Sir, – Áine Hyland and Conall Doran (August 23rd) criticise our article (Opinion, August 19th) based on a simple misreading. We said universities “are effectively divorced from the admissions process”. This means that universities do not choose which students to admit. We are aware, as presumably most are, of their role in the design of the system, the choice of how many students to admit, etc.
While Mr Doran is correct that that some subjects for some courses are treated slightly differently (for example minimum maths requirements), this is not the norm. Our point is that one’s total CAO points do not depend on which subjects are involved (apart from any maths bonus points – which we mention). He also misunderstands our point that “Getting through university is not the problem, getting in is the hard part”. Whatever about non-completion in general, the evidence is quite clear that the fundamental problem for those from low incomes backgrounds is to get into (rather than remain in) university. – Yours, etc,