虽然申请人数不如当年威廉王子在时那么高,但是圣安德鲁斯大学的学生申请人数仍持续增长.

圣安德鲁斯大学的发言人指出: “虽然来自苏格兰居民的申请有所下降,但圣安德鲁斯大学的申请率仍呈现出增长的趋势.更多的申请来自那些成熟型的学生(21岁以上).”

圣安德鲁斯大学还强调:"为了确保我们吸引的是优秀和学业成绩最佳的学生, 我们今年已增加了多数学科的入学条件.”

By Rosemary Dewar

DEMAND for places at St Andrews University remains exceptionally high a spokesperson said this week, despite a "small and expected fall'' in the numbers of prospective students applying.

She was speaking after the University and College Union Scotland warned that the drop in the number of applicants to institutions from people living in Scotland was: "a cause of concern.''

Figures issued last Thursday by the University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show that for the second year running, applications from Scottish residents have gone down.

Last year that decline led to a fall in the number of students in higher education. Some institutions were fined for under-recruitment.

The figures also show a marked rise in applications from students over 21 years of age, many of whom may be classified as mature students if they have been in employment or claimed benefits for three years. They would be exempt from the Graduate Endowment and able to claim an increased bursary.

The St Andrews university spokesperson said the latest UCAS figures showed 11,820 applications for approximately 1100 places in 2007 - roughly 10 applications for every available place at St Andrews.

"In order to ensure we attract only the brightest and most academically potent students, we have this year increased our entry requirements across a wide range of subjects,'' she explained, adding that the 5.6 per cent drop in applications should be taken in context against an overall 65 per cent rise in the number of applications to St Andrews since 2000.