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<title> Causal analysis </title>
Student applications to Uppsala University are declining. During the last years, according to the admission unit in Uppsala, the number of applications to Uppsala University has decreased, rapidly and steadily. In Uppsala Nya Tidning 8/2-2001, Julia Linderlöf writes that applications for separate courses have decreased with 14 % compared to last spring semester. There are different causes for this decline and some of them I will discuss. 
One reason for this trend is the outrageous housing shortage in Uppsala. When student's lodgings are far from sufficient for the actual number of students in need of a roof over their heads and prices for small apartments (actually all housing) still are increasing steadily, there are very small chances for students to see Uppsala as a study alternative, and therefore seek other cities to live in with more beneficial room accommodations. What Harald Nordlund, member of the Swedish Riksdag, writes in the article in UNT 24/1 2001 gives a clear example of the student's lodging situation, when he says that student's lodging are extremely expensive to build and hold in trust. He continues to say that the quick turnovers in tenants render in a great wear and therefore they are less attractive to build especially when the public house building is strongly neglected.
The Uppsala University homepage also emphasise the impossibility to make Uppsala a place of residence when students are exhorted to look for living arrangement on the open market, which the Swedish quotation below issues.
 „För närvarande kan du som ny i Uppsala tyvärr knappast räkna med studentrum förrän efter någon termin, utan du måste söka rum på öppna marknaden.‰ (www.info.uu.se).
The prices on the housing market, are according to Jonas Edlunds article in UNT 26/1 2001, not in the nearest future going to fall. Students with student lone as an only income must look for inexpensive and convenient housing.
Another reason why students prefer other universities is that there is a greater variety of educations available around the country in newly established universities. Some of the new smaller universities have been very successful in creating a distinctive image for themselves, such as the IT-university in Kista. These universities entice students to attend that specific university with arguments such as better student's lodging, students being able to live closer to home, being able to live longer at their parents home (witch is cheaper). They also intend to satisfy the labour market with its harshening demand for qualified employees. That is for example what the university in Kista has the intention of achieving.
The IT-University / KTH-Kista was established on July, 1st 1999 by the Royal institute of Technology (Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan) in order to meet the increasing requirements for education and research in the information technology area‰. (www.it-universitetet.kth.) The smaller universities trough out the country make offers that bigger and more well reputed universities cannot do. The real estate company Örebrobostäder AB guarantees accepted students at the university in Örebro housing within a month. (www.oru.se) The last but not the least cause for my trend is that going to university today is mostly for people coming directly from the upper secondary school, and not for those who have experienced and attended life outside the corridors of traditional education centres. With interests such as starting a family, the economical situation must be upheld by a second part, when prices are rising constantly and student lone does not follow accordingly.
When turning 29 the accommodation allowance, if entitled, are being withdrawn. Family economy can be ruined and therefore students in those situations must heavily consider their options. In some cases, it results in students being deprived of the privilege of attending university classes. The problems older students are being faced with, the article in UNT 5/1 2001 written by Kathrin Österlund chairman of SFS and Sara Stavås vice chairman SFS elucidates more widely. 
All these arguments speak for the decline of student applications and the bad circle must be broken. The advantages though still hold strongly. Uppsala with a very well reputed university, the oldest within the Nordic countries, founded in 1477, the strong and outstanding reputation abroad, the highly advanced research-work and finally the student life summons up the vast majority of advantages Uppsala University has to offer. They are undisputable.
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