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Is it true that Scottish students get preferred over English students?

Hi Everyone,

So I recently heard from a Bristol student that it's an unspoken rule that Scottish students get preferred over students from England when applying for uni.

Anyone to vouch for the validity of this statement?
Original post by nightwing51214
Hi Everyone,

So I recently heard from a Bristol student that it's an unspoken rule that Scottish students get preferred over students from England when applying for uni.

Anyone to vouch for the validity of this statement?


Did they offer any justification for this? Around 5 years ago, Edinburgh university was accused of this, as they preferred local applicants over similarly qualified non-local applicants for very oversubscribed courses. Beyond that, it's not something I've heard of before.
Original post by SlowlorisIncognito
Did they offer any justification for this? Around 5 years ago, Edinburgh university was accused of this, as they preferred local applicants over similarly qualified non-local applicants for very oversubscribed courses. Beyond that, it's not something I've heard of before.


Not any sort of solid evidence. They were speaking from personal experience mostly. They said that that's why most students in Scottish universities are Scottish.
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Avatar for Merfie
Merfie
15
Scottish students only qualify for free tuition if they attend Scottish universities. Perhaps the preference of Scottish students at these uni's is due to a 'deal' with the Scottish Government?
Original post by nightwing51214
Not any sort of solid evidence. They were speaking from personal experience mostly. They said that that's why most students in Scottish universities are Scottish.


Since the changes to the fees that could be charged to English students, some Scottish unis have actually been biased towards them, especially in clearing: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/10226794/Scottish-universities-operating-two-tier-clearing-system-favouring-English.html

Unis can only offer places to students who apply- A lot more Scottish students will apply to Scottish unis because of the free tuition, Scottish unis tending to understand their qualifications better and travel times to and from uni. Equally, English students may be put off applying because of travel times/costs or the remoteness/location of some unis. In order to see if there is a bias, you need to look at the proportion of students who apply from each country who then get offers, which has remained fairly steady for a long time, which suggests to me there isn't a bias.

It sounds more like this person is either making excuses for being rejected or talking about something they don't actually have much knowledge about.
I remember when I applied to medical school they had a set number of places for Scottish students and a reduced number for other home students (or maybe just English?) . I don't think it's done for other courses though
Original post by nightwing51214
Hi Everyone,

So I recently heard from a Bristol student that it's an unspoken rule that Scottish students get preferred over students from England when applying for uni.

Anyone to vouch for the validity of this statement?


I thought they had a quota for Scottish, English and international students with the Scottish numbers being much higher?

This was true for Medicine in Scotland as of 2014/15

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