7% fall in university acceptances
The number of students already accepted on to university courses has dropped by almost 7%, official figures have shown.
As of midnight, a total of 357,915 applicants had had their places confirmed, down from 384,649 at the same point in 2011 - a fall of 6.95%.
The figures, which come on the day that students across England, Wales and Northern Ireland receive their A-level results, also show that around 79,000 UK applicants are still awaiting decisions, and that more than 10,000 people have already applied for places through clearing.
Mary Curnock Cook, chief executive of university admissions service Ucas, said: "More than 300,000 applicants whose places are dependent on their grades are waiting to hear if they have been accepted today.
"Despite the fall in applications this year, entry to higher education remains competitive and we expect to see an active clearing period."
More than 25,000 courses currently have vacancies for UK applicants. Last year, more than 50,000 people got a place at university through clearing.
Ms Curnock Cook went on: "It is important that all students research course requirements thoroughly and think carefully before making a decision that is likely to affect their future career. Anyone considering applying again next year can research 2013 courses on our website now."
Universities Minister David Willetts said the number of students going into higher education would be broadly comparable to previous years.
"There is long-term trend for more and more people to aspire to go to university and for more and more employers to look to employ people with higher education qualifications and I personally don't think, taking the long view, that trend has suddenly stopped," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
"What we are seeing at the moment is there has actually been a slight decline in the number of 18-year-olds - there is a slight shrinkage in the size of that cohort - so what we are doing is we are maintaining university places broadly flat. There are going to be about 350,000 places in English universities this year which is comparable to the last few years."
