With A-level results day fast approaching in the UK (results are out on 16 August), students will be eager to find out whether they have achieved their first (or second) choice of university. Results day in Scotland is slightly earlier, on 7 August.
To get in to your ideal course at your ideal institution, an international student needs more than good grades (although they certainly don’t hurt). The people in charge of reviewing university applications will sift through hundreds – sometimes thousands – of personal statements, so it’s important to make yours stand out.
So how do you create a high-quality personal statement that makes you the obvious choice for your institution?
Course content and structure is the most important factor for UK students when choosing a university, according to new research.
In a survey of more then 2,000 people, carried out by student lettings app SPCE, respondents were asked to score a range of factors from 1 to 10 based on how important they were when choosing a university, with 1 not being important at all and 10 being extremely important.
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Position |
Factor |
Mean score |
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1 |
Two Italian universities have been crowned the cheapest universities in Europe, according to new analysis by foreign exchange company FairFX.
Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Scuola Superiore Sant’ Anna have been named the cheapest for both EU and non-EU students because there are no tuition fees and the university covers living costs for all students.
Over the next week, prospective students from across the country and, indeed, across the world, are coming for interviews at the University of Oxford.
But what can you expect if you are coming for an interview?
Here, a selection of current students at Jesus College at the University of Oxford provide some top tips on how you can prepare.
Ayesha, first-year medicine student, from Blackburn
It’s that time of year when sixth-formers and their parents visit university campuses, and every dining-room table across the land is strewn with copies of Freakonomics or Why History Matters as university applicants put the finishing touches to their personal statements, striving to stand out from the crowd, as the 15 January application deadline draws nearer.
The latest annual survey of university admissions officers, commissioned by ACS International Schools, highlights the top qualities universities will be looking for in applicants’ personal statements, in addition to academic qualifications.
Applying to study medicine is notoriously competitive, so it’s crucial that you stand out from the crowd. To help you secure that med school place, here are some top tips on what admissions tutors look for.
1. Make the most of your medical work experience
Work experience in a hospital, GP surgery or care home is a key part of applying to study medicine, and how you reflect on your experiences will prove to admissions tutors that you could make a great doctor.
The University of Paris-Saclay is widening its international student outreach by offering 160 scholarships to outstanding master’s students
The aim of the scholarships is to promote access to the university’s master’s programmes.
The grants will be valued at up to €10,000 (£8,700) for each student and will be awarded to those who have demonstrated academic excellence.
Applying to university can seem very daunting. There’s so much to do! But really, getting your application in is just a series of stages: do the research, narrow down your university choices, write the applications, and then play the waiting game. Then come the final decisions.