MORE students than ever before want to study in Huddersfield.
Almost 10% more students have applied for a place at the University of Huddersfield this year, despite an anticipated fall in applications.
The number of students applying to UK universities has declined by 8.7% this year, with applications for English universities dropping by 9.9%, UCAS said.
Applications for degree courses in the UK decreased by 5.2% this year.
An increase in tuition fees, from £3,375 per year in 2011 to a maximum of £9,000 per year in 2012, is believed to have put off potential applicants.
While the majority of English universities increased their tuition fees to the maximum £9,000, Huddersfield University increased its fees to £7,950 a year, making it one of the cheapest in the country.
And Huddersfield University was among a minority of English universities which experienced an increase in the number of applications for their degree courses.
Huddersfield University enjoyed an 9.6% increase in the number of applications, the fifth biggest increase among English universities this year.
York St John University and Bradford University experienced 12.7% and 0.5% increases in degree course applications this year.
Among the biggest losers were Roehampton University, London, which suffered a 27.5% decrease in applications for its degree courses and Sheffield Hallam, which experienced an 16.4% drop in applications.
Huddersfield University deputy vice-chancellor Prof Peter Slee said: “We believe it is based on a strong sense among applicants that we offer great programmes, great employment prospects and great value for money.
“As a community we have been able to work together to communicate what we stand for through the web, social media, print, selection days and open events.
“There is of course a long way to go to turn applications into acceptances and to meet our student number targets in this competitive environment, but this is a very positive start.”
