Record university applicants

Education Minister Mark McDonald today welcomed a record number of applicants to Scottish universities from students in Scotland, the EU and beyond.

Figures from UCAS based on the June application deadline show that the number of applicants to universities in Scotland has increased to 121,610 which is a record high.

The number of Scottish students applying to university has increased to 49,470 which is also a record high and the number of applicants from other EU countries to Scottish universities also increased to 19,820 in the 2016 cycle, along with a rise in students from other parts of the world, all choosing to study in Scotland.

Welcoming the news Mr McDonald said:

“These latest UCAS figures show the success of Scotland’s higher education sector which continues to go from strength to strength. We have a record number of students applying to our institutions which clearly demonstrates Scotland as an attractive place to live and to study.

“Scotland is a welcoming nation and these figures clearly demonstrate that our excellent universities are continuing to attract students from the EU and beyond. Scotland is the only country in the UK that has seen an increase in applicants from non-EU countries demonstrating our highly international appeal.

“We have invested over £4billion in the higher education sector over the last four years and will continue to invest over £1billion in our higher education institutions in 2016-17, ensuring that all of our institutions receive financial support to enable them to deliver high quality teaching, world class research and knowledge exchange.”