The Universities of Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, St. Andrews, Stirling and Strathclyde have given offers to a far higher percentage of English domiciled applicants than Scottish domiciled applicants.
The University of St. Andrews offered 62.5 per cent of applicants from England a place, compared with just 36 per cent of Scottish students. The University of Glasgow similarly accepted 68 per cent of their English applicants, as opposed to 57 per cent of those from Scotland.
It follows a report from Audit Scotland last week that showed it was becoming more difficult for Scots students to gain a place at a Scottish university, with just 30 per cent of places at the University of Edinburgh going to students living in Scotland.
The statistics further prove the damaging effect of the Scottish Government’s education policy, with universities forced to take students from outwith Scotland to plug the shortfall they face in funding.
The Scottish Conservatives have urged the SNP to take urgent action to address the funding crisis and ensure that Scottish students get a fair chance when applying to study in Scotland.
Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith said:
"These statistics prove that, in many cases, Scottish domiciled students are losing out when it comes to the offer of a place at key universities.
“We have known for some time, from what we have been told by parents and schools, that some of the brightest pupils in Scotland are finding it very much tougher to get in to top universities. That is despite having better grades than similar students a few years ago.
“The root cause is the SNP's very divisive and discriminatory higher education funding policy which, together with the mandatory 'capping' system, is forcing universities into very tough choices. Not surprisingly, there is a growing preference for students who will pay fees.
“The Audit Scotland report makes plain the urgent need for the Scottish Government to address this funding crisis. It quite rightly points to the fact that the funding issue will only get worse unless the Scottish Government also addresses the implications of widening access.
“If well qualified students are not to miss out widening access means more university places have to be provided and that costs money. So far, the Scottish Government has completely failed to think through the implications for higher education funding which is exactly why there is growing disquiet amongst parents and schools and, of course, amongst our universities."