THE number of Scots applying to higher education courses at universities and colleges across the UK has risen slightly.
Statistics from the admissions service Ucas show that, so far, there have been 41,724 applicants from Scotland in 2013 – a rise of 0.9%. The figure is down 1.2% on 2011 levels when 42,263 applied.
While the latest figures do not highlight where applicants have applied to, it is likely that students wanting to study in Scotland will face another competitive year.
Highers exam results have risen steadily over the past decade and more pupils are applying to university because of a lack of opportunities in the recession.
That makes some courses at the most prestigious universities extremely competitive, but Universities Scotland said most well-qualified Scots who want to go to university manage to secure a place.
The Ucas figures also show the number of EU students applying to UK universities has risen by 3.9%.
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