Medical applications rise, bucking wider university admissions trend

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Eleanor Busby, Press Association and Lily Canter

The number of people applying to study medicine in the UK has risen for a second consecutive year, bucking a wider decline in university early deadline applications, new figures show.

A total of 25,840 people applied for medicine courses, a 0.3% increase on last year, according to data published by the university admissions service UCAS.

The rise contrasts with a 3.2% fall in applications to the most selective university courses.

Those applying to the universities of Oxford or Cambridge, or wanting to study medicine, dentistry or veterinary science, had to apply by October 15.

The figures also revealed a significant increase in the number of people reapplying to study medicine, up 31% from 3,380 last year to 4,420 this year. The majority were aged 19.

The latest figures follow a 10.4% surge in medicine applicants last year, when numbers rose from 23,350 to 25,770, reversing three consecutive years of decline.