Undergraduate applications soar at Sussex
Applications for undergraduate places at the University of Sussex have soared by a massive 22.7 per cent since the same time last year.
The leap in application numbers, announced by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) in figures released on 17 February compares to a national rise of just 8.9 per cent. Sussex has also seen the greatest percentage rise of all the 1994 Group of leading research universities.
A total of 15,338 prospective students had applied to Sussex by 15 January, an increase of 2,833 on the 12,505 who did so by the same stage in 2004. The University has now enjoyed significant growth in applications for three successive years - and this growth is set against the backdrop of a continued rise in offer levels to study at Sussex.
The increase does not include applications to the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), which has itself seen a 17.5 per cent increase.
Since the 15 January cut-off date, applications have continued to arrive, so the final increase in application numbers at Sussex could be as high as 25 per cent.
The rise in application numbers also goes across the board in all science and arts subjects. Those with an increase of 30 per cent or more are Social Work (+99 per cent), Environmental Science (+81 per cent), Anthropology (+44 per cent), History (+43 per cent), Music (+40 per cent), Physics (+35 per cent) and Engineering (+31 per cent).
Academic Registrar Owen Richards attributes the sharp rise in interest to the appeal of the University's new look and a dynamic approach to attracting prospective students. Initiatives have included targeting more students in London and the South-East and a wider range of visitor services, such as weekly campus tours, subject conferences, mature-student drop-ins and widening participation tasters.
Re-designed student-recruitment publications are also suggested as a success factor: the 2005 prospectus now in use is the first to carry the University's new visual identity.
"These have all encouraged prospective students and their families to visit Sussex," says Mr Richards.
The new arts curriculum, introduced in 2003, has also continued to prove popular. Prospective students will get their first look at the newly revamped science curriculum when the 2006 prospectus comes out in early March, just a few weeks from now.
Notes for editors
Press office contacts: Jacqui Bealing and Maggie Clune, tel: 01273 678 888, email J.A.Bealing@sussex.ac.uk or M.T.Clune@sussex.ac.uk
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