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

[Berlinerschnauzer]

So said my son’s dad on learning DS2 failed to be offered a place at Cambridge…
I don’t know enough to confirm whether it’s sour grapes or he actually has a point.
Was looking at figures for Oxbridge and was surprised to find that something like 60 odd percent of students (under and post grads) are international. For undergraduates it’s nearly a quarter.
Likewise Edinburgh has 30% international students and is one of the wealthiest unis.
Unlike lower tier unis which don’t have the same deep financial pockets and have to attract foreign students to survive, surely these unis don’t. They could be attracting home grown, talented students who in years to come will contribute massively to the economy rather than returning to their home countries and taking their skills with them. My question is does ex DP have a point or is he spouting bollocks
as per usual ?

Last year in clearing Liverpool University only had international spaces.

This.

They get at least 3x more fees from international students, plus there's a lot of extra money that comes from them staying in the area longer each year than home students (arriving earlier etc). At a campus uni this makes a big difference because they have more income from meals, bars, etc.

My point was that the conflicting demands of Brexit which equals less immigration/secure future in the country, inability to bring family versus the purpose of international students to part finance the running of said universities are kind of self limiting.

It's unrelated to Brexit, international students are mostly from outside Europe (esp India, China) on student visas. Plus there are lots of Commonwealth countries we basically give an unlimited free pass to. And South Korea, for some reason.

To answer the question you asked, it is the money. To answer a question you didn’t ask, DS2 could reapply if his heart is set in Cambridge, people do get accepted on the second attempt.

Money.
Unis are just in it for the money. Foreign students pay more.

What is your evidence for this?

@madamweb
I have up on masters course because the majority of the students seemed to be only there for their student visa and would turn up to about one lecture in 10. It made for a really odd experience..there were other reasons to stop too but this was part of it.

Im surprised they got away with that. When my ds was at university I’m sure he had to attend lectures - or have a good excuse why he couldn’t.

Rude.
And still
Money.

There’s freedom of information stats for some.

Warwick law

Money, lots of money because foreign students pay a lot more than home students, for their courses. Between 2023-24 Cambridge’s revenue exceed £1billion.

Most international students come from places like the UAE, Dubai, Russia, China etc. It's nothing to do with Brexit.

overseas student numbers dropped last year by the way.

Also there is a birthdate drop in the uk in the next few years which will affect uk student numbers

Money!!!

DD2 was at the Royal College of Art. Her course was ranked 1st in the world. Nearly all the students were Chinese paying £40k a year for the privilege.

Depending on the subject, internationals are likely to be stronger both on paper and at interview. Maths, engineering, foreign languages for example. The want to take the best of the best; they don’t care where they’re from.

I believe the bulk of international students are
postgraduate not undergraduate. I left a postgraduate course because there we're so many young American and only a handful of other uk students (prestigious London university) and I gave a workshop at a uk university for postgraduate students and only one was English and the rest were from the far east and only one seemed to speak fluent English!!!! The Chinese are a massive presence - I think they see the uk as a sort of prestigious finishing school. My friend who works in admissions says their English is often very poor.
yes all about the money to the detriment of a long lasting community of home grown students (great to have an international course but no real chance of making long lasting friends who will stick around)

This, in a nutshell.

In the current climate international students are not taking the places of uk students.
There is more than enough room for both.

My father is a professor of Chemistry,

Money. The government doesn't fund universities to an adequate level to enable them to go anything different. When our universities slip down the international league tables they'll be scratching their heads wondering why.

If the unis are receiving the annual fees up front from domestic students too, what's the explanation for receiving 3 times as much money in the last 14 years but far more seem in large deficits ? Were they state funded before then and now are not?

Out of interest my friend did a 12 month part time contract at a top end uni and was quite shocked at the sheer amount of jobs that to her seemed totally unnecessary and had very little work to actually do ( including her own) and the amount of sickness and general laissez faire attitudes. I don't expect much sympathy as no doubt plenty of mumsnetters have jobs in the sector - if you do, be honest do you think they are well managed fiscally because my friend definitely didn't think so having always worked in the private sector. She was quite shocked.

The reason I question this is because it's clear that the international student thing seems very much about the grab for higher fees and why is it that despite significantly higher fees all round there are huge deficits-? I'm genuinely curious as I haven't worked in the sector and am only going on what she mentioned to me -

Only the government can raise fees for uk students.

For the money

Anyway, OP, I think the answer to your question is mainly 'sour grapes'. I assume you're taking about not getting an undergrsd place, so the postgrad numbers are a bit of a red herring. The Cambridge admissions stats are all readily available if you want to look at acceptance rates of U.K. vs other nationalities.

Hi. I am an academic at a top tier. This is a common misconception. We simply take whomever is the best and can achieve their best with our style of teaching, which is unique and can be hard or incompatible for some. Our admissions process is long, complicated, involves multiple panels, and there is no step in the process that looks into finances a student will bring. There is no prioritisation of international students. If anything, when we see similar abilities, we try our best to balance nationalities, demographic backgrounds, individual circumstances. Students cost the same - the only difference is we get subsidies for home students but not for overseas. That is why they need to pay more. Hope this helps.