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Bath suffers 'very significant' drop in student applications

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Could have to do with the fact they don't take As into account and instead look at gcse; disadvantages students like myself who flunked gcse and and massively improved at As

That's Bristol.

Bath: AS Levels are not normally included in offers, although some universities may make alternative offers that include these. AS Level grades are taken as an indication of A2 performance in conjunction with predicted grades.
http://www.bath.ac.uk/study/teachers-advisers-parents/higher-education-advice/qualification-advice/index.html

Reply 21

Good bloke

Original post by melvinspivak

Could have to do with the fact they don't take As into account and instead look at gcse; disadvantages students like myself who flunked gcse and and massively improved at As

That would not explain a downturn from last year, though.

Reply 22

Froppy

The reason i'm not putting bath down as an option is because they had the same minimum entry requirements as Cambridge (which made no sense to me). Bristol which many consider to be on par with or even better than bath offered the same course but with lower entry requirements. So i put Bristol down instead...plus it's an RG unlike bathe which is a nice little bonus :smile:

... i just thought Baths standards were too high for what they were offering.

Reply 23

Good bloke

Original post by J-SP

This is not an issue just for Bath.

Doonesbury understands that, I'm sure. But the point of this thread is to discuss why Bath's experience appears so much worse than other comparable universities.

Reply 24

Clearing and Applications Advisor

Don't forget that Bath is comparing itself with universities that have med schools - so will have early applications from thousands of wannabe medics alongside their oxbridge applicants.

tbh I'd be dubious of any admissions head reporting at this level of detail at this point in the cycle - it smacks of not understanding how admissions stats work and getting in a panic over UCASs crappy freebee reports.

Reply 25

Doones

Original post by PQ

tbh I'd be dubious of any admissions head reporting at this level of detail at this point in the cycle - it smacks of not understanding how admissions stats work and getting in a panic over UCASs crappy freebee reports.

ha ha ha

(or maybe he does, but is trying to panic some colleagues... office politics perhaps...??? )

Reply 26

Tcannon

It is still early days in the application cycle until Jan deadline. Bath may receive a late influx of applications closer to the deadline. I also think that the sample size of peers does not reflect Bath's true standing. Bath competes more with Loughborough and Exeter. UCL, Warwick and Bristol have better national and particularly international reputation. This leads to a cross-over win for its rivals. International applicants may look at THES, Shanghai and QS rankings where Bath is lower ranked than UCL, Warwick, Bristol and Birmingham. Psychologically, most international parents may prefer better known unis if they have to pay prohibitive overseas tuition fee. This explains why these unis outperform Bath relatively in application numbers. Another factor is Bath's location and relatively higher cost of living. With exception of UCL, the other unis are in cities with lower costs. Baths regional coverage is mostly the South with mostly middle class demographics. I do not think that a pupil from moderate background from the North would apply to Bath. In some subjects, Bath receives moderate student satisfaction in some surveys. Bath had places in some subjects in 2017 clearing.

There are some short term tactics to boost numbers. As mentioned above, unconditional offer if firmed 1st choice. Contextual offer for disadvantaged domestic applicants, outreach with school visits and organised open days, aggressive international recruitment abroad combined with softer entry requirements, working with admissions consultants abroad. Some tactics are controversial and Bath may not use them.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 27

Doones

Original post by J-SP

Is there anything to suggest it is actually worse than other universities?

Yes see the stats in the OP - they compare Bath to the national figure and to their "competitors". Bath appears to be worse (but see PQ's timely interjection).

Reply 28

Good bloke

Original post by PQ

Don't forget that Bath is comparing itself with universities that have med schools - so will have early applications from thousands of wannabe medics alongside their oxbridge applicants.

Excellent point.

Reply 29

Clearing and Applications Advisor

I've just checked

26% of the total applications received nationally this week were for med/dent/vet - you can't compare positions of a university with a med school to one without without excluding those applicants (even within a university with a med school they'll have an analysis that specifically takes out the med school numbers to compare applicants with previous years - otherwise an increase or decrease in med applicants (which will NOT result in a change in intake - they can't take more and they don't need to worry about taking less) will skew everything massively until after christmas)

Reply 30

RedGiant

It's because the night life and clubbing in Bath is **** innit bruv

Reply 31

Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by J-SP

You would have thought the powers that be at Bath had thought about this type of basic information before panicking and sending out an email. Although I suspect the panic is making lots of university staff come to rash decisions at the moment.

Reading the article it sounds like a routine email that's been jumped on by people with a vendetta against the VC (who don't have a clue about admissions)

As you said this sort of drop is nothing in comparison to what many universities are facing without any hint of senior resignations

Reply 32

Trapz99

It’s random innit

Reply 33

Clearing and Applications Advisor

Although this

"Mr Nicholson said the university receives around 27,000 applications a year and makes 3,500 offers." is either a big old lie or a misquote by the paper

https://www.ucas.com/file/90116/download?token=RWyhP4bx (page 11) has 19,000 applications and 14,000 offers to UK applicants alone...

Reply 34

Doones

Original post by PQ

3,500 places perhaps, including grads?

Reply 35

FloralHybrid

Original post by Doonesbury

According to a local press report about a "leaked email", the University of Bath is significantly lagging behind its competitors at this stage of the UCAS application cycle.

The Bath Chronicle reports: "An email sent by the University of Bath's head of undergraduate admission shows the university is attracting fewer students while its rivals Birmingham, Bristol, Exeter, Loughborough, UCL and Warwick have enjoyed six per cent rises.
“It is clear Bath is underperforming the sector and our immediate competitors, and in the case of international applications, very significantly so,” the email that was leaked said."

Bath has been in the news recently with its VC receiving a controversial £451k pay packet, but the university's director of student admissions says he's confident applications will pick up as the 15th January deadline approaches.

The latest Ucas data for the University of Bath shows:
* UK student applications are down 2.8 per cent amid a 1.1 decrease to all universities – and a 4.4 per cent rise for its competitors
* EU applications are down 7 per cent, compared to an 8.2 per cent rise for its six rivals and 1.1 per cent rise nationally
* Non-EU applications are down 18.46 per cent compared to an 11.5 per cent rise for its competitors and 9.1 per cent national increase

Source: http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/news/bath-news/university-bath-ucas-applications-fall-713009

Bath is a consistently a Top 15 university, with good industry links and grad prospects. It was awarded a Gold in the TEF.

So is the VCs pay really a factor for the drop? Or is it just a blip and it will get back on track by January?

Interesting. As you say, it’s a top 15 University with consistently good rankings.

But as a student who’s been looking *mostly* into Law, I’ve hardly come across Bath as a strong contender. Is it possible it’s just not as well known?

That wouldn’t necessarily explain the drop in applications though.

Reply 36

Doones

Original post by FloralHybrid

But as a student who’s been looking *mostly* into Law, I’ve hardly come across Bath as a strong contender. Is it possible it’s just not as well known?

That wouldn’t necessarily explain the drop in applications though.

They don't offer Law...

Reply 37

Ladbants

I guess it doesn't matter as long as they fill their spaces

Reply 38

FloralHybrid

Original post by Doonesbury

They don't offer Law...

I should of mentioned that I’ve only come across it whilst looking for Politics.

Could the lack of subject choice be a factor? They don’t offer History either. Law and History tend to be something offered by almost all other top Uni’s, not including more subject-specific ones.