Surge in students applying to British universities

Official statistics reveal that the number of students from Hong Kong and mainland China applying for British universities rose to its highest in more than a decade, after rising by about 10% and 20% year on year respectively, writes Chan Ho-him for the South China Morning Post.

Analysts believe a spike of Hong Kong applicants was mainly because of a new visa for residents holding British National (Overseas) passports which started last month, while more people from the mainland could be applying because of tense United States-China relations and the coronavirus pandemic.

Latest figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) showed that of the 85,610 applications received from outside Europe, about 6,400 were from Hong Kong, up more than 9% compared to 5,870 last year. The statistics, released last Thursday and taken from the January deadline by which the vast majority of applications are submitted, also showed the number of applicants from across the border rose to 25,810 this year, a 21% increase from 21,250 last year.
Full report on the South China Morning Post site