The Application Process

All applications for Journey to Success are made by schools or universities. With over 300 applications each year for only 150 places, the team works to ensure that criteria not only take account of relevant academic achievements and socio-economic barriers to education but also identify candidates with the drive to be part of our self-development programme.

With this in mind, the team looks for a range of positive characteristics that can specifically help with Journey to Success. These include a willingness to engage with our training opportunities, a genuine interest in self-development and a strong desire to collaborate with others to achieve change.

In considering each application, we acknowledge the difficulty some candidates may face in describing personal challenges, but these should be balanced with examples of resilience, positive outlook and connectivity with their local community as a celebration of their abilities. 

The programme has been designed to support young people who have the drive but not necessarily the means to be successful in higher education, and we rely on the schools and universities we work with to help identify the most suitable candidates based on our guidelines below. We also ask our education partners to complete a form about each nomination, telling us a little about their background and engagement with education so far.

All applications must be submitted with a suitable reference of support from a school or universities according to the following guidelines:

• Resident in Scotland at the time of application. As a Scotland-wide funder, we can only consider applicants who have attended school in Scotland and are resident in Scotland at the time of application
• Have made an application to a Scottish University. As a Scotland-wide funder, we provide support to students at Scottish Universities.
• 16-25 year old accessing a programme of undergraduate study. Our programme focuses on young people accessing undergraduate study, but we acknowledge the articulation route through college.
• First degree. We cannot consider applicants who have already obtained a degree.
• Eligibility for SAAS support. Our financial support is intended to complement other sources of statutory support and not replace it. Candidates must be eligible for tuition fees as a minimum requirement through the Student Awards Agency for Scotland.

We are particularly interested in supporting students who are under-represented and face barriers to higher education. While we recognise the complexity of the personal challenges and socio-economic issues many potential candidates may be experiencing, we will also ask you to provide the following information in the application form if comfortable doing so:

• Financial need. We support young people who experience financial barriers to participation in higher education.
• Commitment to learning. We support young people who have a genuine passion and commitment to learning and for their proposed course of undergraduate study.
• Keenness to participate in the Journey to Success self-development programme. We support driven young people who will want to engage with the self-development opportunities our programme provides.
• Resilience. We support scholars who have shown resilience in the way they have addressed barriers in their lives.
• Under-represented characteristics. We are particularly interested in supporting students who come from backgrounds that are currently under-represented in higher education. These include:

• Those from schools with low progression rates to higher education
• Low-income households
• Black and Minority Ethnic groups
• Disabled people
• Lived Care Experience
• Carers
• Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities
• Estranged from family
• Children from military families

Please note that only members of the Robertson Trust Scholarship team have access to any information you share for the purposes of deciding your application. We won’t share your form outside of the Scholarship team. For further information about how we handle this information please read our Privacy Statement.

How to apply

All applications for Journey to Success are made by schools, colleges, or universities.

If you are from a school, college, or university and would like to find out about the application process, please email Enable JavaScript to view protected content.

Applications must be received by 1st June 2024 if they are to be considered for funding in academic year beginning September 2024.