Elite universities need to do much more work to simplify admissions and address major misperceptions amongst applicants, according to this new analysis by the University of Exeter.
The research highlights huge complexity in use of contextual admissions among Russell Group universities, which means current university students are likely to vastly over-estimate the proportion of student intakes who come from private schools.
The analysis finds that the 24 universities in the Russell Group use 18 different factors in their use of contextual admissions. No two universities used the same combination of information about applicants to make decisions. Data about the individual and their families, about the area they live in and about their school were all commonly used by admissions officers.
Contextualised offers occur when a university takes into consideration an applicant’s personal circumstances by for example reducing the A-Level grades a student requires from a disadvantaged area.
The authors suggest universities could benefit from greater use of individual-indicators, in particular eligibility for free school meals. Universities are currently having to rely on ‘proxy’ postcode measures that are not as effective at identifying low-income students.