Choosing SQA Highers in 5th year for LLB Law

Hi I’m basically looking for a bit of advice here. I have a cousin who is in S4 (soon to be S5) and has nearly finished sitting her Nat 5 exams. She is wanting to study LLB Law (specifically at Strathclyde or Glasgow). She has picked Higher English, Higher History, Higher Spanish, Higher Modern Studies and Higher Maths for S5 then planning to do Advanced Higher English, Advanced Higher History and crashing Higher RMPS in 6th year. However, she is worried she will struggle with Higher Maths as she found Nat 5 a bit difficult at times and would rather take either Higher Human Biology or Higher Business Management for her 5th Higher where she believes she would have better chance of getting an A in as she is stronger in those two subjects than she is in Maths. My cousin and I did read that Glasgow Uni recommend Higher Maths which is the main reason why she picked it but they seem to have removed that recommendation on their website. So she is basically not sure wether to do her best, work hard and try to get a strong grade in Higher Maths (she is worried she might need it for Glasgow) or to drop it and take either Higher Human Biology or Higher Business Management instead?
P.s sorry for long message :-/

Hiya, I hope your cousin did well in her Nat 5 exams!
So I checked Glasgow Uni’s site, and for S6, they list Higher English, Advanced Higher English, or a humanities subject as a required subject.
They only suggest Higher Maths at A for Adjusted Entry Requirements—that’s for widening participation candidates.
Strathclyde Uni mentions Nat 5 Maths/Applications of Maths at grade C, without listing Higher Maths as a preferred subject.
Given that Glasgow wants a minimum of AAAAB by the end of S5, and Strathclyde has the same standard, it would be best for your cousin to pick subjects where she feels more confident that she'll achieve an A, like business or higher human if she feels she won't be able to do maths, which could also help to broaden her subjects.
I hope this helps, and good luck for your cousin exams next year!

Hi I’m basically looking for a bit of advice here. I have a cousin who is in S4 (soon to be S5) and has nearly finished sitting her Nat 5 exams. She is wanting to study LLB Law (specifically at Strathclyde or Glasgow). She has picked Higher English, Higher History, Higher Spanish, Higher Modern Studies and Higher Maths for S5 then planning to do Advanced Higher English, Advanced Higher History and crashing Higher RMPS in 6th year. However, she is worried she will struggle with Higher Maths as she found Nat 5 a bit difficult at times and would rather take either Higher Human Biology or Higher Business Management for her 5th Higher where she believes she would have better chance of getting an A in as she is stronger in those two subjects than she is in Maths. My cousin and I did read that Glasgow Uni recommend Higher Maths which is the main reason why she picked it but they seem to have removed that recommendation on their website. So she is basically not sure wether to do her best, work hard and try to get a strong grade in Higher Maths (she is worried she might need it for Glasgow) or to drop it and take either Higher Human Biology or Higher Business Management instead?
P.s sorry for long message :-/

Hey @REB765 😀 We don't require the Higher Maths but we do require it at Nat 5 level so it's good she's doing that this year 🙂 The only one we'd specify at Higher is Higher English at B, and then we like to see other essay based subjects where possible. With the History, Spanish and Modern Studies backing up the Higher English that all sounds like a good balance.
We have first sitting entry requirements of AAAAB (with Higher English B, Nat 5 Maths C). If she meets that in S5 then we'd be able to consider her for an unconditonal offer when applying in S6. If she doesn't achieve that then the second sitting entry requirements would be for her to achieve AAAABBB in total by the end of S6. If she qualifies for a contextual offer then details are on the webpages.
Law is really competitive so I'd encourage her to think about how she might be able to strengthen her Personal Statement ahead of applying in S6. We don't look for specific work experience in a solicitor's office or anything, but we'll look to see good examples of things like communication, team working, empathy and people skills for example.
Wishing her tons of luck with the nat 5s and highers when they come! Happy to help with anything I can in the meantime 🙏 I'd recommend reaching out to Glasgow Uni too!
Caitlin 🎓️
Official University of Strathclyde Rep

Hi I’m basically looking for a bit of advice here. I have a cousin who is in S4 (soon to be S5) and has nearly finished sitting her Nat 5 exams. She is wanting to study LLB Law (specifically at Strathclyde or Glasgow). She has picked Higher English, Higher History, Higher Spanish, Higher Modern Studies and Higher Maths for S5 then planning to do Advanced Higher English, Advanced Higher History and crashing Higher RMPS in 6th year. However, she is worried she will struggle with Higher Maths as she found Nat 5 a bit difficult at times and would rather take either Higher Human Biology or Higher Business Management for her 5th Higher where she believes she would have better chance of getting an A in as she is stronger in those two subjects than she is in Maths. My cousin and I did read that Glasgow Uni recommend Higher Maths which is the main reason why she picked it but they seem to have removed that recommendation on their website. So she is basically not sure wether to do her best, work hard and try to get a strong grade in Higher Maths (she is worried she might need it for Glasgow) or to drop it and take either Higher Human Biology or Higher Business Management instead?
P.s sorry for long message :-/

Hi there,
So for both our Scots and Common Law LLBs, the typical requirements for S6 entry are AAAAAA at Higher, (a B at Advanced Higher is equivalent to an A at Higher). The only additional requirements are Higher English and either Advanced Higher English or Humanities subject, which it sounds like she's got covered!
In terms of Higher Maths, from what I can tell from the website it is only recommended as an additional requirement for our adjusted (sometimes known as widening access) entry requirements, as an alternative to an Advanced Higher in either English or a Humanities. 'Additional requirements: Higher English, Advanced Higher English or Advanced Higher Humanities subject or Higher Mathematics at A recommended. LNAT. Successful completion of Reach or Top-Up.' From my understanding, this means that even if she was going for adjusted entry requirements, she wouldn't need the Higher Maths as she is going to have Advanced Higher English instead.
If she would like to chat to current law students at Glasgow about the subjects they chose or even just what they think about studying law at Glasgow, she can do this on our website: University of Glasgow - Undergraduate study - 2025 Degree programmes A‑Z - Common Law (there's a section titled chat to our students under the apply via ucas tab).
As previously mentioned by the Strathcylde rep, Law can be extremely competitive, so I would encourage her to use this tool to speak to our students and find out how she can strengthen her application beyond just her grades!
If she's still apprehensive or unsure about how our subject choices might affect her application, I'd recommend she submits an enquiry to our admissions enquiry team who should be able to give her more expert advice: University of Glasgow - Study - Enquire
I hope this was helpful and wish her the best of luck!
Elise, 1st Year
BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering