The number of people in Scotland applying for university next year has risen 2% to almost 40,000, official figures show.
The number looking for university places in Scotland from the rest of the UK is also up compared with last year, with 14.7% more applications from England and 17.3% more from Northern Ireland.
Figures from admissions body Ucas, as of the January 15 deadline, show 39,954 students in Scotland have applied.
Total applications to Scottish universities to start courses this autumn, including from EU and non-EU countries, increased to 103,219, a rise of 7.1%, while 4.1% fewer people from Wales applied.
The overall number of people in the UK applying to university is up almost 3% on last year, to 475,587.
But applicant numbers have not recovered to the levels of 2011, the year before tuition fees were tripled for students from the rest of the UK, now sitting at a maximum £9,000 a year. Compared with 2011, applications are down 6.1%.
People in Scotland who take up a course north of the border do not have to pay tuition fees.
The number of Scottish students applying to study in Scotland rose from 38,559 last year to 39,358 this year, an increase of 2.1% (190 more applications).
An analysis of the figures also revealed that 18-year-olds from the most disadvantaged areas of Scotland are around 80% more likely to apply than they were in 2004.
Education Secretary Mike Russell said: "It is good news that a record number of people living in Scotland have applied to university next year and that our universities continue to be a coveted choice around the globe. I am particularly pleased to see more school leavers from deprived areas applying."
