Kingston University faces dramatic drop in course applications after league table plunge and rising debt

Applications to Kingston University for next year have slumped by a quarter, according to official figures.

One of the key deadlines for students to apply to university through the UCAS website was January 15.

Kingston University received only 20,000 applications compared to more than 26,000 applications the previous year, it is understood.

The university will still receive applications through clearing, but by this point in the application process, it has usually received more than 80 per cent of its entire applications for the academic year.

The fall is bound to result in a significant drop in the number of new students attending in September – and a resulting loss of income.

Assuming only 15 per cent of students who apply to Kingston actually attend, the university is still facing a loss of over £25 million pounds.

Despite the obvious loss, Kingston University maintained that regardless it ‘always receives’ more applications than the number of places it has available.

Kingston University’s rank of 122 in the Sunday Times league table, in addition to potentially higher tuition fees, creates a perfect recipe for fewer applications.

“In an increasingly competitive higher education environment, the University remains committed to offering places to those students likely to get the very most out of degree studies and achieve their full academic potential,” Kingston said.