Between 50 and 60 extra students will start at Dundee University this autumn as the result of a 10-week summer access course which attracted a record 143 applications and 75 participants.
Courses in 13 subjects were offered, plus a compulsory course in personal skills. Students meeting the course criteria were guaranteed a place.
Other universities offer a range of access opportunities, either to school-leavers who narrowly missed a place or to older students who lack conventional qualifications. Aberdeen’s course annually attracts 150 students, with a success rate of more than 80 per cent. Glasgow, which pioneered courses for pupils from deprived areas, has about 220 enrolled.