£3,600 cash bribes to fill degree places via clearing

TOP universities are offering cash ‘bribes’ as high as £3,600 and preparing to slash entry grades in a desperate scramble to fill degree places.

They are luring students who enter the clearing system – where applicants achieve lower grades than they expected – with scholarships. Others are giving away laptops or paying applicants £1,000 if they make the institution their firm choice.

The move comes as universities compete for students amid a drop in international applicants, which will affect income. Many home students could also defer their places until next year. But education experts condemned the tactics and urged teenagers to put ‘incentives’ to one side when they receive their A-level results this Thursday.

The University of Sheffield, a member of the prestigious Russell Group, will pay students £3,600 each if they accept an offer through clearing. Students applying for one of the 40 scholarships must have a household income of £50,000 or less.

Derby University is offering scholarships worth £1,000 for the first time this year, and Northampton University is offering new undergraduates a free laptop, £500 off their accommodation or £500 in credit vouchers for on- campus eateries, bars and shops. But institutions vigorously defended their schemes yesterday. Sheffield University said students can apply for the scholarships earlier in the year, but that some are kept aside for clearing. Professor Mary Vincent, interim deputy vice-president for education at the university, said ‘it’s important to us that cost is not a barrier to education’.

A spokesman for Derby University said its scheme rewards academic achievement, and a Northampton University spokesman said the laptop offer removes students’ ‘concern of having to buy their own device before joining’. UCAS chief executive Clare Marchant predicted yesterday that 80,000 applicants could find a place via clearing this year – up from 73,325 last year.