UCAS applications increase

30 Jan 2015 12:05 PM

New record high in applications from Scots-domiciled students.

A record high of 40,850 Scots-domiciled students have applied to study in Scottish Higher Education next year.

Figures from UCAS based on the January application deadline also show that a total of 41,520 Scots-domiciled students have applied to Higher Education institutions across the UK, an increase of one per cent.

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Angela Constance said:

“The latest UCAS figures make for hugely encouraging reading. Recent years have already seen record numbers of Scots both entering and qualifying from Higher Education in Scotland and today offers clear evidence that the trend is continuing.

“Scots-domiciled students have their fees paid as we firmly believe that education should be based on the ability to learn, not the ability to pay. Recent figures have shown a 40 per cent increase in the proportion of 18 year old Scots from the most disadvantaged areas accepted to Higher Education but we are determined to widen access still further.

“The new Commission on Widening Access will advise the Scottish Government on how we can realise our ambitions for fairness.”

Notes To Editors

Today’s UCAS publication suggests a 10 per cent rise in Scots-domiciled applications. However, much of the rise is due to the inclusion of teacher training courses at Scottish universities in the UCAS undergraduate scheme for the first time this year. The comparable year-on-year figure is a rise of one per cent as per the figures noted above.

The January deadline UCAS application figures are seen as a strong indicator of year-on-year trends in final application levels.