Drop in EU applicants to UK universities - UCAS
Applicants from the EU fell to 6,240 (620 fewer than last year), marking the end of an upward trend seen in recent years.
There has been a nine per cent drop in the number of EU students applying for UK university courses with an early October deadline. This is according to new figures released by UCAS, the central organisation for processing applications.
The annual deadline for medicine, dentistry and veterinary degrees, as well as all courses at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, is 15 October. Data published this week shows there were a total of 57,190 applicants - a one per cent rise on last year.
However, applicants from the EU fell to 6,240 (620 fewer than last year), marking the end of an upward trend seen in recent years. Meanwhile, the number of applicants from England rose by three per cent.
Furthermore, the number of EU students applying for medicine degrees fell by 16 per cent. Overall, medicine applications fell by four per cent, continuing the annual decline that has been observed since 2014.
However, as only 10 per cent of eventual applicants typically apply by this early stage, the full picture will only become clear after the main deadline in January.
UCAS chief executive Mary Curnock Cook said: "We will be watching the numbers of EU applications in the run up to the January deadline, especially now that the Government has confirmed arrangements for continuing access to student loans for 2017 courses."
Around half of the veterinary surgeons who register to practice in the UK each year are from overseas - primarily the EU. In the wake of Brexit, there has been considerable uncertainty about the future working rights of EU veterinary surgeons and nurses currently working in the UK. A recent letter to the Prime Minister, signed by the RCVS and BVA presidents, highlighted the impact this is already having on the profession, due to the perception that the UK is no longer welcoming to EU professionals.
The main deadline for university applications is 14 January, 2016 and figures from UCAS will be published on 2 February.
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
