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Record numbers of young people are going to university, including more people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Mostly correct at the time, and now correct on all measures. Some figures produced by government statisticians showed a slight dip in the proportion of disadvantaged students attending university when the claim was made. Newer data now suggests that this was temporary and that the longer term picture is one of generally increasing numbers.
“More young people are going to university than ever before, including more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.”
More 18 year olds are going to university than ever before, as are young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Participation by disadvantaged young people has levelled off slightly by some measures in the past year, but the longer term picture is generally one of increasing numbers.
Advantaged students are still substantially more likely to go to university than their disadvantaged peers.
This piece looks specifically at the numbers of young people going to university, rather than those applying. We’ve covered that in more detail here . In summary, the number of 18 year olds applying to university across the UK was at a record high in 2017. The application rate in England was also at a record high, though it fell in Wales and Northern Ireland. The proportion of people from disadvantaged backgrounds across the UK applying to university is also at a record high, though these figures only go up to January 2017.
There were 238,900 18 year olds in the UK accepted onto a full-time university course in 2016, the most ever recorded. This made up around half of all acceptances via UCAS that year.
Around 33% of all 18 year olds in England were accepted into a university place in 2016—the highest level recorded. In Wales it was around 30%, again the highest on record.
Entry rates for 18 year olds in Northern Ireland rose to 35% in the year to 2016, the same level as 2014.
We haven't mentioned Scotland here because not all universities in Scotland use UCAS and data issues have affected the comparability of Scottish figures over time.
Of course, some people wait until they’re 19 before starting university. There’s another set of data that includes these people alongside the 18 year olds who started the year before – what’s called the cohort entry rate . This was also the highest on record in England and Wales in the group entering age 18 in 2015 and age 19 in 2016.
This all comes from UCAS data. Separate figures from the government show a similar picture. The government provides data on how many students are living in England who have been in higher education (for the first time) for at least six months and are aged 17-20. This data has the benefit of including part-timers, while the UCAS data relates only to full-time applicants . But it takes a bit longer to get published, so it’s two years behind the UCAS data.
The participation rate for this age group was an estimated 41% in 2014/15 (the latest year available), almost the same as it was in 2011/12 when it was the highest on record. The government statisticians say that particularly high participation in 2011/12 “appears to have been predominantly driven by more students choosing not to defer entry in that year in order to avoid having to pay a higher tuition fee”.
Using the same measure the participation rate for 18 year olds in 2014/15 was 26%, the highest on record and just above what it was in 2011/12.
In 2016 the entry rate for 18 year olds living in the most disadvantaged areas increased for all countries in the UK. It increased to the highest on record in England (almost 20%) and Wales (18%). In Northern Ireland it was at 16%, the second highest recorded level.
Disadvantage here is measured according to the rate of participation in higher education by young people in each area, so the most disadvantaged areas are those with the lowest rates of participation by young people.
The rate for those in the most advantaged areas in 2016 increased slightly to 46% in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
The cohort entry rates (available only for England), show the gap between young people from the most disadvantaged areas and the most advantaged areas going to university is decreasing.
UCAS have also released a new ‘multiple equality measure’ (MEM), for the first time for 2016.
This looks at things like gender, ethnic group, where a person lives, the type of school they go to, and if they got free school meals. Based on a combination of these factors 18 year olds are placed into one of five groups ranging from most to least disadvantaged.
On this measure all five groups have seen growing participation rates , and reached record highs in 2016. That said, the participation rate for the most disadvantaged group has increased more slowly than that of the other groups over the last two years.
Disadvantage can also be measured by income level, typically measured by whether or not a young person was receiving free school meals at age 15.
The entry rate to university of 18 year old state school pupils in receipt of free school meals was also at a record high in 2016—at about 16%. That's compared to almost 33% for those who didn’t receive free school meals.
The equivalent government measure (which looks at entry to university by age 19) showed a slightly different picture when Ms Greening made her comments . By this measure there was a slight fall in the proportion of pupils receiving free school meals who had gone to university by 2013/14. It decreased by one percentage point to 22%. This decrease was also seen among those not receiving free school meals, so it didn’t change the gap between the two.
The government told us that it can’t say whether or not the introduction of higher tuition fees had an impact on the dip in entry rates for students receiving free school meals who attended university by 2013/14—the first cohort of 18 and 19 year olds to be affected.
Newer figures have become available since which show that this seems to have been a temporary effect and that overall the proportion of people who received free school meals and attend university by the age of 19 is increasing. It was 24% for those attending university by 2014/15.
We updated this article with new information from the Department for Education, after seeking clarification on its view on whether higher tuition fees had contributed to the dip for the 2013/14 FSM cohort going to university. Previously we were told that there was no evidence the increased tuition fees had an impact.
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By Kate Schaefers and Phyllis Moen, Next Avenue Contributor
UMAC fellows L-R Jeff Buchanan, Carl Adamek, Sarah Meek, Sheila Peyraud, Janet Stewart, Bill Warner
Sheila Peyraud, a newly retired tech executive, saw herself as savvy when she returned to campus last fall. Then the University of Minnesota Advanced Careers ( UMAC ) fellow came face-to-face with all she doesn’t know in the class What American Dream? Children of the Social Class Divide . Listening to undergraduates’ experiences changed her thinking about poverty and inequality. “This class opened my eyes. I learned how uneven the playing field is, and it is getting worse,” said Peyraud.
We’d like to tell you about our program at UMAC, which brings together encore adults to explore career and volunteer options. Like Peyraud, they seek purpose in their next chapter. Notre Dame, Stanford and Harvard host these ventures, but UMAC is the first such innovation in a public university, offering a combination of interdisciplinary learning, personal renewal, and community engagement.
The University of Minnesota Advanced Careers Program
Here, classrooms become platforms for conversations across age divisions. In a broader context, UMAC aims to challenge age segregation in higher education. The program is one example of growing signs of change in college and nonprofit offerings: age-friendly universities, encore-specific programs and Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes are examples. Generations United and Gen2Gen build intergenerational ties.
At UMAC, immersive classes like the Grand Challenge curriculum confront issues that matter across generations. The Future of Work and Life in the 21 st Century addresses the complexities of a workplace where job security is scarce, re-careering is common and roadmaps are lacking. Students and fellows discuss families and careers, child care and elder care, affordable housing and co-housing — all through an intergenerational lens.
Madison Smiley, a senior psychology major, is grateful for what the fellows add. “We focused on real-world problems that would be hard to do with just a college mentality. We have limited work experience,” Smiley said.
The fellows provide a context to conversations. “They helped us understand what it means to work at a company, what it means to change jobs and careers,” says Max Peterson, a junior in Technical Writing and Communication. “It was nice to have wiser folks in the room. I could pick their brains and they got us all thinking.”
Different Perspectives and Learning From Them
UMAC fellow Peyraud observes something similar from her cohort’s perspective: “We were able to have different perspectives, to say things and disagree and not be offended.”
Peyraud, who followed a linear college-to-career path, empathizes with the twists and turns that lower-income students experience. “I had one path. They have had all kinds of paths. They were so open about their lives. That wouldn’t happen in my age group or work environment,” she noted.
Carl Adamek, a corporate executive in his 50s, is struck by students’ desire to make a difference. “I was impressed by how bright they are, how these students are passionate about their future, and doing something for the greater good,” said Adamek.
Virginia Kafer, a health care strategist also in her 50s, describes how energizing the experience was for her. “I came into a room of people with cool ideas I had not heard before,” Kafer said. Speaking of the students, she added, “They are smart and intuitive. I wanted to learn from them.”
The fellows find hope for the future from their discussions with the younger students. “These students gave me a renewed feeling of positivity in the world,” Peyraud said.
Older Students on How Today's Classes Are Different
Some fellows delight in how different classes are at college today compared to when they were undergrads. Peyraud remembers her large lectures. “The classes were one-directional, professor to student, and there was a right answer. Today’s college classes are discussion-oriented and participative, and answers are not simple,” she said.
And, Peyraud added, today’s students are open to different views. “With social issues, these students, they have opinions, we discuss them and learn from each other,” she said.
These two generations often find they are more similar than different. As Kafer puts it: “We are all at a point in our lives where we don’t know what’s next. We are all open to possibilities, and also kind of scared about that.”
But there are some ways the two generations are unalike, too. Kafer said the younger students “have different communication styles that I hadn’t considered, and they understand the rules and codes of communicating in a virtual world, and how to create relationships virtually.”
Younger Students Gain Confidence About Entering Workforce
Smiley said her experience with UMAC fellows makes her more confident about entering the workforce. “I found that I had lots of ways to connect with others of different ages, personally and professionally,” she noted.
Peterson found hearing how fellows navigated career changes very compelling. “It got us in the mindset that this is a world of plenty of potential, but we need to develop resilience in our career paths,” he said.
Throughout the semester, students fine-tune a group project, turning an idea into a solution, presenting it at a Classroom to Community Workshop. Fellows serve as mentors.
At times, career advice turns into career advocacy.
Peyraud used her work experience to coach a student through a job application. “I have networks, I can make a connection. I know there are disparities when it comes to getting jobs, and I want to help these students with resumés, making connections, and advice on business dress,” she said.
As initiatives like UMAC thrive, students of all ages will benefit from learning to communicate across generational divides,and from the mentorship that invariably follows. When diverse voices are part of the conversation, insights and innovation happen.

William H. Frey

Senior Fellow - Brookings Metro

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A close examination of detailed age data released by the Census Bureau last month reveals a startling fact: More than half of the nation’s total population are now members of the millennial generation or younger. The data shows that the combined millennial, Gen Z, and younger generations numbered 166 million as of July 2019, or 50.7% of the nation’s population—larger than 162 million Americans associated with the combined Gen X, baby boomer, and older cohorts.
To many Americans—especially baby boomers themselves—this news may come as a shock. For them, the term “millennial” has been associated with a youthful, often negative , vibe in terms of habits, ideology, and politics. Now, the oldest millennial is 39, and with their numbers exceeding those of baby boomers, the millennial generation is poised to take over influential roles in business and government.
But the current political environment suggests this takeover could be contentious. Millennials and their juniors (Gen Z and younger) are more racially diverse than those that preceded them, with nearly half identifying as a racial or ethnic minority. Social, economic, and political fissures between millennials and older, whiter generations are well known; there is no question that in his screeds against illegal immigrants, voter fraud, political correctness, and the like, President Trump has preyed on the fears of older whites about the nation’s changing racial demography—a strategy he continues to follow.
The current demographic shift, however, may work against that strategy—not only because of the changing numbers, but also due to a new coalescence around recent events that could increase these younger generations’ political clout. There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic will most negatively impact the economic prospects of younger generations, who are bearing the brunt of outsized job losses, evictions, and—among Gen Z—disruptions in education. For older millennials, this is the second stage of a doubl
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