Tuesday 16 August 2022 12:49 AM Universities likely to reject you if you're better off to 'widen participation' ... trends now
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Universities have been accused of social engineering after it emerged that poor students enjoyed a better rate of offers for places than their richer peers.
Ahead of A-level results day, Ucas, the admissions body, said deprived youngsters had been put first this year to try to 'widen participation'.
For the first time ever, universities have been provided with data on free school meals to help them select the poorest applicants, it was revealed yesterday.
And new figures show the offer rate for the most disadvantaged students was 75 per cent, against 73 per cent for the most advantaged.
Rates for both groups were 78 per cent last year, meaning the well-off suffered a bigger drop than the poor.
Universities are prioritising low-income students following heavy pressure to appear less elitist.
Some are giving students offers up to two grades below their standard requirement, meaning they can snap a place with a lower level of achievement.
But critics said it was unfair to penalise students because of family background. Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: 'Free-school meals is an unfair and discriminatory system for identifying children from under-privileged backgrounds.
Clare Marchant (pictured), Ucas chief executive, said many universities are keen on making 'contextual offers'
'Lowering entrance
