UCAS figures: middle-class students deterred by fees hike For the first time, UCAS admitted that fee rises have had a direct bearing on demand for degrees. It reported a "reduction in application rates where tuition fees have increased," with "greater declines" being witnessed among students from the wealthiest 20 per cent of families. Fee rises have not affected "more disadvantaged groups," the admissions body added. It also emerged that applications for some English universities are down by more than a quarter in just 12 months, with the University for the Creative Arts witnessing a slump of 29 per cent. But applications to some Scottish universities have soared. David Willetts, the Universities Ministers, insisted that applications were still the second highest on record, with tens of thousands more people being expected to apply through the traditional clearing system in coming months. But critics seized upon the figures, warning that students were being put off by "the fear of huge debts." Martin Freedman, from the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: "Today's UCAS figures have blown out of the water the Government's argument that trebling tuition fees would have little effect on the number of students applying for university, with the steep fall in applications from students living in England clearly showing that students are being put off by the fear of huge debts." Shabana Mahmood, the Shadow Higher Education Minister, said: "It is clear that the drastic increase in fees and the increased debt burden is putting people of all ages off going to university and investing their future. Most students will be paying off their debts most of their working lives. Today's figures show the number of students applying to university by the traditional June 30 deadline. Any applications made after this date are processed through clearing in mid-August. Data shows that overall applications from all countries are down by 7.7 per cent - or 51,709 - to 618,247. But rates are boosted by continuing demand from foreign students living outside Europe, with applications up by 8.5 per cent, or 4,762, in the last 12 months. This follows a Telegraph investigation earlier this month that showed foreign recruitment agents promising applicants places on courses with lower grades than British counterparts. Among British students alone, demand is down by 8.9 per cent - or 50,339 - to 515,663. The figures mask significant differences across the UK. In England, where fees are the highest, the number of applicants has dropped by 10 per cent. Among Scottish students - who are given free tuition - applications are down by just 2.1 per cent. Numbers dropped by 2.9 per cent in Wales and 4.5 per cent in Northern Ireland, where courses are also cheaper for home students. Some 15,000 fewer school leavers from England have applied this year compared with 2011, a UCAS analysis found. A report published by the admissions body revealed that young people from disadvantaged areas were still almost three times less likely to apply to university than their richer peers. But it suggested that the fees hike led to "greater declines" in application rates this year among students from relatively well-off homes. The applications rate is down by just 0.2 percentage points - less than 1,000 - among the most disadvantaged families in England, UCAS found. But demand dropped by 1.1 percentage points among students from with an average household income of £39,000 and 2.1 percentage points among those with incomes of closer to £60,000. Students from the very richest families have witnessed a 2.6 percentage point drop in demand. In all, applications among the top two groups dropped by around 5,050 in the last 12 months, figures suggest. Mary Curnock Cook, UCAS chief executive, said: "This in-depth analysis of the 2012 applications data shows that, although there has been a reduction in application rates where tuition fees have increased, there has not been a disproportionate effect on more disadvantaged groups." Figures also show sharp declines in applications for some universities compared with others. Altogether, demand was down at almost three quarters of elite Russell Group universities, including falls of between eight and 11 per cent at Birmingham, King's College London, Liverpool, Manchester, the London School of Economics, Warwick and Queen Mary. The sharpest drops among mainstream English universities were at the University for the Creative Arts, with a fall of 29 per cent, followed by Derby with a 25 per cent drop, Goldsmiths with a fall of 21 per cent and Surrey and Aston with falls of around 20 per cent.