Demand rises for Scottish university education

By Chris Marshall. THE introduction of fees of up to £9,000 a year has failed to deter applications to Scotland’s universities, new figures show.
Details released yesterday by the University and Colleges Admission Service (Ucas) show a 6.1 per cent increase in applications to Scottish institutions by the 30 June deadline when compared with last year. While there was a modest 1.2 per cent increase in applications from Scots, there was a 13.9 per cent rise in applications from the rest of the UK.
Scottish students and those from elsewhere in the EU are exempt from the cost of tuition, but students from England, Northern Ireland and Wales must pay fees of up to £9,000 a year. The figures show Scotland’s universities appear to have weathered the introduction of higher-rate fees, which were first charged to students in 2012. At this stage of the application cycle last year, the number of people applying to Scottish universities from England was down 5.5 per cent. Read more...