UK: Drop in soft subject applications

Softer university subjects such as communication studies and creative arts have seen a drop in applications of up to 40% as students seek value for England's controversial £9,000 (US$14,400) tuition fee, according to figures released last week, writes Victoria Ward for The Telegraph.

Overall applications for university courses starting in 2012 have fallen by 9% but the subjects worst hit are those that students may consider would offer the least reward and that tend to be offered by less prestigious institutions. Applications for "mass communication and documentation" subjects, such as media studies and PR, have been hit the hardest, falling 40.6% compared to this time last year. Education courses have also suffered, with applications dropping by 30% while interest in creative arts has dropped by 27.1% and business and administration studies by 26.1%.

By comparison, applications for Oxford or Cambridge and for any medicine, veterinary or dentistry courses, for which the deadline was 15 October, are down by just 0.8%.
Full report on The Telegraph site