Firstly, it is important to recognise that there is no typical curriculum or one size fit all when it comes to choosing your subjects in S4, S5 and S6. Depending on your academic profile, and aspirations for the future you will all require a personalised subject choice. For some courses, there are specific subject requirements (especially for scientific courses) so it is important to check you have the right subjects at the right level.

Scottish universities

The currency for entry into Scottish universities is 4/6 Highers at A/B grade over the two years. For the most competitive courses, you may need 5 Highers in one year, but there are many excellent universities that are happy for you to gain your qualifications over two years*.  Advanced Highers are very useful for deepening your knowledge and consolidate your independent skills and some  and some competitive courses at Scottish universities will expect you to take two or more Advanced Higher courses (for example Medicine).

English universities

English Universities recognise Higher and Advanced Higher qualifications, and many will accept a combination of Highers and Advanced Highers. This information is available on the course pages which sometimes very clearly display equivalence of entry requirements between English and Scottish qualifications (sometimes the information is easy to find, sometimes you need to contact the admission teams directly)*.

The most competitive English universities like Oxford, Cambridge or Durham would typically expect pupils to take 5 Highers in S5 and 3 Advanced Highers in S6. This enables you to showcase you ability to cope with a demanding workload and develop a range of skills, and still places you in a minority of pupils nationally who are able to cope with a such demanding workload.

Would taking more make me more competitive? 

Taking 6 Highers or 4 Advanced Highers courses will not make you more competitive, and there is no expectation from even the most competitive universities like Oxford or Cambridge to take more than required. 

Taking more than 5 Highers and 3 Advanced Highers courses also prevents you from engaging with our enrichment programme which often offers a range of super curricular opportunities that can make your application more competitive. 

It is also important to recognise the potential negative impact of such a heavy workload on your wellbeing and ability to perform/excel in the final exams. 

We do not recommend taking more than 5 Highers courses and 3 Advanced Highers courses in S6, and this would be something we discuss with you when engaging with the S5 and S6 Subject Choice Scrutiny. 

Slides and video about the process will be shared here after S5 Futures in June 

Please refer to our dedicated page on admission assessments

You can also find advice on the UCAS website 

We will only share information with your explicit consent

It may be in your best interest to share information realating to exceptional or extenuating circumstances with your S6 Tutor or with a member of the Careers team. Note that we will only include information on extenuating circumstances if we have your explicit consent to share this information. 

Your Tutor will focus on stressing the impact of the circumstances on your academic performance, rather than providing personal details that are not relevant. Should you opt to share this information, rest assured that we will deal with this information sensitively and that we will only be sharing this information on a need-to-know basis and with your explicit consent. 

We understand that this can be a sensitive topic and we will respect your wishes if you prefer not to discuss this with us or to include it in your reference. 

To identify an applicant’s full potential, universities look beyond grades. This is part of their commitment to addressing the current under-representation of certain groups within higher education in Scotland and in the UK. A number of our pupils are eligible for widening access offers and it is important to give the right advice to them when it comes to their UCAS applications.

If an applicant meets the University criteria, they might be accepted onto the course with lower entry requirements than those usually needed, or sometimes the academic entry requirements will remain the same, but an application will be given special consideration. Universities and colleges may also consider widening access students for additional support (financial or otherwise), either during the application process or once they have enrolled. Note that each university and college will have its own policy so it's important to check the details on their website. 

If you are aware of meeting some of these criteria, you may choose to discuss this with your S6 Tutor or with a member of the Careers team. This will enable us to contextualise your application in the Reference we write for UCAS and it may be in your best interest to include this in your application. We understand that this can be a sensitive topic and we will respect your wishes if you prefer not to discuss this with us or to include it in your reference. Should you opt to share this information, rest assured that we will deal with this information sensitively and that we will only be sharing this information on a need-to-know basis and with your explicit consent. 

Examples of students who may be eligible for widening participation

• Live in a target postcode area. For example, in a low participation area as measured by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD)

This is a really good indicator for advisers as it is publicly available (and less sensitive to discuss). It is easy to check internally SIMD codes internally. You can find this information on PowerBi if you look at the individual profile of your Tutee in the Year Group dashboard. Universities sometimes have a handy postcode checker on their website.

• If your Tutee lives in SIMD 1 or 2 they probably meet the widening access criteria for their courses. 

• If they live in a SIMD 3 or 4 they may meet widening access criteria at the most selective universities (e.g. Glasgow University, University of Edinburgh, St. Andrews University) but not at less competitive universities (Aberdeen, Dundee, Stirling, Napier...).

 It is important to check the policies on the individual university website as this may differ depending on the provider..

• Have experience of being in care: 

Candidates have the opportunity to indicate this on their UCAS application.

• Are a young carer themselves: 

Candidates have the opportunity to indicate this on their UCAS application.

• Are estranged from their family (not supported by their family): 

Candidates have the opportunity to indicate this on their UCAS application.

• Have refugee status, or are an asylum seeker: 

Candidates have the opportunity to indicate this on their UCAS application. Some of our Ukrainian pupils meet this criterion for example.

• Have parents who serve in the armed forces – or who have done so in the past (service children):

Candidates have the opportunity to indicate this on their UCAS application. 

• Are eligible for Free school meals or have been eligible within the last six years

Our school has recently joined the Contextualised Data Service to enable pupils attending George Watson's College who meet the criteria to be able to access contextualised admissions. Upon successful completion of the form that was sent to your parents, the Contextualised Data Service provides the information to UCAS directly. This ensures all children entitled to contextualised admissions are included in UCAS data. 

Go to our dedicated Using Unifrog page

1. Think about what YOU want to do (and what you don't!)

Some people have a dream and a very clear idea of what they want to study and of their future career. Many have absolutely no idea! In both cases, this can lead to a high level of anxiety. 

So it is a good strategy to think a bit deeper about these choices as you progress through your school career, in particular during the summer between S5-S6. It is very useful if you come into S6 with an idea of what you may want to apply for.

Identifying what you don't want to do can be a good starting place and can help you refine your choice.  

2. Get advice

Many people can help you refine your choices. 

• At school, you can talk to any member of the Career team, or to your S6 Tutor. 

• After S4 you can use the results of your Morrisby assessment and profile.

• You can seek advice from your teachers, parents, family and acquaintances. However, remember that this is your choice and your future! So you should choose something that feels right for you. 

• You can also go online and use the Careers Library in UNIFROG and the UCAS hub. 

3. Visit the universities

Choosing a university is a big decision and it is important to ensure that you can see yourself fitting in. Some important questions to ask yourself about universities

• Which universities offer the course I want to study?

• Where do I want to study?  

some are in large cities, others in small towns, by the coast or in the countryside – it’s all going to have a major influence on your environment and lifestyle.

• What type of university do I want to go to?

  • • Some are very traditional, with a focus on subject-based courses and research, others are more modern universities/colleges, with a greater focus on vocational courses.

    • larger universities can have more than 20,000 students, whereas some of the smallest have only a few thousand. Where do you see yourself thriving?

    • What kind of facilities does the university have, e.g. sporting facilities

• What is the student experience and what do their graduates do?

UCAS gives you access to Unibuddy : this is a chance for you to talk to current undergraduates, to find out what studying a particular course or going to university is really like

All universities also collect destination statistics; it can be useful to find out what jobs or further study students go on to.

• Living costs 

Accommodation, transport, and food can vary enormously. 

To help you get a feel for universities, we recommend attending as many open days as possible. 

• Planning your Open Days is easy with  https://www.opendays.com/ 

• If you can't go in person, UCAS has created the UCAS Virtual open days tool  which is a centralised listing for upcoming uni virtual open days, and a handy video giving students tips on how to make the most out of them.

4. Research the content of the courses

While many courses have the same name, the content will vary enormously. Here are some important questions to ask yourself: 

• What does the course cover – courses with the same title might be very different

• What outside modules could I study? e.g. MA or BSc (MA vs Bsc: The main difference between the BSc and MA programmes is in the subjects taken alongside the main subject. For the BSc these will be mainly science subjects, while MA students will take subsidiary courses in the humanities and social sciences.)

• Does the course have any placement or study abroad options?

• How is the course taught and assessed? 

5. Make safe AND aspirational choices, regardless of your grades

Checking the specific entry requirements for each course is absolutely essential. To do so you need to go onto UCAS search tool or to be absolutely sure to look at the university course page directly

• Do you have the required subject and at the right level?

• Most pupils need to look at the TYPICAL or STANDARD entry requirements at the end of S6 (not the MINIMUM unless they meet widening access criteria).

As a rule, you should try to make a a range of choices ranging from safe, realistic and aspirational and you should ensure that you do not apply only to the most selective universities 

Please find the slides explaining how to SUBMIT your applications on UCAS

Before submitting please ensure you go through this checklist with your Tutor

Once you've sent your application and received your welcome email from UCAS, you can sign in at any time to see how it's progressing.

You can sign in to your Hub to check your application's progress at any time. You'll need the Personal ID given in your welcome email, along with the password you used when applying.

More information on this UCAS page

Go to MAKING CHANGES TO YOUR UCAS UNDERGRADUATE APPLICATION page on UCAS

If you are dropping a subject and you have already received an offer from a university, you MUST contact the admission team of the University to let them know. You can find their contact details (usually a contact form) on their website. Use your UCAS identification number in all communications about your application. 

see this page

Find UCAS advice on how to prepare for university on this page

See the UCAS EXTRA page here

Find information about

• What to do on results day on this UCAS Page 

• What Clearing is and how to apply through Clearing on this UCAS page.