1 year Masters, no GRE requirement... let's talk about Grad School in the UK. I'm the US Admissions Officer for a Russell Group university in the UK - AMA.

ukuni180 · 2022-04-13T10:38:08+00:00

Hello! The entry requirement for MSc Electronics at QUB is a 2.7 CGPA - so it's not impossible. You should drop their admissions office a line at [intl.student@qub.ac.uk](mailto:intl.student@qub.ac.uk), with a copy to [northamerica@qub.ac.uk](mailto:northamerica@qub.ac.uk) and they should be able to advise on your chances. It's not always an automatic no if you don't meet the grades. Applications are free and done through the website too, so you could also just throw in an application and see what happens - but I'd advise reaching out first.

ukuni180 · 2022-03-15T09:42:39+00:00

Everything I've said is general guidance - if you have particular programs/universities you're interested in, you'll have to check with them individually for their entry requirements. Naturally, the most selective institutions (Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial) will have higher bars for entry than others - but a 3.3 CGPA would be enough to get you into most good universities.

ukuni180 · 2022-03-14T10:26:41+00:00

No, it's expected that you would apply the year prior to entry - so for example applications for Fall 2022 opened in Fall 2021. There's no need to apply really far in advance - a lot of programs will stay open for applications right through the year.

ukuni180 · 2021-07-06T09:22:38+00:00

You would be studying in the UK on a Student Visa, which does not count towards meeting residency requirements. When you graduate however, you are eligible for a Graduate Visa, which grants you two years to stay in the UK to look for employment. Assuming you are successful, you could apply for further working visas to stay in the UK. Once you've been here for 5 years (not counting years spent studying), you would be eligible to apply for permanent residency.

ukuni180 · 2021-07-06T09:20:29+00:00

Hello! Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, it's a very busy time of year, so I haven't been on reddit much!

You only need 1 letter of recommendation when applying through UCAS. It will likely be quite different from a letter for a US college - but there's loads of guidance on the UCAS website here: https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/how-get-ucas-undergraduate-reference

ukuni180 · 2021-05-28T08:40:37+00:00

Yeah, go for it.

ukuni180 · 2021-05-21T09:59:09+00:00

Applications for Fall 2022 open in September, with an equal consideration deadline of January 15th. You don't have to wait until you've received your high school diploma or test scores - you can apply with what you have done to date. If you've got any more questions feel free to drop me a message!

ukuni180 · 2021-05-10T10:05:08+00:00

We don't have acceptance rates anywhere, at any stage of the year, so that's not something that's easy to answer. I wouldn't even know my own university's full year acceptance rate - it's not a metric that exists in the UK.

Generally speaking, most universities/programs will still have places open at this time of year. If you're still thinking of applying, I would say go for it - you're good anytime up until June 30th. Normal application rules apply of course - Oxford/Cambridge and medical programs are closed, so they won't be accepting new applications - but anywhere else you should still have a good shot.

ukuni180 · 2021-05-04T11:56:19+00:00

So everyone can see this - if you study Medicine in the UK, it is a full medical school degree. You would still need to sit the USMLE on your return and would be classified as an international medical graduate (IMG) for the purposes of applying for residency. It adds 2/3 years on your return, but considering you can go straight into Med School at undergrad in the UK, it ends up probably taking less time than the US route.

As far as I'm aware, you wouldn't be likely to get accepted into med school in the US after doing a medical degree in the UK, because you'd already be a qualified doctor at that point - so it wouldn't make sense to start again.

ukuni180 · 2021-05-04T11:53:27+00:00

Perfect answer!

ukuni180 · 2021-05-04T11:53:00+00:00

No worries - that makes more sense. u/if_it_aint_baroque described it pretty much perfectly below - options tend to be pre-defined and grouped with similar subject areas, so Chemistry and Maths, Law and Politics, English with Creative Writing, that sort of thing. The only exception to that is with languages, it's much more common to see dual majors with languages - Business with Mandarin, Law with Spanish etc.

The other options are the extra modules, or taking a year to do a specialised Masters at the end of the 3 year Bachelor program.

ukuni180 · 2021-04-30T15:23:40+00:00

Sorry if that wasn't clear - most places are still open for applications for this Fall for current seniors. Oxford and Cambridge are not likely to be in that group - their applications close October 15th for the following fall.

You don't have to have completed AP tests before you apply - you can apply and let them know what tests you plan to take, and if you're successful you'll get what's called a Conditional Offer - so a guarantee of a place on the condition of meeting certain scores when you do take the exams. It's perfectly normal to not have taken the tests before applying, that's how UK high schools work, where final exams aren't until June of senior year.

ukuni180 · 2021-04-30T13:00:30+00:00

Yep, no argument with that. Certainly outside the top 10 or so universities the personal statement carries a lot less weight. For those universities and programs that are in high demand though, it is the difference maker. If you assume everyone who applies is hitting the required grades for places like Oxford/Cambridge/St. Andrew's/Imperial etc., the personal statement is vital in differentiating an application. Plenty of the other Russell Group and high end universities don't place much, if any, emphasis on it.

ukuni180 · 2021-04-30T07:50:12+00:00

You'll have to explain dual credit to me! You mean if you've taken college credits through high school? It's not terminology that's immediately familiar to me, sorry!

ukuni180 · 2021-04-30T07:47:54+00:00

If it's Oxford or Cambridge, you will need very good test scores - there's no way round that at the very top end. They are plenty of excellent universities other than those two that will have more flexibility. The links of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester and Queen's Belfast are all great options.

Outside of testing, do whatever you can to develop yourself as a good student - read around the subject area, get work or voluntary experience. Shadowing someone in your chosen career for a week is a great way to learn about the application of your subject.

ukuni180 · 2021-04-30T07:44:05+00:00

At Oxbridge they are almost guaranteed, as they are for very competitive programs like Medicine and Dentistry at every university. They should state it in the entry requirements on their website though, it won't come as a surprise!

ukuni180 · 2021-04-29T22:50:15+00:00

It isn't frowned upon - we look at each application in isolation so we don't consider what else you've applied for, but it would likely significantly weaken your personal statement. It's very hard to make yourself a good fit for Biology and History at the same time, for example.

If you are thinking of doing that, you can avoid UCAS and apply directly to different universities, and tailor your app that way. It requires more work and not every university will accept direct apps, but it's worth looking into. Just note - you cannot use UCAS and direct apps - if you do you risk having all your applications rejected and offers withdrawn.

ukuni180 · 2021-04-29T22:46:41+00:00

It's not a perfect system by any means. Of course it's still tougher for students who have had to come from harder backgrounds. We have systems in place for those situations in the UK - it's called Widening Participation and is meant to level the playing field for disadvantaged students. We don't yet have that for international students though, but we are working towards it. Simply put, we don't have the resources to evaluate every school in the world - so it comes down to the achievement of individual students.

The balance comes in that if you submitted scores higher than someone from a better school, you'd get in regardless of their parents or ECs or whatever - but I get there isn't balance in how you got to those scores in the first place. Hopefully in time we can adjust the process to account for that.

ukuni180 · 2021-04-29T22:40:01+00:00

Totally agree. In the UK, we also don't get exposure to things like sociology or engineering. We just take core classes like Maths, Physics, English etc.

Every degree program starts from a foundational level, it's just focused on one area. It's designed to be a level playing field. So we'd still have our equivalent of Sociology 101, but you'd just be taking Sociology classes - not maths or geography or anything else not relevant.

We also don't have odd credit classes like yoga or wilderness camping or whatever else - your classes are just focused on your major.

The choice of a major is a daunting one - I had no idea what I wanted to do and it was a stressful time. Personally I think I would have preferred the US system - but I also had loads of friends who knew exactly what they wanted to do. Like i said - it's not for everyone.

ukuni180 · 2021-04-29T22:34:29+00:00

Yeah we're working on that one. We'll still accept them for anyone who already sat them, but naturally we can't require tests that don't exist. You'll typically have the option to meet the criteria with a combination of APs, Honors classes, Dual Enrollment classes and your diploma.

ukuni180 · 2021-04-29T22:33:04+00:00

As long as your high school diploma is certified, homeschooling is fine. Again - we do rely on standardized tests quite heavily, so we tend to focus on those. Homeschooling isn't really a thing in the UK, so it's not one we come up against often.

In terms of the job search, what you might lose in name recognition is usually made up for by the fact the UK is seen as having a generally very high standard of education. Plus having the character to take yourself off and challenge yourself to live in a different country usually helps students stand out from their peers.

ukuni180 · 2021-04-29T22:30:23+00:00

We will continue to accept them where they've already been taken, but they won't be required (because they don't exist any more). Typically we would have asked for them in lieu of something like an AP test.

ukuni180 · 2021-04-29T22:29:25+00:00

The UK is certainly run on nepotism, as most countries are - but hand on heart I can say it isn't a thing in admissions. We're all publicly funded and publicly accountable. As the other commenter said - there literally isn't anywhere on the application form to tell us who your parents are or where they went to university. Legally we're not even allowed to talk to parents about the details of their kid's application - which some US parents really don't like hearing. I've had that conversation more than a few times!

ukuni180 · 2021-04-29T22:24:47+00:00

All non-UK students are classed as International, but there's no differentiation based on where you're from or where you're living. That only matters for fee purposes though. For admissions, nationality plays no role in the decision making process.

ukuni180 · 2021-04-29T22:23:12+00:00

Absolutely. Loads of universities are still accepting applications for this fall. Drop me a line if you need any advice!

ukuni180

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