A bidding war has started to try to attract students to courses in some less attractive learning institutions.
Recently, it was revealed some universities were dangling the carrot of an iPad or laptop to encourage students to sign up for courses.
Now, several have gone a step further and are baiting students with cash incentives.
At Coventry, students with three B pass A -levels will be paid £1,000 towards tuition fees or £1,500 towards accommodation in halls.
Newman University, Birmingham, has a £10,000 bounty payable over three years to anyone with 3 B passes joining non teacher training degree courses.
A spokesman said the university had an ‘unusually high’ number of students seeking places with A and B grades.
Other offers include a fee waiver by Goldsmiths, University of London, for the 10 most exceptional students Lewisham, where the university is based.
Cash worth up to £2,000 a year are also offered by universities at Salford, Bangor, Bradford and Glasgow.
The incentives come with a change of rules that let universities take on extra students without financial penalties from this year.
The worry for many is that as numbers swell at the country’s elite higher education institutions, many top quality students will desert universities with lesser reputations – so they are trying to lure them with discounts and deals.
Universities minister David Willetts said: "There will be some that fill up quickly and others who don't do so well. That's how an open, more flexible system works."
Although many universities have set the A-level pass bar high for qualifying for courses, many still have places left – and some are accepting lower grades.
Bedfordshire and Bath Spa will take students with three D passes, but indicated that each case will be considered on its own merits.
