College App

[Richard Stifler]

Hey folks,

I am on my 2nd year and I was thinking to go study abroad to the UK. The college applications start on September till January. I was about to redact my Personal Statement but then I thought in order to do my app do I need my Predicted Grades? But the thing is there are PGs in October and in December... but certainly if the due date to sign in the applications is in January I cannot wait for the December PGs as it would be too close to the due date, and app are supposed to be the result of something in which you dwell on and reflect... Could anyone elucidate me? How do applications and personal statements work? Also, what do I have to do in a college application: is it just the Personal Statement or do I have to file something else?

(I hope all may 2017'ers are doing fine and not having ulcers or mental breakdowns)  

[Gaby]

Deadline for applications is 15 of January. You need to send off your application on that day or before. Your predicted grades are in a different section of the application than your personal statement, and you can enter them on January 14th if you so please (or your referee will put them in for you, if you're applying through your school). You can start working on your personal statement now. December is definitely not too late for predicted if applying at the January deadline. 

You'll need a personal statement, predicted grades and a reference. It's all on the UCAS website. When you sign up, you'll see all the sections you need to complete. 

And it's not college in the UK, it's university. Colleges are where you do your IB/A levels. 

[Richard Stifler]

On 23 de Setembro de 2016 at 10:20 PM, Gaby said:

Deadline for applications is 15 of January. You need to send off your application on that day or before. Your predicted grades are in a different section of the application than your personal statement, and you can enter them on January 14th if you so please (or your referee will put them in for you, if you're applying through your school). You can start working on your personal statement now. December is definitely not too late for predicted if applying at the January deadline. 

You'll need a personal statement, predicted grades and a reference. It's all on the UCAS website. When you sign up, you'll see all the sections you need to complete. 

And it's not college in the UK, it's university. Colleges are where you do your IB/A levels. 

Thank you for your reply.

But imagine this hypothetical scenario, in which the course I am applying to demands 34 points. And my PG's only give 30 points. Is it still worth applying? Or the fact that my PGs don't reach their entry requirements totally eradicate any chance of me getting in that uni?

Also, if I do not meet the mark requirements but my HL's actually meet them or are very close to it (like, for instance, it demands HLs = 19 points and I appear to have 18 points)... to what extent do british unis value the HLs?

Finally (its the last one, I promise ), the references you mentioned are some kind of "recommendation letter", written by a teacher, right? Do univs in the UK value them? Its just in my country, they ask for it, tho that is worth jack sh... they don't even look at it. What about the UK? Its just I kinda needed that they valued this because I got in the IB by the end of the 1st year, I have managed to study all (it was very hard, but yeah managed to pull it off) and I got 29 points, tho its not the same as a person who got in the beginning of the Pre IB (in my school there is a Pre IB year, so I missed it and half of the 1st year, making it worst), right? Do Univs in the UK value this kind of things? What do you think? 

[Gaby]

33 minutes ago, Richard Stifler said:

Thank you for your reply.

But imagine this hypothetical scenario, in which the course I am applying to demands 34 points. And my PG's only give 30 points. Is it still worth applying? Or the fact that my PGs don't reach their entry requirements totally eradicate any chance of me getting in that uni?

Also, if I do not meet the mark requirements but my HL's actually meet them or are very close to it (like, for instance, it demands HLs = 19 points and I appear to have 18 points)... to what extent do british unis value the HLs?

Finally (its the last one, I promise ), the references you mentioned are some kind of "recommendation letter", written by a teacher, right? Do univs in the UK value them? Its just in my country, they ask for it, tho that is worth jack sh... they don't even look at it. What about the UK? Its just I kinda needed that they valued this because I got in the IB by the end of the 1st year, I have managed to study all (it was very hard, but yeah managed to pull it off) and I got 29 points, tho its not the same as a person who got in the beginning of the Pre IB (in my school there is a Pre IB year, so I missed it and half of the 1st year, making it worst), right? Do Univs in the UK value this kind of things? What do you think? 

It's hard to say how much importance is placed on references, but they're one of the 3 main elements of your application, so I'd say they're fairly important. 

If a university is asking for a certain overall score, being 4 points below puts you at the very bottom of the pile, if not straight on the 'reject' pile. It is extremely unlikely to get an offer if you don't meet the university's entry requirements, and in my view, it's a waste of time and space (since UCAS only let's you apply to 5 universities). 

[Richard Stifler]

15 minutes ago, Gaby said:

It's hard to say how much importance is placed on references, but they're one of the 3 main elements of your application, so I'd say they're fairly important. 

If a university is asking for a certain overall score, being 4 points below puts you at the very bottom of the pile, if not straight on the 'reject' pile. It is extremely unlikely to get an offer if you don't meet the university's entry requirements, and in my view, it's a waste of time and space (since UCAS only let's you apply to 5 universities). 

Not really, like I already told you here it is also one of the requirements and it is useless. So, I don't think we can see it that way.

If I decide to apply to different courses, they have to be identical, as I am going to use the same Personal Statement, right? Do you think that I can apply to English Lit and Law simultaneously?

So, a person with more less 30 points do you think it is possible to sign in average/good universities Is Birmingham University good? For Law do you know of any good univ with reputation which does not overpass 30 points?

[Gaby]

6 hours ago, Richard Stifler said:

Not really, like I already told you here it is also one of the requirements and it is useless. So, I don't think we can see it that way.

If I decide to apply to different courses, they have to be identical, as I am going to use the same Personal Statement, right? Do you think that I can apply to English Lit and Law simultaneously?

So, a person with more less 30 points do you think it is possible to sign in average/good universities Is Birmingham University good? For Law do you know of any good univ with reputation which does not overpass 30 points?

None of us here has worked in admissions, I don't think, so no one will be able to give you a definite answer. But during my Oxford interview my interviewer mentioned things that were in my reference, and when I got an offer from QMUL, they quoted my reference as one of the reasons I was offered a place. 

Not really sure about good universities for law around the 30 point mark, I wasn't really looking at anything below 35-36 when I was applying. Most top law school will want something upwards of 35 points, as Law is a very competitive and very demanding degree. But Birmingham Uni (not Birmingham City Uni) is generally considered to be good, and the city is nice. 

Applying simultaneously for Law and English Lit is near enough impossible. You wouldn't be able to explain your passion for both in one PS, and if you did, it would look weird to admission tutors. English universities want you to know exactly what you want to study. You can apply for related degree e.g. Law, Law with European Law, Law with Politics, but unrelated ones wouldn't be recommended. You will need to make a decision. 

[Richard Stifler]

3 hours ago, Gaby said:

None of us here has worked in admissions, I don't think, so no one will be able to give you a definite answer. But during my Oxford interview my interviewer mentioned things that were in my reference, and when I got an offer from QMUL, they quoted my reference as one of the reasons I was offered a place. 

Not really sure about good universities for law around the 30 point mark, I wasn't really looking at anything below 35-36 when I was applying. Most top law school will want something upwards of 35 points, as Law is a very competitive and very demanding degree. But Birmingham Uni (not Birmingham City Uni) is generally considered to be good, and the city is nice. 

Applying simultaneously for Law and English Lit is near enough impossible. You wouldn't be able to explain your passion for both in one PS, and if you did, it would look weird to admission tutors. English universities want you to know exactly what you want to study. You can apply for related degree e.g. Law, Law with European Law, Law with Politics, but unrelated ones wouldn't be recommended. You will need to make a decision. 

"Law and English Lit" is a course. Its 4 years long tho it is only one degree, not too as it seemed.

i am having doubts on that course and on taking Law and american legal studies on the uk with a year working In the us. This seems like the perfect option for me as it gets me in the us, tho I cant let go off literature. I mean its amazing that i can take Law and lit simultaneously with only 17 at HLs... The entry requirements for te univ of kent are 34 ib points OR 17 Hl (665). I dont have to get 34 points necessarily do I? Just 17 Within my HLs.

Within the two options what would you advise me to go for? Is univ of kent a good one? Average? 

I should now focus on History HL and Economics and Lit. Math studies is easy and ESS well a 5 is enough.

[Arrowhead]

Sorry to highjack the thread - Do you want to practise law after you finish your degree?  It is very difficult to practise in the States with an English law degree.  Just something to consider in case that is on your mind.

Kent is an average university, in my opinion.  But if you get good grades and work experiences under your belt, there's nothing to stop you from excelling.

[Richard Stifler]

2 hours ago, Arrowhead said:

Sorry to highjack the thread - Do you want to practise law after you finish your degree?  It is very difficult to practise in the States with an English law degree.  Just something to consider in case that is on your mind.

Kent is an average university, in my opinion.  But if you get good grades and work experiences under your belt, there's nothing to stop you from excelling.

No, I mean there is a course designated "Law and english literature". There are lots of these transversal courses for example Law and politics or Law and philosophy...

still i am pondering which degree I must take as only a law course would be better idk i might be not as valued with a Law and english lit as a guy with only Law. At least my father tells me that you know that it is strange to exist such a course with both. they are really both my passions but idk what do you think it would be better? I dont really know this kind of "dual" systems of degrees UK has.