Theincreaseintuitionfeeshasledtoa“cleardrop”inthenumberofEnglishstudentsapplyingforuniversityplacesthisautumn.Thereare15,000“missing”applicants（申请人）thisacademicyear,accordingtotheIndependentCommissiononFees.ChairmanWillHuttonsaid:“We’reaskingouryoungmenandwomentohavemoredebtthananyothercountryintheworld—it’shigherthantheaveragedebtintheUS.It’snotclearwhetherthoseloststudentsthisyearwillreturnnextyear,orifit’sastormwarmingofaworryingtrend.”

Butthecommission’sreportsaystheredoesnotseemtobeanimpactonpoorercommunities.Thecommissionfoundtherewasnosignificantchangeintheapplicationratetothekeyuniversities,suchasOxfordorCambridge.Thedecline（下降）inEnglandhasnotbeenmirrored（再现）inotherpartsoftheUKwherefeeshavenotbeenraised,andthedropcanonlypartlybeexplainedbyfallingnumbersofyoungpeopleinthepopulation.StudentsfromScotlandattendingScottishuniversitiesdonotpayfees,whiletheWelshAssemblysaysitwillpayfeesabove￡3,465forWelshstudentsattendingUKinstitutions.

TheaveragetuitionfeeatEnglishuniversitiesthisyearis￡8,385,risingto￡8,507nextyear.UKandEUstudentshaveaccesstogovernment-backedloanstopaythefees.Andthesurveyof1,000pupilsaged15-18,carriedoutthisApril,foundthatthemajorityexpectedtogoontohighereducationaspeoplecontinuetounderstandthatuniversityremainsagoodlongterminvestment（投资）intheirfuture.

AspokeswomanattheDepartmentforBusiness,InnovationandSkillswhichisresponsibleforuniversities,said:“Studentsshouldn’tbeforcedtoputoffgoingtouniversityforfinancialreasons.Moststudentswillnothavetopayinadvance,andnoonewillhavetostartpayingbacktheirstudentloanuntiltheystarttoearnatleast￡2l,000peryear.”

小题1:Fromthefirstparagraph,weknowthat .