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Tony Higgins, chief executive of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, is doing a little teaching himself - of the "don't do as I do, do as I say" variety. In the latest Ucas guide to higher education, he advises applicants: "I am writing this while recovering from a serious illnessI One underlying problem is that I have been working far too hard to the exclusion of everything else.

"You should not take the matter of getting into university or college as seriously as life or death. You must get your life into perspective and relax (and I don't mean going clubbing every night)."