St Andrews University: Just 59.4% of students here come from state schools. Pic: © STV
The number of Scottish students who drop out of university is "shameful", according to the National Union of Students (NUS).
New figures released by the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) show Scotland has the worst drop-out rates in the UK.
Across Scottish universities, 9.3% of students dropped out in 2009-10, compared to the UK average of 7.9%.
The country also has the lowest number of students from state schools at university - 86.8% compared to 99.2% in Northern Ireland, 93.2% in Wales and 88.4% in England.
Just 59.4% of St Andrews University and 70.4% of Edinburgh University students come from state schools.
NUS Scotland president Liam Burns said: "For Scotland to be the worst in the UK on fair access and on drop-out rates is nothing less than shameful.
"These statistics show that even with fees rightly off the table, the lack of adequate financial support is slamming the door shut on many of our most talented people."
Despite drop-out figures among first-year degree students remaining the highest in the UK, they are slowly improving, from 10.8% in 2002-03 to 9.3% in 2009-10.
Alastair Sim, director of Universities Scotland, welcomed the improvement.
He said: "Retention rates at university are at a seven-year high following year-on-year progress in this area. Whilst this progress should be recognised, universities are keen to build on it and further reduce the rate of non-continuation."
He added that Universities Scotland is currently working on a detailed study of the subject, with results due out later this year.
Labour candidate for Eastwood Ken Macintosh said: "It is deeply concerning that almost one in 10 Scottish students are now dropping out of university.
"The sad reality of these figures is that the most vulnerable students continue to find it most difficult to stay on and complete their studies."
Liz Smith, Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman, added that the figures are "worrying for Scotland" but they disprove the claim that a financial contribution to higher education forces a greater drop-out rate.
A Scottish Liberal Democrat spokesman said the figures were "of real concern" and blamed them on "insufficient student support".
However, a spokesman for Education Secretary Michael Russell said: "Under-representation of students from deprived backgrounds is now at an all-time low and has fallen every year since 2001/2.
"The abolition of Labour's backdoor tuition fee and the restoration of free education has played a key role in driving that under-representation down, and that's why we will not introduce tuition fees in Scotland either upfront or backdoor as Labour did."
