4 highers in S5 for Law?

I just got my national 5 results back and they’re better than I expected I got 5A’s and 2B’s but this year I’m doing 4 higher’s as I am doing national 5 maths this year because last year I did applications. Next year I really want to apply for Law at uni but almost all universities want all 5 higher’s done in S5 is there any exceptions? Like if I took extra higher’s in S6 and advanced higher’s?

first of all, congrats on your amazing results! i'm glad you did better than you expected, your hard work has clearly paid off

unfortunately, if universities want 5 highers completed in s5 then there's really no way around that, no amount of extra highers in s6 will count if they want to see results from fifth year. this is usually because law is very competitive so they need some way to separate candidates, and also scottish unis may want to make unconditional offers based on these five higher results.

if you're absolutely set on applying for law, is there any way you could jump from nat5 applications to higher maths? i'm not an expert on the progression path for maths so you should definitely ask your teacher or head of department. check if the unis want to see maths as a requirement - otherwise, would you be better off forgetting maths altogether and taking a different subject instead as your fifth higher?

Which universities have you looked at?

thank you! I’m going to see if I can change to higher apps or different higher when I go back to school next week

Mostly Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Strathclyde and most english unis I have checked want 5 higher’s and then 3 advanced higher’s.

I think between now and going back to school it's just about doing a good amount of research into all of your options.
I do know that law in Scotland is separate to England, so it's worth thinking about which nation you would prefer to study in - I'm sure there is some way to transfer but just wanted to point it out as something to factor in too.

@franklyfruity has given you some excellent advice and best of luck.

MR

Congratulations on your results! That is a very strong showing, and puts you in good stead to find a way into a good university.

I am now starting 3rd year of the Scots Law LL.B. at the University of Glasgow. However, when I first applied for the course I was in a similar position to yourself - in fact, my position was significantly worse: I took 3 Highers at college in 2019 and finished 5th year with AAC in English, Maths and History.

Instead of relying on Highers (which would have been unsuccessful), I managed to get a place on the University of Glasgow Access Course, where I studied Law and Economics part-time for a year. This put me on a streamlined process, where I was virtually guaranteed a place on the Scots Law degree at Glasgow as long as I performed well in their Access Course, which I managed to do. (A decent LNAT score is also necessary, but not too difficult.) Basically, instead of doing 6th-year, I did an Access course at the University itself, which got me a place on the law degree. I believe having this kind of direct in-house preparation has also helped me perform well on the degree itself.

In any case, it's probably a bit early for you to be worrying about these sorts of options just yet. I would just focus on getting as many good Highers as possible for now (especially English), and see where you stand after 5th year. However, it's definitely worth keeping these alterative options in mind if you find yourself a bit short. You will definitely be smart enough to do well on an Access Course, or take a HNC/HND in Legal Studies at college, to secure entry to a top Scottish university. Either way, you'll be fine. Even if you have to take an extra year (which is unlikely anyway), that really doesn't matter in the slightest; loads of people do it. And once you're in uni, nobody really cares how you got there.