The number of students already accepted on to university courses has dropped by almost 7%, official figures show.

As of midnight, a total of 357,915 applicants had had their places confirmed, down from 384,649 at the same point in 2011 - a fall of 6.95%.

The figures, which come on the day that students across England, Wales and Northern Ireland receive their A-level results, also show that around 79,000 UK applicants are still awaiting decisions, and that more than 10,000 people have already applied for places through clearing.

Mary Curnock Cook, chief executive of university admissions service Ucas, said: "More than 300,000 applicants whose places are dependent on their grades are waiting to hear if they have been accepted on Thursday.

"Despite the fall in applications this year, entry to higher education remains competitive and we expect to see an active clearing period."

More than 25,000 courses currently have vacancies for UK applicants. Last year, more than 50,000 people got a place at university through clearing.

Curnock Cook went on: "It is important that all students research course requirements thoroughly and think carefully before making a decision that is likely to affect their future career.

"Anyone considering applying again next year can research 2013 courses on our website now."

Universities Minister David Willetts said the number of students going into higher education would be broadly comparable to previous years.

"There is long-term trend for more and more people to aspire to go to university and for more and more employers to look to employ people with higher education qualifications and I personally don't think, taking the long view, that trend has suddenly stopped," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

"What we are seeing at the moment is there has actually been a slight decline in the number of 18-year-olds - there is a slight shrinkage in the size of that cohort - so what we are doing is we are maintaining university places broadly flat.

"There are going to be about 350,000 places in English universities this year which is comparable to the last few years."

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  • Hazel Bergin celebrates her 600 points in leaving certificate exams at Loretto College in Dublin. Radical changes in the way Leaving Certificate maths and Irish are being taught has reaped rewards for students, exam results reveal. Photo credit: Niall Carson/PA

  • Eli Ingle, 19, from Sheffield who has been taught at home since he was 13 and says his exam successes show it is possible to be educated at home right up to A-level. Hundreds of families across the UK every year choose to take their children out of school and teach them at home. But but very few continue this past GCSEs into the traditional sixth-form stage. Eli, from Sheffield, already has two A*s - in business studies and sociology - and is hoping for similar high standards when he gets his psychology result later today. He said he thought about going back to college for A-levels but he and his family had enjoyed his home education so much he wanted to carry on. Photo: Dave Higgens/PA

  • Nicole McGrath celebrates her leaving certificate results at Loretto College in Dublin this morning. Radical changes in the way Leaving Certificate maths and Irish are being taught has reaped rewards for students, exam results reveal. Photo credit: Niall Carson/PA

  • Joe O'Sullivan from Kenmare Co Kerry celebrates with his 9 A1s in his Leaving Cert results in the Stillorgan Park Hotel, Dublin. Radical changes in the way Leaving Certificate maths and Irish are being taught has reaped rewards for students, exam results reveal. Photo credit: Julien Behal/PA

  • L-R Niambh Boyle and Nicole McGrath celebrate their leaving certificate results at Loretto College in Dublin this morning. Radical changes in the way Leaving Certificate maths and Irish are being taught has reaped rewards for students, exam results reveal. Photo credit: Niall Carson/PA

  • Cliodhna Ryan celebrates her leaving certificate results at Loretto College in Dublin this morning. Radical changes in the way Leaving Certificate maths and Irish are being taught has reaped rewards for students, exam results reveal. Photo credit: Niall Carson/PA

  • Nicole McGrath and her mother Audrey celebrate her leaving certificate results at Loretto College in Dublin. Radical changes in the way Leaving Certificate maths and Irish are being taught has reaped rewards for students, exam results reveal. Photo credit: Niall Carson/PA

  • Students Kathryn McCanaan and her best friend and fellow student Rob Johns celebrate both gaining university places after receiving their A-Level results at Hillsborough College, Sheffield. Photo credit: Anna Gowthorpe/PA

  • (From left to right) Rachel Peacock, 18, Katie Winter 17 and Hannah Jovey, 18, hold their A-level results outside Newcastle Church High School, after they achieved six A*s and three As between them. Katie, Hannah and Rachel all succeeded in getting the grades they needed and will be heading off to their first-choice universities in September. Photo credit: Tom White/PA

  • (From right to left) Rebecca Bland, 18, Liz Hierons, 18, Sophie Thompson, 18, Emily Wilson, 18, and Hannah Knox, 18, all hold their A-level results at Central Newcastle High School, after Emily Wilson's grades set her up to become a helicopter pilot with the RAF. Emily, who achieved an A* in biology and an A in chemistry and physics, has been accepted to study biology at the University of Edinburgh and will then head to Sandhurst for her military training. Photo credit: Tom White/PA

  • Emily Wilson holds her A-level results at Central Newcastle High School, after her grades set her up to become a helicopter pilot with the RAF . Emily, who achieved an A* in biology and an A in chemistry and physics, has been accepted to study biology at the University of Edinburgh and will then head to Sandhurst for her military training. Photo credit: Tom White/PA

  • Students queue for their A-level results at the Capital FM Arena, Nottingham, as official figures showed that the proportion of A-levels scoring at least an A grade has fallen for the first time in more than 20 years. In total, 26.6\% of the exams were given an A or A*, down from 27\% in 2011 - a record drop of 0.4\%. Photo credit: Rui Vieira/PA

  • Charlotte McGuiness (left) and Georgia Herron, who both achieved three As, pupils from Chelmsford county high school for girls in Chelmsford, Essex, who were both Olympic Volunteers during the London 2012 Olympic Games. Photo credit: Sean Dempsey/PA

  • Students from the left; Theodore Zobas, Rob Johns, Garth Williams, Callum Cockbill and Sam Crossland celebrate after receiving their A-Level results at Hillsborough College, Sheffield. Photo credit: Anna Gowthorpe/PA

  • Students react after receiving their A-level results at the Capital FM Arena, Nottingham. Photo credit: Rui Vieira/PA

  • Jack Perkins, from Newark, reacts after receiving his A-level results at the Capital FM Arena, Nottingham. Photo credit: Rui Vieira/PA