"The May Crunch: Where Admissions Strategy Meets Reality"

This month, Laura, Senior Consultant in our Higher Education team, caught up with Shameerah, Interim Head of Admissions at Buckinghamshire New University, to talk about the realities of the May admissions crunch and the growing pressures admissions teams face as the cycle intensifies. Here’s what emerged from their conversation.

By May, admissions stops being purely procedural and becomes a real test of institutional judgement, alignment and resilience. Teams are no longer managing one clear pipeline, but several overlapping streams at once: home undergraduate, international, postgraduate, partnerships, apprenticeships, short courses and internal transfers. Each brings different risks, timelines, compliance requirements and operational pressures, all converging between May and August.

Home admissions is now defined by speed, volume and competition. Applicants expect fast, clear decisions, and delays can quickly become recruitment losses. At the same time, institutions must maintain fairness, transparency and consistency under OfS and CMA expectations, often while working with incomplete information, rising applicant contact and growing academic pressure. International admissions carries even greater complexity, with decisions shaped by credibility, CAS risk, visa timelines, financial thresholds, refusal trends and changing UKVI expectations.

Similar applications may no longer be treated in exactly the same way because timing, market context and institutional risk appetite now matter. The pressure is not only operational; it is structural. Admissions cycles, applicant behaviour and institutional recruitment models have changed, while many systems still rely on processes built for a simpler era. UCAS embargo, Confirmation and Clearing now operate as one continuous pressure point, with Clearing increasingly used as a strategic recruitment channel rather than a last-minute safety net. Technology is widening the gap between institutions that can automate triage and protect consistency, and those still relying heavily on manual processes, where backlogs and variation are harder to avoid.

At the centre of all this are admissions teams working under intense, multidirectional pressure from applicants, academics, compliance, marketing, planning and regulation. Good admissions leadership in May is not about perfection; it is about clarity, visibility and support. Teams need clear decision-making frameworks, early agreement on flexibility and risk, open communication and leaders who are present when the pressure rises. May is not simply about hitting deadlines — it is about holding the line, supporting people through the storm and recognising that consistency comes from teams who feel trusted, equipped and clear on what is expected of them.