UK: Women are now a third more likely than men to opt to go to university

Article here. Excerpt:

'Men will soon become the most disadvantaged group in the country when it comes to going to university, the head of UCAS predicts today.

Figures show that the gap between applications from women and men is rising sharply - while that between rich and poor students is narrowing.

The 15 January deadline for applications for university this autumn showed over 87,000 more women than men had applied, increasing the gap by 7,000 compared to January 2013. Women are now a third more likely than men to opt to go to university.

Meanwhile, applications from would-be students in disadvantaged areas are rising - with those from poorer families twice as likely to apply as a decade ago.
...
Professor Smithers put forward three main reasons why the number of applications from girls is soaring:

• their GCSE and A-level results are better.
• teacher and nurse training, which largely attract females, now takes place in universities.
• boys may be more attracted to apprenticeships and jobs, rather than incur debts from the £9,000 a year fees regime.

“Apprentices is a possible explanation,” he said. “Certainly men have tended to be in the majority when it comes to vocational qualifications.

“It could be that more men are attracted to entering employment. Some of the subjects men are attracted to, like engineering, are the ones that are struggling to fill places.”