Why do our most prestigious and wealthiest Unis accept so many international students ?

In terms of volunteering for medical school applicants - most medical schools are unimpressed with ‘I volunteered for nine months in a care home, I shadowed a GP for a week and I spent five days doing work experience in A&E’. Such a statement in your application would likely count against you. They want to see that you have reflected on the experience and what you have learnt from it.

Medicine does not rely on international school fees. Unlike other courses, only a small percentage of medical students are international (7.5%) and this number is controlled - universities cannot offer more medical school places.

A- no fiancé's are not a consideration, they want the best of the best
B - we get asked about attendance of international students regularly, which gets reported for visa purposes
C - attendance to lectures is a requirement and students wouldn't be able to pass exams otherwise anyway.

Not just the wealthiest. The financial model of UK universities relies heavily on international student fees, which effectively subsidize the education of domestic students. This is particularly true for high-cost programs like medicine, engineering, and veterinary medicine. Recent government policies, simply hostile towards international students, have led to a significant decline in enrollment. This has exacerbated financial difficulties for many UK universities - over quarter of them are cutting staff.

Business is business !!

I live in Oxford. Interestingly entry criteria for the Oxford Colleges has loosened recently. Locally They have spent millions on the Oxford Brookes student village but because more can now get into the Ox Uni Colleges, less are going to Oxford Brookes. Many of the buildings at Brookes are empty as people flock to the more well known alternative.

Showing motivation for Art History can't be done just by reading books, listening to podcasts and attending lectures. You do actually need to engage with objects! Fortunately in the UK the heritage and museum sector is huge and dense and everyone can find a museum or National Trust property etc to spend time in.

Universities don't discriminate on socio-economic grounds. They like it if you've been to Italy to look at museums and they like it if you've been to your local museum. Etc.

Why?

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I think your hubby is having the case of sour grapes. My daughter has just got accepted to Oxford and we're just a teacher and admin staff. My daughter's friend has just got accepted at Cambridge and they're just an ordinary family.
The Russell group universities do take a lot of foreign students but people are awarded on their merit.

As has been mentioned, international students pay way more in tuition fees than UK students, but looking at it another way, the UK's population is less than 1% of the global population but according to your figures, between 40% and 70% of the students are domestic, so is there really much of a bias? You also have to remember that UK universities have a very high international reputation as does a British degree, so that will attract potential overseas students with the wealth and academic ability.

Well yes but the post I was referring to spoke about extra curriculars. Grade 8 for a music degree is not an extra curricular.

And tutors for art history are well aware that visiting museums in Italy costs money and is a marker of privilege as much as motivation. They are not going to be more impressed by that than by someone who has shown equal motivation in other (more affordable) ways, such as reading books, attending lectures, listening to podcasts etc. The point is that applicants do not need to spend money to buy themselves experiences to put on their personal statement.

It's worth saying is that many undergraduate "international" students have actually been educated here in the UK, in private schools. In this case their English would be excellent, obviously. The same is true of many Masters students, and masters courses normally have a pretty high requirement for an English qualification.
I used to work in a Russell Group university and know this to be the case there, though I suppose it might not be true in a less prestigious institution.

Which universities are “massively wealthy”? Most universities in the UK are in deficit or only just breaking even.

And your son’s father (plus most PP) may not realise that the numbers of places for UK students and for international students are different quotas - International students don’t take home students’ places. They’re different categories in universities’ targets and planning.

But you know, universities cost money to run especially as the UK system is world-leading. And if UK students aren’t prepared to pay the actual cost of their education and UK people won’t pay the actual cost either, aren’t UK students lucky that international students subsidise them and pay for their education?

Admissions tutors care about Grade 8 Trombone if you want to study Music, perhaps about backpacking around Nepal if you want to study Geography or Geology, museums in Italy if you want to study History or Art History.

The point is that extra curricular engagement needs to be relevant and applicants need to have learned something meaningful from it.

But obviously you don't need to travel abroad for history or art history either , and experience in geography and geology can be done much closer to home.

Admissions tutors care about Grade 8 Trombone if you want to study Music, perhaps about backpacking around Nepal if you want to study Geography or Geology, museums in Italy if you want to study History or Art History.

The point is that extra curricular engagement needs to be relevant and applicants need to have learned something meaningful from it.

OP's DC was a potential Cambridge engineer - far, far less potential for cheating.

None, I'd have thought. The interview can't be cheated on, nor can the exams.

There's a lot of stuff completely irrelevant to the OPs original question on this thread. Even if there were no international students at all, by far the likeliest outcome of any application is that they'll be going somewhere else ...fortunately there's lots of other great alternatives at other U.K. unis so I'm sure her DS will be fine.

That is not a positive statement about the medical profession.

I do joke that some universities are an accommodation enterprise with a side line in education.

I noticed over the time between when my eldest DC applied to university and the youngest that the standards of the university accommodation has gone from basic with shared bathroom to luxury with ensuite and very expensive - and much more luxury where there are a lot of international students.
OP's DC was a potential Cambridge engineer - far, far less potential for cheating.

There are plenty of jobs within medicine for people who lack empathy, compassion and patience!

The idea is being a volunteer in a care home teaches medical students about Real People. Don't know if that is woke or just arrogant.

Idk...maybe at least it might put off some who aren't suited!

The idea is being a volunteer in a care home teaches medical students about Real People. Don't know if that is woke or just arrogant.

Interesting. When I was doing interviews in the North Midlands, a long time ago now, about 70% seemed to have done these things. Glad if they've gone out of fashion.

Money