Scottish University Admissions on the Rise

Scottish universities’ implementation of the Commission on Widening Access target is currently looking positive with a rise in university acceptances for Scottish citizens. 

Source: supa.ac.uk

In 2015, the Scottish Government realised that there was a large issue facing their youth regarding the prospect of going to university. The percentage of students attending university from certain counties was disproportionate. Additionally, it showed that the value of education was not equal across Scotland. Scottish Lawmakers stepped in to create the Commission on Widening Access, creating a goal that by 2030, students, specifically those from the lesser supported areas of the country, would make up for the same percentage in university acceptances as they do in overall population. 

The Commission chose to focus on three main areas to help improve the road to university: colleges, universities themselves, and students. Improvements included: additional scholarships, extra consideration in the application process, academic camps, as well as student support directly from universities and their Accessing and Widening Participation programs (University of Glasgow, 2025; University of Edinburgh, 2025;  University of St Andrews, 2025). In 2020, the number of university acceptances began to rise. HESA, the Higher Education Statistics Agency, showed that in the 2023-2024 school year, ‘16.7% of full-time first degree entrants to Scottish universities came from the nation’s 20% most deprived areas’, which was already less than five percent away from their goal that they still hope to reach by their 2030 mark (Scottish Government, 2025).

While each university in Scotland has worked towards this goal differently, here at St Andrews, our students are also doing their part to help Scottish students through our ambassador scheme. Student Ambassadors, who help with different aspects of the admissions department, such as campus tours and visiting days, have also been running multiple programs for Accessing and Widening Participation to help future students. Currently, the University offers weekly tutoring sessions, as well as ‘information and guidance sessions’ specifically aimed at giving more access to students from rural communities (University of St Andrews).

Source: Scottish Funding Council on College Statistics

Have efforts at St Andrews made a difference in its admissions reports, though? Unfortunately, there are currently no official statistics posted by the University on admissions or official acceptance rates, except for those of the School of Medicine. However, unofficial sources put the University’s overall acceptance rate at somewhere around 35% for the years of 2014-2022 (Admission Report).

In contrast, other universities such as the University of Glasgow’s Home Application Rate for Scottish Students increased from 52% to 65% from 2021 to 2023, with the University of Edinburgh’s also rising, in only the last two years (University of Glasgow; University of Edinburgh). Further along the road of progress, UCAS, the University and College Admission Service in the UK, reported that roughly 72% of Scottish students were accepted into their first choice university in 2023.