Commenting on today’s statistics from UCAS, Alastair Sim, Director of Universities Scotland, said:
“There has been a lot of speculation about university places this year. Today’s snap-shot figures from UCAS provide some necessary perspective on the current situation. Places available to Scottish students at Scottish universities have held steady. The conversion rate this year of acceptances is actually up on last year by a modest 0.6 per cent [1] meaning that a greater proportion of Scots who wanted a place at university have got one compared to last year.
“Today’s figures are just a snap-shot; final figures won’t be available until mid-December. With many Scots still speaking to a few universities about clearing places, the final figure on the number of Scottish students accepted into Scottish universities will yet increase.” [2]
“Today’s figures show a modest increase of 661 students from across the UK coming to Scotland compared to last year. This shows the high regard in which Scotland’s universities are held, particularly as English universities have seen a sizeable drop of over 25,000 fewer English students. It’s important to reemphasise that these students have absolutely no bearing on the places available to Scottish students.”
Notes
- This year sees at 67.3 per cent conversion rate of Scottish applicants to acceptances compared to 66.7 per cent last year. This figure includes Scots obtaining a place through clearing as show in UCAS’ latest figures released today. There was a slight drop in Scottish applicants to Scottish universities this year by 743 students. Therefore a drop of 45 Scottish students into Scottish universities at this stage in the clearing cycle actually represents an increase in the acceptance rate.
- The University of the Highlands and Islands still has clearing places available to Scots on 97 courses due to an increase of 1,000 extra funded places this year. It is still receiving a good volume of calls from Scottish students and processing clearing applicants. Interested applicants should call: 0845 272 3600 to find out more.