UK university admissions changes could work to the benefit of Cyprus students

By Philippa Tracy

For students wishing to apply to a UK university, the admissions process has been through some reforms recently. There have been a number of changes aimed at widening participation and levelling the playing field. While this commitment to equity and inclusion is particularly good news for potential applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds in the UK, it will be of benefit more generally to anyone applying for a UK university place. This includes anyone applying from Cyprus. Two very recent changes will be of particular interest: the publication of entry grades data and changes to the personal statement.

Last year, the University and College Admissions Service (UCAS) added historical grades on entry data to their website. This data uses up to five years of data to show information about the grades students obtained when they were offered a place, including students who applied through clearing. This data is displayed on the course page on the UCAS website, for all courses where at least 50 students have been given a place. It is possible to view data for students who applied with UK A-Levels or BTEC Extended Diplomas. More qualifications will be added in the future.

While historical data cannot predict what grades will be accepted in the current application cycle, it is a good indicator of whether a student might stand a fair chance if they know their predicted grades. There is also other useful information on the page, such as the highest and lowest grades held by students accepted onto the course. The data displayed includes the proportion of UK school leavers and what English Language requirements, such as minimum IELTs scores, are in place.

For those students applying later this year for entry in 2026, the personal statement is changing. A survey in 2022 told UCAS that students generally struggled with the process of writing a personal statement, finding it very stressful. They also found that many students relied heavily on help from others to check the statement and feel confident that they had included the right information. As a former teacher and parent of teenagers, I have known lots of 17-year-olds who have asked different adults to read over their personal statements and give advice and support. To address this inequality and in an attempt to make the writing of the personal statement easier, UCAS has said that it will no longer require one long statement.

Instead, of no more than 4,000 characters (roughly the size of this article), the statement will be broken down into three shorter sections. Students will also be guided through their responses to each section with questions to help ‘scaffold’ the writing. This is a teaching term that means helping students to structure their writing by giving them a framework and prompts. UCAS explains this on its website by saying that “scaffolding questions offer students a roadmap, breaking them down into manageable parts. By providing specific prompts, students gain clarity on what to address, fostering focus and coherence in their writing. This ensures that each aspect of their experiences and goals is thoughtfully explored and articulated.”

The new format is meant to remove the unfair advantage that middle class students have because of their support levels at home, and those who have access to advisers or might pay private tutors to help. The new format will include a section on motivation (why you want to study the subject), a section on preparation (how your studies so far have helped) and a section on extracurricular activities and other experiences. There will still be room for applicants to personalise the statements. This will also make it easier for universities to compare statements because there should be a level of consistency about how students respond, regardless of the level of support they have.

Traditionally, many Cypriots have studied for degrees in the UK. Since Brexit, they have been considering other options and the numbers of overseas students in general have drastically reduced. Even though fees are now higher for Cypriot students, there are still reasons that the UK might be an attractive place to study. Apart from historic connections and the ease of studying in the English language, many UK universities offer scholarships to Cypriot students. As well as A-Levels and IB, the Apolytirion is accepted at many top UK universities and there are graduate visas on offer for those who want to stay in the UK after they graduate.

As part of the Brexit agreement, it is also the case that British passport holders and their children residing in the EU can still apply for UK universities and get home fees as long as their course begins before January 1, 2028.