UK: Students turn to US Ivy League universities

Harvard University - ranked the best in the world - has seen the number of applications from Britain rise by more than a third in just 12 months, figures show. Other elite Ivy League institutions, including Yale, Columbia and Cornell, have also reported an increase in demand, writes Graeme Paton for The Telegraph.

It is believed the cap on places for home students at English universities - coupled with the prospect of £9,000 (US$14,562) fees from next year - is fuelling the rise. The disclosure comes just a week after one of Europe's leading universities - Maastricht in the Netherlands - reported a 10-fold rise in the number of applications from Britain. Some 400 people have applied so far this year compared with just 35 in 2010.

A spokesman for the Fulbright Commission, which awards scholarships to US universities, said: "The word is definitely getting out that this year is an unprecedented opportunity for US universities to recruit British students."
Full report on The Telegraph site