses by day 28 after A-level results were issued, up 1 per cent on 2025
- Acceptances of UK 18-year-olds were 2 per cent up on the previous year, with 294,250 acceptances
- The proportion of UK 18-year-olds finding a place at their firm choice institutions decreased from 71.9 per cent in 2025 to 68.6 per cent this year
- The number of international undergraduate acceptances via UCAS rose by 3 per cent to 66,610, driven mainly by Chinese students (up 13 per cent)
- Higher tariff universities saw a 5.7 per cent rise in acceptances, while medium tariff numbers rose by 1.9 percent. Falls were recorded for lower tariff (4.3 per cent), specialist ( down 4.5 per cent) and smaller institutions (down 5 per cent)
- 18-year-old entry rates to higher education for England, Wales and Northern Ireland all dropped, by between 0.8 percentage points and 1.6 percentage points. In Scotland, the rate rose from 29.8 to 30.2 per cent. In England, entry rates by region varied from 50.8 per cent in London to 28.1 per cent in the North East
- The number of accepted applicants who intend to live a home has risen steadily from 34.3 in 2022 to 39.3 this year
- Accepted applicants from the most deprived quintile dropped in England (down 0.7 percentage points) and in Northern Ireland (a 1 percentage point fall). In Scotland, the proportion rose from 17.7 to 18.4 per cent and in Wales, from 18.2 to 18.9 per cent
- Subjects with the biggest increases in acceptances include engineering and technology, law, social sciences, psychology and medicine and allied subjects. Numbers fell in design, creative and performing arts, biological and sports science, computing and languages
Implications for governance:
While overall acceptance levels are up on last year, the rate of increase has slowed compared to the size of gains in the previous year.
This has translated into a drop in the entry rate for UK 18-year-olds from 36.1 per cent last year, to 35.4 per cent. England, Wales and Northern Ireland, all recorded falls in school leaver entry rates.
There was better news on the international student front, with a 3 per cent increase in applicant acceptances.
Higher and medium tariff universities saw the number of acceptances rise, although the proportion of 18-year-olds placed in their top choice university dropped from 71.9 per cent to 68.6 per cent.
The news was less positive for lower tariff, small and specialist institutions, however, with falls in acceptances once again, which is likely to make challenging financial conditions even harder for some institutions.
With the 18-year-old population projected to begin to decline within the next few cycles, a stalled entry rate could have even more serious consequences going forward. According to a paper by former Higher Education Policy Institute director Bahram Bekhradnia, these demographic changes could mean a “bleak” future for some universities and will no doubt be in the forefront of governing board discussions.
In light of these predications amid the ongoing financial constraints, experts have predicted more mergers on the horizon. In the immediate term, institutions are facing even further belt tightening in the form of redundancies, hire freezes and course cuts.
Drilling down into the data, gains in acceptances of candidates from the most deprived households appear to have stalled this year in England and Northern Ireland, with proportions dropping slightly. Marginal increases were recorded in Scotland and Wales (although their proportions remain some way behind those of England and Northern Ireland).
When analysed by ethnicity, the UCAS data shows a 1 per cent decrease in acceptances of white applicants. Entry levels for all other ethnicities rose, once again. These figures may well be a reflection of 18-year-old demographics. Nevertheless, governors will be aware of the renewed political focus on improving life chances for white working class young people.
Governors may also wish to note the steady rise since 2022 of the numbers of undergraduates who plan to live at home while studying. Recent research has highlighted this category of student and suggested they face barriers to building a strong sense of belonging on campus. Such barriers need to be tackled and giving this group more support may have resource implications.
This is undoubtedly true for the growing number of students who have declared a disability over recent years, with institutions investing heavily in mental health and wellbeing services. UCAS data shows this trend continues with a 6 per cent rise in acceptances of applicants disclosing a disability, driven by increases in undergraduates with “mental health conditions/challenges/disorders”, “learning differences”, “other conditions/impairments” and “two or more impairments”.
Governors will be aware that institutions are tasked with taking the necessary measures to support these, and other groups, to have the fullest student experience possible. The growing number of students registering with multiple issues has the potential to make that job more challenging.
In an uncertain environment generally categorised by cutbacks rather than expansion, some universities may be taking a more cautious approach to overall student recruitment. Governors may wish to use comparative data to help put their own institution’s decisions on admissions into context and judge how successful it has been in attracting the number and quality of students it has targeted.
