Applying to undergraduate degree in the UK

Jun 17, 2013   #University  #applications  #UCAS  #United Kingdom  #undergraduate  #english 

Hello! So I guess you are now in high school and you are thinking about the idea of studying abroad, in particular, the UK. For some, this procedure might sound a bit daunting and complicated, but fear not because, you came to the right place!

In contrast with the university system in Portugal (and a lot of places in Continental Europe), the application to University in the UK is different and requires a little bit of planning ahead.

I would suggest you to start gathering your application material roughly one year before the year you are suppose to start at university, so September/October. Don’t worry! It’s not like you will spend a lot of time on the application, but it’s better to have enough time to have a solid application before the deadline.

The entrance to university has essentially three stages:

  • You make an application (from October till January);
  • You receive offer(s) (anytime from the day you apply till March);
  • You fulfill the offer and get the confirmation of admittance to university (this can take up to August).

1. Making the application

This is done through http://www.ucas.com/apply. In here, you create an account for your application and it’s also here where you will get offers from different universities. So after you register, you can choose the degree(s) and universities you want to apply to, 5 in total, so choose wisely!

You will need several things:

Personal statement: This is where you can personalise your application. Why do you want to study this degree? What makes you interesting, special or simply a good fit? Don’t forget to mention your passions, interests, accomplishments (in or outside the field you are applying to). Also, why do you want to go to England? Last piece of advice: Proof read, proof read and proof read. If you aren’t too comfortable in English, ask your English professor for help.

Reference: This is usually written by a professor/director of school. I would say it should be focused in why you are a good candidate and what have you accomplished until now. This should be written in English.

Academic/Employment Records

[Tests]: Although this is not compulsory, odds are you will be asked, in your offer, to do an English test if you aren’t a native English speaker. Normally, it’s either TOEFL or IELTS. It can take a while to get these tests booked (and their results) so if you are 100% sure you want to go to England, you should take them anytime before (up to 2 years prior to the application…)

Note that you only submit one application for all the places and degrees you are applying to, so, for instance, you shouldn’t mention why you want to go to X, Y, Z university because the others will read that too!

Anyway, phew! Well done, so now you submitted your application… Hopefully well in advance from the deadline (Although, don’t worry, I submitted mine 20 minutes before the deadline…) What now?

##2. Offers## So anytime from the date you applied to till March (if there’s no word until mid-march, you will probably get automatically rejected), you should receive updates on your application. So two things can happen: You either get an offer or you get rejected. If the latter happens, don’t get dishearten, admissions can be strange, and one rejection from one institution doesn’t mean you won’t get offers from others. (I actually got two rejections before I got offers.)

But let’s be positive! So now you received an offer. Again, two things can happen. You either get an unconditional offer (You are in! congratulations!) or a conditional offer. The idea is, if you still haven’t finished finish High School (or lack some tests, e.g: the English test), the universities want to make sure you don’t just relax with the offer and stop working, so they will ask you for certain grades (for instance, I applied for Mathematics, so I needed a good grade in Maths.), or an overall average.

So after you get your offers, you have to decide which ones to take. You can only have two offers, one being your Firm choice and one being your Insurance choice - the latter means that if for some reason, you don’t make the grades on your Firm choice, you can still go to your second choice. Obviously, this only makes sense if you put a Conditional Offer as your Firm Choice!

##3. Confirmation## So now, let’s fast forward again. You finished high school and got the grades, you should contact the university to confirm your place and your application status on UCAS should update! Well done!

If you for some reason didn’t make your grades, you should still contact the university you applied for and explain you situation. It can be that they will still accept you even if you missed your offer.

Well, anyway, this is a long entry! Some places where you can get some good information are listed below:

Good luck and if you have any questions, feel free to email me on han.veiga@gmail.com!

[About me: I did my high school in a public school in Sintra, Portugal. During my final year I submitted my application through UCAS applying to several universities. I ended up in Imperial College London, where I graduated from a 3 year degree in Mathematics. I am currently doing my masters in Zurich.]