THE number of Scots applying to university with the aim of becoming doctors, dentists or vets has fallen.

A total of 1,350 applications were made by pupils hoping to do medicine, dentistry or vet courses by the deadline on October 15 -down from 1,540 on the previous year.

The figures formed part of the first batch of application statistics published by Ucas, which also looked at those hoping to go to either Oxford or Cambridge universities next year.

Overall there were 1,930 applications from Scotland to the three specialist courses and the Oxbridge institutions by the deadline, a drop of nine per cent on the previous year. Applications from England and Wales were both down by five per cent, while applications from Northern Ireland remained steady.

Mary Curnock Cook, Ucas chief executive, said a fuller picture would emerge following the main application deadline in January. She added: "These figures show a small but real decline in demand for these specialised courses, which are typically chosen by around one in 12 UK applicants."

A spokesman for Universities Scotland said demand for medicine, dentistry and veterinary places still outstripped supply. Applications for dental, medical and vet courses are submitted earlier than others.

She said: "We're right at the start of the admissions cycle and will see applications to all courses coming in over the next few months with a fairly accurate picture known in January.

"We'd expect to see high demand for all other undergraduate places for entry in 2015 following another year of record numbers of Scots achieving a place at university."