Sutton Trust comment on UCAS' End of Cycle Report and the rise in unconditional offers

Commenting on UCAS’ 2018 End of Cycle Report showing over a third of teenagers have received an unconditional offer, Sir Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust, said:

“Unconditional offers have increased exponentially over the past five years. This year over a third of teenagers have received an unconditional offer. This is a serious problem for access. It means that universities are likely to put more weight on students’ predicted grades, which disadvantaged students are more likely to have under-predicted.”

“Instead of increasing the rate of unconditional offers even more, we want to move to a post-qualification applications system where students apply only after they have received their A-level results.  This does away with predicted grades and unconditional offers.  Having actual grades on application empowers the student. They can pick the right course at the right university with a high degree of certainty they are making the right choice.”