ALMOST 8500 students were suspected of copying their university applications last year.
New figures show the number of people suspected of plagiarising their personal statements has more than tripled in a year.
In 2011, 8458 university applicants were flagged up as having similarities in their personal statements, compared with 2450 in 2010, according to figures obtained from admissions body Ucas through a Freedom of Information request. In 2008, 3098 applicants had their statements flagged.
As part of the application process, would-be students are asked to write a personal statement containing their achievements, skills and any information they feel will make them stand out from the crowd.
Ucas uses specialist software called CopyCatch to check personal statements against others in the system for similarities.
The sharp rise in the number of flagged applicants between 2010 and 2011 was down to the introduction of a more stringent threshold for picking up similarities, Ucas said.
Any statements that are flagged up are checked, and that information can be passed on to the university a student is applying to.
It is down to the institution to decide how to deal with the situation, which can range from putting a warning on the student's application or asking for the statement to be re-written, to doing nothing.
Ucas said the number of applicants that were flagged last year represented 1% of all applications. Three in 10 were applicants from outside of the EU.
Andrea Robertson, of Ucas, said for some applicants, English is not their first language, so it may have been useful for them to look at other sources, including websites, for guidance.
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