9. British-English Glossary
BRITISH ENGLISH AMERICAN ENGLISH
Course Major
Module Class
Joint Honours Double Major
Sandwich Year Year in Industry, Co-op
Bursary Student Loan
Entry Requirements Admissions Requirements
Personal Statement Application Essay
Reference Recommendation Letter
Tutor Academic Advisor
Level 3 Qualifications Typically IBDP
Liberal Arts Course Liberal Arts College
Course Tutor Professor
10. The 3 C’s for your University Search
Course
Campus
City
11. Studying in the UK: It’s All About the Course
Choosing where to apply in the UK begins with
WHAT you want to study…
...not WHERE you want to study!
12. Studying in the UK:
Questions to Consider When Choosing a Course
● What do you love? What motivates your learning?
● Is it a subject related to an IB class? Is it related to a future career
aspiration?
● Is it a brand new subject to you?
○ Do you know what’s involved?
○ What’s your principal reason for taking this subject?
● Does the course cover the topics you are interested in? What modules are
covered? How much flexibility is there in choosing modules?
● What additional features are there (study abroad, work placement, elective
modules, joint honours, etc.)?
● How and when are you assessed?
13. Choosing a Course:
A Note on Entry Requirements
● Entry Requirements are set by COURSE and UNIVERSITY
○ Used as a way to minimize the number of applications to a course
● Two types:
○ IB Diploma - total points needed (out of 45)
■ Possible Required or Preferred Courses & Grades (typically HL)
○ Tariff Points - using the Tariff Calculator, you can compute IB certificates into the UCAS
Tariff.
■ Typically for courses that do not require the IBDP
● Universities in the UK that do NOT require the IBDP:
○ Nottingham Trent University
○ Birmingham City University
○ Cardiff Metropolitan University
14. Choosing a Course:
Examples of Entry Requirements
● Psychology
○ Kings College London: 35 points, 666 in HL
○ University of Manchester: 35 pts, 665 in HL
○ Nottingham Trent University: 120 Tariff Points (the equivalent of 555 at HL, 5 in 1 SL, B in
TOK)
● Economics
○ LSE: 38 points, 766 in HL (including Math at HL)
○ University of Manchester: 32 points, 665 in HL (including a 6 in Math HL)
● Mechanical Engineering
○ Imperial College: MEng, 40 pts, 6 in Math and Physics HL
○ University of Manchester:
■ MEng: 37 pts, 6 in Math and Physics HL, 5 in English SL
■ BEng: 35 pts, 6 in Math and Physics HL, 5 in English SLI
16. What type of campus?
● Do you want to be in or near a major UK city?
● Do you want to be in or near London?
● Do you like the city/town?
● Are there good transport links in the town/city?
● How close are you to the nearest airport?
17. Campus Facilities & Accommodation
● Do you want to live on campus? Does the university provide this for you
● How much does accommodation cost?
● If the accommodation is off-campus, how far away is it? How long will it take to
get to campus by walking/bicycle/bus/train?
● Do you want an ensuite room, or are you happy with shared bathroom facilities?
● Do you need a university with a catered meal, or are you happy to cook for
yourself?
● Is there a 24-hour library?
● What organizations are a part of the Student Union? How active is the Union?
● What are the other campus facilities like? Supermarket on campus? Student Life
Center? Cafes & Restaurants? Sports? Pubs?
18. Fees & Scholarships
Entering Fall 2018 (BREXIT Impact still unclear for entering Fall 2019)
• UK/EU: Fee Status usually based on Passport AND Residence typically
• if assessed as UK/EU: £9,250 for England/Wales courses
• £0 for Scots/EU at Scottish universities
• May qualify for tuition bursary (loan) but not maintenance loan
• International: Varies by course and uni (average ~£20,000)
• Average cost of living in the UK for a student: £12,000 (location dependent!)
• Some universities give merit scholarships to IB students (Sussex, Kent)
Fee Status - Every university assesses Fee Status on its own. You may receive different
decisions.
19. A Quick Note on Special Programs
● Oxford & Cambridge
● Medicine, Dental, Veterinary
● Liberal Arts - 96 courses offered!
○ King's College London
○ University College London
○ Warwick
○ Exeter
● Performing and Visual Arts
○ Conservatoires
○ Art Schools
20. Researching Courses & Universities
● UCAS Search
● UniStats: The official website for comparing UK higher education course
data
Includes official data for undergraduate courses on each university and
college's satisfaction scores in the National Student Survey, jobs and
salaries after study and other key information for prospective students.
● League Tables (Rankings using data from UniStats)
○ The Complete University Guide
○ The Times Higher Education
○ The Guardian
21. League Tables: Search by Course!
Overall
Ranking
Business
Management
English Mechanical
Engineering
Politics
City University
London
32 21 No
ranking
12 42
University of
Birmingham
22 22 6 32 21
University of
Bristol
27 39 31 6 5
23. Admissions: A Few Basics
● Deadlines: The main application window is from September to January but
there are a few exceptions to this
● Applicants can apply for a maximum of five courses with the same
applications.
● UCAS guarantees invisibility of the application
● The same application is received by all universities at the same time.
● Almost all offers will be conditional until the applicant has final exam results
(not until July)
● How to compose your 5 courses and Universities
○ Target (3-4) - PGs in line with entry requirements
○ Aspirational (0-1) - PGs possibly 1-2 points lower or HL is 1 pt lower than entry requirements
○ Insurance (1-2) - PGs are typically 1-3 points below the entry requirements
24. Admissions: Additional Testing & Interview
● TESTING
○ Few courses require this but do your research!
○ Oxford & Cambridge (and a handful of other courses & universities)
○ Medicine & other Healthcare courses: UKCAT or BMAT
○ LNAT - required for some Law courses (8-10)
○ IELTS - English language proficiency test
■ Used for visa purposes
■ Can be used to demonstrate English proficiency for application if the student does not
meet the IB English requirements (typically a ‘4’ in IB English A SL or HL or a ‘5’ in IB
English B HL)
● INTERVIEWS
○ Typically Oxford & Cambridge but other courses may interview as well
