Universities are recruiting record numbers of students from Europe compared with last year after being given powers to expand, latest figures show.
Admissions from mainland Europe have increased more than those from the UK among universities with the highest entry requirements.
The number of students from EU member states is up by 13 per cent compared with the same time last year, according to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas).
Students from Germany, France, Ireland, Poland, Cyprus and Spain have all applied for places. Almost half of the leading Russell Group universities are still advertising places through the clearing system, a situation that would have been unthinkable several years ago.
Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at Buckingham