►Students' Association responds to application figures

 The St Andrews University Students’ Association has spoken out against the decrease in Rest-of-UK applications to the University. RUK applications fell by 5%, with English applications down 3% and Northern Irish applications down 11%.

President Patrick O’Hare said: “Across Scotland, universities have seen a decrease in Rest-of-UK applications, meaning that our universities will be less diverse places next year. The fact that Glasgow has seen an increase in English and Welsh applications due to their lower fees should make St Andrews reconsider their fee level for next year.

The University should not be reporting their overall application figures as a complete success story. It is misleading to say that we have 10 applicants to every one place, given that not all students accept their place at St Andrews (they apply to many more institutions). The University should also be investigating not just the number of applications, but also their nature, for example, are fewer English students from non-traditional backgrounds applying to the University? We should be investigating how to widen the application base of our RUK applicants. In the context of an increase in higher education funding from the Scottish Government and a drop in our RUK applications, St Andrews should reconsider its RUK fee level for next year in order not to miss out on talented students.

Overall, the fact that Scottish applications to Scottish Universities have held steady is a ringing endorsement of the Scottish Government’s policy of free education for all Scottish students. We continue to argue that this policy should be expanded to RUK students."