UK University
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Introduction
Universities in the UK have a long and illustrious tradition of serving as institutions for higher learning. Within their hallowed halls, students from across the globe gather in search of knowledge and insight. And in time, these students will go on to shape the world with their new found understanding.
Universities in the UK
As with the Ivy League in the US, universities in the UK are grouped and ranked. Oxbridge typically refers to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge while the term Russell Group is much broader and includes 24 top end universities in the UK. Often times, Russell Group is used to refer to world class universities in London such as King’s College, LSE, Imperial and UCL.
Advantages
Course Length
Overview
The requirements for applying to the UK are relatively straightforward. As long as you provide the following documents via UCAS, your applicant can be processed. Most students do not even need to supply additional documents such as high school graduation certificates.
1.
Academic qualifications
2.
Personal statement
3.
Reference
4.
Proof of English Proficiency
Bear in mind that if you are applying to competitive universities and courses, there are some extra assessments which will require more time to prepare for. These include:
1.
Admissions Tests
Admissions Requirements for the UK
Students apply to UK universities using an online form called UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). This usually takes place between 01 September and 15 January of the applicant’s third year of high school.
UCAS serves as an intermediary between applicants and the universities. Applicants fill in a form which can be used to apply to five different universities of their choice.
There are four main sections in the UCAS form
1.
Education history and academic qualifications
2.
Personal statement
3.
Reference letter
4.
Personal information section
After completing the form and paying the application fee of £24, you submit your application. That’s it!
Application via UCAS
Introduction
The following table sets out the various deadlines that you should be aware of. Note that the deadlines indicate the latest date by which your application must be submitted. It is possible to submit your UCAS application at an earlier date.
In fact, applying early works to your advantage since various universities give out offers on a rolling basis. This means that the offers are made as and when applications come in, even if the deadline has not closed yet. Some universities give out offers as early as late October. By late December, a large percentage of the offers available might already be given out so it pays to apply early.
Application Timeline
Other Points to Note
•
Imperial College may require interviews for some subjects from between November to February
Application Timeline
Key Points
1.
The personal statement plays a crucial role in differentiating your application from that of the other students.
2.
Focus on your interest in the subject instead of your interest in a particular university.
3.
Personal statements for Oxford and Cambridge require extra emphasis on academic interest.
4.
Demonstrating interest in the subject and keeping within the word limit are two of the most common difficulties faced by students writing their personal statements.
Introduction
In this section, we’d like to tell you more about how to write a strong and persuasive personal statement.
Why is the Personal Statement Important?
Personal Statement
Introduction
The TSA is a 2 hour test administered by Cambridge Assessment. It is primarily taken by Oxford applicants and to a lesser extent applicants to Cambridge as well as UCL.
Test Format
Section One
This is a 90 minute MCQ test with 50 questions testing students on their reading and comprehension skills, mathematical, spatial, as well logical reasoning.
Each question has 5 possible answers, of which one is correct. In calculating the final score, the TSA takes into account how well other candidates performed in the same test. This means that the same raw score may yield a different final score depending on which year the TSA was taken in and the students’ performance in that year.
Applicants should aim for a final score of 70. For the years 2013 to 2016, a final score of 70 translates to a raw score of between 36 to 40 marks out of 50.
TSA
In this section, you’ll hear from an Oxford alumnus about his interview for Biochemistry and how it went.
What Happened On The Day Of Your Interview?
I woke up at 6am and took a train to Oxford. My high school was only half an hour from Oxford so I decided to travel on the date of the interview itself. I’d been to Oxford before for the Open Day in summer so the trip there felt familiar and also helped to make less nervous.
I checked in at the College lodge by 8:30am as requested by the admissions office and was given a room key. The room belonged to an undergraduate student who was away for the winter vacation and it had been tidied up for me to use for the duration of my interviews. It felt really huge! Especially the ensuite shower. After unpacking my belongings, I went to the JCR (Junior Common Room) to check my interview timetable.
There were a lot of people in the JCR, interviewees (me included) in casual and smart attire as well as undergraduate helpers in blue hoodies with the names of their degrees written at the back. I found my interview schedule on the noticeboard. The first interview would be at a randomly allocated college at 10:30am and second one would be at the college I applied to in the late afternoon at 5:30pm.
I went to talk to the biochemistry helper who greeted me enthusiastically and very kindly offered to take me to the other college for my first interview. I politely refused as I thought this was too much to ask for, plus there were other biochemists to look after. Besides, I had the map of Oxford and could probably find my way there.
Oxford Biochemistry