A place at university guaranteed or your money back These offices, and similar firms across Asia and South America, are the front line in an increasing "gold rush" from higher education institutions which are soon hoping to make £17 billion annually from the market in foreign students. The universities claim that the foreign students are an essential source of income which subsidise British undergraduates. A Daily Telegraph investigation into the system suggests that academic standards are being relaxed for foreign students. Earlier this month, two undercover reporters accompanied by a Chinese translator approached Golden Arrow and other "education agents" claiming to be representing a wealthy Chinese family whose teenage offspring had only achieved three C grades in their A-levels. In Britain, such grades would exclude you from most courses at established universities. Studying at a former polytechnic would be the only viable option. However Golden Arrow's business manager, Allen Pan, explained that the relatively low grades would not be a problem for some institutions. He set out Golden Arrow's fees. To complete the application, the company would charge £1,200. For the premium service, the charge would be £2,000. So confident is the company of achieving a place in a British university that it guarantees a full refund if the student fails to get a place. With most Chinese students not taking A-levels, the education system proves confusing to British universities, and therefore one of the key elements of a student's application is the personal statement. "Personal statement is very important," acknowledged Mr Pan. But usually... because we charge you service fees, we will help you to write it and word it. Visas are also a critical issue. Universities are lobbying the government to remove university students from net migration figures to help drive the economy and boost university income. In a letter to David Cameron last month, 68 chancellors, governors and university presidents warned that a crackdown on visas could lead to foreign students going elsewhere, costing the economy billions. Ministers have already made it more difficult to obtain a student visa if it is judged that someone will remain in the country after graduating. Even though such requirements have only recently been introduced, Golden Arrow was already keen to help the prospective client work their way through the system. Without being prompted, Mr Pan advised in broken English: "In the study plan, that is after graduation, [say you] will come back to China . . . otherwise the student visa will be rejected. In student mind, student want to stay long, but in your [application] paper, you should state you go back as soon as possible after graduation and enough reasons to support. For example, 'My father has a factory and he needed me back."" With the basics and paperwork in order, the undercover reporters went back for a second meeting with an adviser on which university places were actually on offer. When the reporters returned, they were introduced to another Golden Arrow executive, Flora Wang, who ran through the options. With three C grades, the student could get a place at Sussex University or Cardiff University to study business, she advised. "We send student [sic] to Cardiff Business School to study accounting & finance with ACD," she added. In the usual application route, Cardiff Business School requires AAB and the university's prospectuses make it clear that the rules are the same for foreign students. Ms Wang said she would have to check that general studies - which many universities do not recognise as a "proper" A-level - was acceptable to Cardiff. "We need to send her transcript to our friends [at Cardiff]," added Ms Wang. But what about Sussex, the reporter asked. "She can do business," said the adviser. You think? OK," said the reporter. Ms Wang: "Yes, because she studied maths, science, but I should make sure that the university can accept general studies... Not every university accept general studies ... maths is OK. Like Cardiff, maths school they can accept students that study A-level maths, science, computing, things like that. If the fictional student retook A-levels and achieved 3 B grades, the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Southampton would also be options, to study maths or science, she continued. Reporter: "So if she got three Bs, where would she be able to go? Would it give her more options? Ms Wang: "Yes, she can choose UEA, University of East Anglia, Sussex, Cardiff, Southampton. And even some high ranking universities but not Bristol, not KCL [King's College, London], not Warwick, no. Reporter: "That would be to study maths at those ones?" Ms Wang: I think maths, science that would be fine . . . even if she wanted to study business, that would be OK. UEA usually requires AAB to study maths, with an A in maths. Southampton's usual entry requirements are AAA. Another Golden Arrow recommendation was to take an A-level in Mandarin to boost the number of Ucas points, because this almost guaranteed an A for a native Chinese speaker. For British universities, it is increasingly apparent that foreign students are significantly more profitable than home-grown teenagers. For many of those arriving on campuses this autumn, this will be all too clear with many residential blocks now home to large numbers of Chinese students - many of whom came through the Golden Arrow process. A University of Southampton spokesman said, that "international students presenting A-level qualifications . . . are given exactly the same offer as UK students when applying for courses. The university will be conducting its own investigation into the allegations made against Golden Arrow. Any suggestion that an agent hasn't met the high quality of service we expect is treated very seriously. The University of East Anglia said that "no student, British or international, would be offered a place based on grades CCC" and that the offers currently displayed on its website were for the next application cycle. Last year our offers were ABC and ABB - to both UK and international applicants - for different courses in maths. However, it said that the university "reserve[d] the right to accept both UK and international students who narrowly miss their terms of their offer, on a case-by-case basis."