ONLY student in four applyingfor a place at Essex University will be successful.

The number of students applying to start undergraduate courses at the Wivenhoe-based university in October 2010 has risen by almost 25 per cent to more than 12,500.

There are about 3,200 places available – up slightly from 3,150 last year.

But the university’s increasing popularity means thousands of applicants will miss out.

Joanne Tallentire, head of admissions at the university, said: “We are in a period of consolidation, so the number of places isn’t likely to rise.

“It may overall become more difficult to get in as the competition gets stiff.”

Despite the huge demand from students for places, the university says it will not be requesting higher exam grades.

Mrs Tallentire said the number of Government-funded UK places will fall slightly, but not because of funding cuts as reported in the national press.

She says a high intake of students in 2009 means less money is available to support new students across its campuses in Wivenhoe, Loughton and Southend this year.

However, the increase in the number of self-funded EU students means the headcount will be higher than last year.

The course that has seen the highest increase in applications is philosophy, with 80 per cent more applicants than this time last year. Politics and biological sciences have also seen increases of about 65 per cent.

In 2009, there were 10,264 applications for undergraduate at Essex University courses. So far this year, 2,038 more people have applied for places.