The number of 18-year-olds from Scotland’s most deprived areas securing places at university has increased by 100 to 1,960, a new record high, officials figures have shown.
The number of young Scots who have secured a place at university this year has also increased to a new high.
There have been 16,340 acceptances for 18-year-olds to Scottish higher education institutions so far which is up 4% on last year, according to UCAS. Overall acceptances to Scottish institutions have risen by 10 to reach 35,940.
There are also 5,300 Scots domiciled applicants with ‘holding offers’, up 2% on last year. In the coming weeks, many of these applicants will convert to acceptances as offers are processed by universities.
Minister for Higher and Further Education Graeme Dey said: “I congratulate the thousands of young people across Scotland who have secured a place at university today. It is tremendously encouraging to see another rise in those accepted to university.
“I am particularly encouraged to see another increase in 18-year-olds from the most deprived areas who have secured a place. We are determined to widen access to Higher Education and this shows the important work being done by our universities and colleges to ensure progress continues to be made.
“These figures show the great strength and resilience of Scotland’s education system.
“Our resolute commitment to free tuition and our enhanced student support offering means that access to university remains based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay, ensuring that the opportunity of a university education is available to everyone, regardless of their background.”
COVID delayed has delayed decisions about university
COVID has caused many young people to delay thinking about their future. But as the prospect of freedom slowly returns, they are starting to get serious about what happens next.
Exams were cancelled this year making way for teachers to determine students’ grades, so, if you’ve left it until now to think about university, we’ve got some top tips.
Many people think that university clearing is only open on results day and for a few weeks afterwards – it’s not the case!
Dr Lisette Johnston, Head of School at ScreenSpace, part of MetFilm School explains what Clearing is all about and urges young people to plan now!
This year, clearing opens on the 5th July, and universities are already advertising courses available through Clearing.
What isClearing?
Clearing is the process that students use to access university AFTER they’ve received their A-level level results (or A-level equivalents).
Is it justfor those who didn’t get their expected grades?
No, COVID-19 has really affected the way people are thinking about university. Historically, it was widely recognised that schools and colleges didn’t always get predicted exam grades right, and this year with teachers effectively awarding students’ their predicted grades, universities are expecting lots of lastminute applications.
Last year’s results were affected by the pandemic, but that didn’t put young people off from going to university, and the number of students given university places rose nearly 3%. 2020 was also a record year for students applying through clearing: 70,000, people, including those who had applied earlier in the year, were accepted through Clearing.
What if my grades are higher than I expected?
If your results are better than expected and you’ve accepted a place at a university based on lower grades, you can ‘trade up’ to a different course or university that required higher grades, this is called Adjustment.
I’m getting my A-level results in August – I’ve put off deciding whether to go to university because of COVID-19, but… what can I do now?
Here are Dr Lisette’s 6 top tips
1.Get Cracking: the sooner you apply the better! Some courses cap the number of students they will take, so apply early and that way you are more likely to get a conditional offer, which is better than missing the boat if you leave it to phone on results day.
2. Be informed. Don’t wait until results day to look around universities and get a taste of what’s on offer, there are lots of campus tours (real and virtual) between now and August, so as well as looking at course content online it’s a real bonus if you can actually go to a university and see what it is really like. That way you can hit the ground running.
3. What do you really want? If you haven’t got the grades you expected, you might not get into your first choice, but that doesn’t mean going through Clearing to get in just anywhere. If staying at home is important to you, find out what the options are available locally. If you are passionate about a specific topic, find out where the next best place on the list is and what grades they expect currently. It’s also acceptable to ask how many people they took through Clearing last year. They might not be able to tell you on a course by course basis, but you should be able to get a breakdown across the university.
4. Be realistic. Oxford and Cambridge may be out of reach. Decide what is a priority for you. If you haven’t got the results you expected, what is more important – the course, the location, or a degree in general? The last thing you want is to get on a course and find out it’s not what you want. And don’t just go somewhere ‘cos all your mates are going there!
5. Be open minded. Within a university there are often opportunities to transfer courses to take electives more closely linked to your original choices. See who offers this. Also Clearing gives a chance to go to a place you might not have thought about before.
6. Remember, you’re not stuck – if you start at a university and you realise it’s the wrong course or the wrong place – you can change!
At ScreenSpace we had students who came through Clearing last year, some after the course started; they’re actually much happier than they were with their original choice.
