How to apply-Study In UK

Here are some tips on applying for UK education programmes.

Pre-degree programmes

• Further education applications are organised locally, so there are no strict national closing dates.
• Make sure you start enquiries 12–18 months before the courses start, as you’ll need time to find the best course and organise visas, accommodation and travel, etc.
• Contact each institution for its most recent prospectus, entry requirements and application form.
• Send your application direct to the institution.
  

Include on your application form:

• full details of your education
• your course subjects and grades
• relevant interests or work experience.

One or two letters of recommendation from your teachers may be useful.

When you accept a place, the college will send you a letter of confirmation.

Undergraduate programmes

• 12 to 18 months before – research UK institutions and courses.
• 12 months before – for most full-time degree courses, you will apply through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). You can apply online at www.ucas.com.
• 10 to 12 months before – fill in the application form. You can make up to six choices on your form. Make a copy of the completed form to keep as a record, and send the form to UCAS, along with the correct processing fee. The UCAS pack will have details of the amount and how you can pay it. The earliest date for sending in applications is 1 September.
• 15 October – this is the deadline for applications to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and for medicine, dentistry and veterinary science at any UK institution.
  Six months before start of course – choose which offers to accept.
• During August –this is when conditional offers are confirmed, depending on exam results. For those who have not achieved the results they needed, or who applied late, the Clearing process begins.
• Late September/early October – most higher education courses begin.

Entrance requirements: undergraduate programmes

To study for a degree in the UK, you generally need three A-levels, Scottish Highers or the equivalent. Institutions are becoming increasingly flexible about entrance requirements.

Admissions tutors consider applicants individually, and may take many factors into account other than examination grades. If you do need to add to your school-leaving qualifications, access and foundation courses are specifically designed to help students bridge such a gap.

Postgraduate programmes

Contact your chosen institutions to determine what the procedures are. You should apply direct to their graduate admissions office. Some departments may also ask you to provide samples of work.

Start to assemble information about study possibilities 9 to 12 months in advance of your intended date of admission and apply early.

Equivalence of qualifications

Whatever qualifications you have, you will want to see how they compare with equivalent UK qualifications. The National Academic Recognition Information Centre can advise you on where to enter the UK education system.

Quality control

The UK Government monitors all higher education institutions and gives them a rating in terms of academic standard. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) produces a series of subject reviews that assess the quality of teaching by subject.

The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) monitors the quality of research carried out by institutions. These ratings indicate the level of facilities available for a particular subject at a particular institution.