SFC news published since 2018. See SFC archived content for earlier news articles.
New information today from university admissions service, UCAS, shows a record proportion of Scottish students achieving a place at their first-choice university.
According to the figures, published to coincide with results day for Highers and Advanced Highers, a record 60.1% of Scottish students gained a place at their first-choice university. The number of Scots being accepted for a place at a UK university at this point in the admissions cycle is 29,630, the second highest on record, and above the pre-pandemic level.
There is also good news for Scotland’s continuing efforts to ensure fair access to higher education. Participation of young students from the country’s most disadvantaged areas has increased from pre-pandemic levels, with almost 23.9% of all acceptances coming from SIMD40 areas compared with 22.4% in 2019.
UCAS also reports an increase in the number of Scots accepted onto nursing courses is 2,960 – up by 450 compared with 2019.
Martin Boyle, Director of Policy, Insight and Analytics at the Scottish Funding Council, said:
“It’s great to see so many Scottish applicants being successful in gaining their first choice of a university course.“I’m also pleased that we can celebrate 4,540 Scots from the most deprived areas being accepted for a place at university so far. This is the second highest on figure on record and reflects our commitment to fairer access to higher education.”
