The gender gap for university entrants has widened to record levels, with tens of thousands of men “missing” from higher education, official figures show.

Women aged 18 are 35% more likely to start a degree course than their male counterparts, Ucas said. That equates to 36,000 fewer young men starting a degree course than would be the case if the entry rates were the same.

Among those from disadvantaged backgrounds, young women were 52% more likely to go into higher education than their male counterparts. While this gap is rising, the gulf between rich and poor students in general has narrowed, and the least advantaged young people in England are 65% more likely to go into higher education than they were in 2006.



Mary Curnock Cook, Ucas chief executive, said: “We have previously highlighted the unacceptably large and widening gap between entry rates for men and women and this year shows young men, and especially young white men, falling even further behind.”



Universities and colleges made a record 1.9m offers to students this year, and 93% of applicants who made five choices got at least one offer, the figures show. About a third (32%) received the maximum five offers – the highest level recorded.