A total of 6,150 (17.4 per cent) applicants from the most deprived areas in the country were admitted to higher education institutions from 2024/2025. It is the highest number recorded by the Scottish Funding Council in its annual Report on Widening Access (ROWA) to higher education. "Ensuring tuition fees are covered enables young people to dream big and pursue whichever career they put their mind to. The Scottish Government has set a target that by 2030, students from the 20 per cent most deprived backgrounds should represent a fifth of entrants to higher education. The number and proportion of entrants from the most deprived areas who entered higher education via college routes has also increased in each of the last two years.