Process of Getting Into a UK University for Foreign Students

How to Apply

For full-time undergraduate courses in British colleges and universities, international students have to apply through the UCAS (Universities and Colleges Applications Service), the centralised admissions body of the UK that acts as an impartial bridge between the prospective students and Higher Education institutions.

Over 325 educational institutions are currently a part of the UCAS scheme, offering over 50,000 different undergraduate courses, all of them recognized by the UK government. These include all universities (except the Open University), most colleges of higher education and a large number of colleges of further education.

Applications for admissions have to be submitted online at the UCAS website. You can apply from anywhere in the world. The completed form is stored at the website and you can update or print it as many times as you want until you decide to forward it to UCAS.

The application form requires information like choice of courses or universities, academic grades, employment history (if any), personal details, one reference from your teacher or tutor, and your personal statement.

The personal statement is considered the most crucial and most difficult part of the application form. This creative piece of writing is an opportunity for you to tell the university or college you have chosen why you are applying for the course and why they should prefer you over others. It should not be longer than 4,000 characters (including spaces) or 47 lines of text. UCAS recommends that you prepare your statement offline using a word-processing package using Verdana 12 points and then cut and paste into the form at its website.

You have to submit only one application form for up to six different courses or colleges. You can also track the status of your application from start to finish.

For postgraduate courses, part-time courses and distance education, you have to apply directly to the institutions.

When to Apply

In the UK, the academic year begins from September while the admission procedure starts exactly a year before that. Thus, the applications have to be submitted from 1st September preceding the September in which you wish to start the course. To give you a general idea, the application deadlines for the academic year beginning September 2006 were as follows:

Students from EU Countries: Students of any nationality applying from an EU country had to apply by 15 January, 2006. The closing date for applications to Oxford and Cambridge, and for applications to medicine, dentistry and veterinary science was 15 October 2005.

Students from Outside EU Countries: Students of any nationality applying from a non-EU country had to submit their application by 30 June, 2006. However, according to the UCAS, you should not wait until the last days of the deadline. The earlier you apply, the more your chances of bagging a seat on your chosen course. Because of heavy demand, some colleges and universities may not consider your application for select courses if it is submitted after 15 January. So apply by this date if you can, even if June is the formal deadline. Applying early will also give you enough time to take care of immigration and accommodation issues.

For art and design courses (Route B), all students had to apply between 1 January and 24 March 2006 for entry in September or October 2006. However, UCAS recommended applying by 8 March 2006 to avoid the last-minute rush.

Do You Qualify?

Each course that you wish to study would have entry requirements set by the concerned university or college. Before submitting your application, you should carefully go through them. These requirements are given in the college prospectuses as well as the UCAS website.

The entry requirements are described in terms of UK exams as grades or a Tariff point score. There is no official list of how these relate to qualifications from other countries. It is left to the discretion of the individual institution to decide whether your qualifications meet its requirements. The Tariff calculator at the UCAS website is a useful tool to get an idea of where you stand on the Tariff point scale.

Proficiency in English

Since the language of instruction in the UK universities and colleges is English, you need to prove that you can speak and write it well enough to take part in the lectures, tutorials, seminars and exams. If English is not your first language, most educational institutions will require you to prove your proficiency in the language by having a proper qualification or taking a particular test.
Many English Language Testing Certificate qualifications have been designed for this purpose like Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and International General Certificate in Secondary Education (IGCSE).

You should ask the university or college of your choice which qualifications regarding English proficiency are acceptable to it.

Entering the UK

To enter the UK, you need a valid passport. People from many countries need a visa too. If you fall in this category, you will have to fill in a form at the British embassy or High Commission in your country of residence to establish your eligibility for receiving a student visa. Once you arrive in the UK, you will have to show the offer letter from a UK college or university accepting you in a full-time course and evidence that you have enough money to pay for it.

Depending on the course, the tuition fee for international students would range from GBP 4,000 to a whopping GBP 21,000. It is advisable to get in touch with the British Embassy or British Council in your country as soon as possible to know about the documents you need and other requirements.