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

I'm curious which subject.

What fields now really require a PG masters that home students can't do a UG masters in instead?

Whatever..

I am sure you are right and everyone who was previously considering studying music at OBU or Cardiff will now apply to OXU rather than any of the 120 other universities offering a music degree, including several others in the ‘land of song’, or to conservatoires such as The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. 🙄

My last masters at a London Russel group recently was 60% Indian students and then 35% other overseas. I reckon 1/20 were uk students. I was often confused with "the other white lady"

Fees wise -£16.5k for uk and £25k overseas so not a huge difference.

HRTFT so apologies if someone else has made this point. Scottish residents don't pay fees at Scottish universities with the result that the unis can't afford to take on very many Scottish students because the fees offered by the Scottish government don't cover the costs. Edinburgh University has a very low percentage of Scottish students for this reason. I am a regular visitor to St Andrews and I hear very few Scottish or even UK accents amongst the students in the town. Overseas students are charged £30,000+ in fees; why would cash strapped unis prioritise home students?

Maybe, in the context of this thread, music may well be one of the subjects which can't attract international students onto their courses, especially Masters degrees.

Absolutley, no idea why maths are making redundancies at Cardiff. One assumes not enough interest?

I cant get over the land of song closing their Music department. Awful.

I was not suggesting the entrance criteria at Oxford has changed for
Maths, just Music slightly with the introduction of the acceptance of a slightly new pathway acessable to all.

Thank you, obvs I did not attend Oxford..not even lowly Brookes

No I am not at Brookes.

I am however very aware that it is now slightly easier to get into St Hughs/Hildas because of the new Music Technology Pathway A level (and theory paper). Music at Oxford is not as hard to get in to as some of the other subjects. Its still very competitvez

Given that OBU and Cardiff are closing their Music and Art departments and making redundancies it is not unrealistic that more people are taking the Music Tech Pathway route or at least attempting to enter.

*rolls

He'd be better off applying to Imperial.

Are you at Oxford Brookes University? You seem to have a complex about not being in the same academic league as Oxford University.

Roles eyes.

sarahd29 what are you going on about? There are loads of universities offering music with many sitting much closer to OBU academic level. There are also five universities offering courses in ‘music and maths’ - none OXU. To apply to study music at Oxford you need AAA at A level, two essays, one or two compositions, one or two examples of harmony and counterpoint and a five minute audition piece.

UK universities had nothing to do with Brexit. You seem to want to blame someone for your DC not getting what they wanted.

Google it..Cardiff and OBU are closing Music and Maths departments due to low uptake. Other Unis in the area are decreasing their entrance criteria to attract candidates for those courses.

I don't know about music - that may well be a casualty of arts subjects being shamefully deprioritised in state schools in recent years. And perhaps realism about the difficulties getting jobs that pay?

Maths however is massively competitive at top unis, and I doubt the next tier down below the COWI group has too much of a problem recruiting either. A quick google shows Oxford uni has over 10 applicants per place for maths. And the entrance criteria for Cambridge maths are uniquely high... starry A levels but then the infamous STEP as well.

To be clear the courses/departments I am referring to have also been cancelled at Cardiff as well as OBU. Music and Maths. I am not suggesting that the whole of academia will be going to Oxford Uni or that they have lowered their standards as a whole, except where there are less candidates for courses. However there is a low intake nationally in those subjects.

Google it..Cardiff and OBU are closing Music and Maths departments due to low uptake. Other Unis in the area are decreasing their entrance criteria to attract candidates for those courses.

They would if they were in line for oxb and the course criteria for musid at oxu changed. Hence what has happened.

Who is actually better than this kid?

He's got an incredibly impressive academic record. I'm sure he'll get offers from other very good courses.
But the Cambridge process isn't necessarily intended to rigorously sift on that basis. There seems to be a fair bit of luck involved with the interview stage.

money

I'm surprised that so many folks on here don't seem to realise how many UK unis are on the brink of bankruptcy, and have not thought about what that means when they are the biggest employer in their area (e.g. administrative staff, IT, catering, security, events and conferences, support provided for local startups and other businesses

Cross subsidisation. The cost of a UK place has remained the same for years, while prices have soared. In Scotland, the block grant from the government for Scottish students has also fallen. The money to keep up buildings, pay staff, build halls of residence and provide the skilled mental health support that students now need as NHS waiting lists are so long, all needs to be paid for somehow!

The OPs son roughly represents 1 out of every 1000 children who sat GCSEs at the same time as him.

Think about that: He's 1/1000 for achievement.

If we add up all the kids just like the OP's son, there are only 690 of them in the UK

690 flawless GCSE candidates and 6900 Oxbridge places (in 2024), so if all those kids apply (and assuming that everyone who gets an offer actually achieves the required grades) that's only a 1 out of 10 chance of getting in. so who are the other 9 places going to?

The OP's son has massively boosted his supra-curricular by coming second in the national engineering competition. He's also very unusual in that he's doing 4 A levels AND an EPQ. Expected to get 4 x A star in all of these two.

Who is actually better than this kid?

UK fees are going up a tiny amount.
And it will pretty much be wiped out by NI increases.
It's not going to really make a difference to the finances of universities.

@Littoralzone that's a moot point. They have no choice. If they could raise UK fees they would, but they can't. They're not making a strategic choice as to how they use the 'profit' they're making because it's not profit. It's revenue that they have to use to cover the bills.