AS FOLLOWERS of this column will know, this year the Stelfox family went through the gruelling university application process, yet again.

I say ‘family’ because most 17-year-olds need some help and guidance to get it right and not all schools are geared up to provide detailed individual attention.

I use the word ‘gruelling’ because that’s what it is. Having trawled the UCAS website looking for courses, checking for grades, filling out forms and booking themselves on open days – my advice is do this early to avoid disappointment – candidates then have to do a sort-of round-the-UK tour.

I can’t imagine what it must be like for children whose parents can’t afford to stump up the train fares or take them in the family car.

The students then have to apply to five universities in the hope that they’ll get an offer.

They spend hours producing personal statements in the hope that admissions tutors will actually read them.

Some universities even insist on students choosing accommodation in halls they may never inhabit.

And they do all this BEFORE they know what their academic achievement is going to be.

I have a friend who was an admissions tutor and says that universities have formulae for working out how many places they can offer and who to. They know that some won’t make the grade but others will surprise everyone, including themselves. Offers are clever guesswork.

And then on results day, the UCAS website invariably crashes and there’s an unseemly rush for places at clearing.

UCAS is currently consulting universities on proposed changes to this complex system. The idea is that the A level year would be shorter, with exams coming earlier in the summer term, and offers would be made based on results.

Having been through the cumbersome process twice with The Offspring I feel I can say with certainty that something needs to be done.

As only 10% of students currently apply to university with predicted grades that turn into actual grades the whole process needs much more transparent and clear cut.

But, as with all things human, there could also be unforeseen problems. For example, it could affect the student loans organisation, which, as we have personally found after months of letters, wrangling and phone calls, already seems to suffer from bureaucratic constipation.

But as some of the country’s most educated minds will be working on the problem let’s hope there is a satisfactory solution.