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School of Oriental and African Studies

London

Ask a SOAS student anything

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Hi, I am a prospective applicant wishing to apply for MA Linguistics. I have a few questions:

1) Is it worth going to Open Day? I mean, I'll definitely visit the place (it's quite literally round the corner!), but I'd like to know if I can get the vibe on that day or if the atmosphere looks completely different.
2) I am considering taking a language course as part of my degree, most preferably Arabic (my level's upper-intermediate atm) or Persian (lower-intermediate level atm). Are these languages taught well at SOAS? What is approximate student to teacher ratio?
3) Is the course challenging? It seems there will be like 22 hours of classes a week...
4) Is the university intelectually challenging, in the sense of student debates, societies' events, etc.?

School of Oriental and African Studies

London

Reply 361

philipp.lahm

Original post by philipp.lahm

Hi, I want to transfer to SOAS for year 2 BSc (Hons) Economics, but I don't know what my chances are. I spoke to the admissions tutor and he said they are still taking applications of all kinds.

I'm a first year student on a BA (Hons) International Business with French degree (doing similar modules to Economics students, except French). I'm currently predicted a 2.1

However, though I got 7A*s and 4As at GCSEs and AAAAC at AS-level, I only got ACD at A2-level due to health reasons. That A was in Maths. On the SOAS website their minimum entry requirement is AAA for Economics. Do I stand a chance at all?

ps/ I'm a UK national but I was born and brought up in Hong Kong...

Can anyone from SOAS please get back to me??

Reply 362

Trottoir

Original post by philipp.lahm

Can anyone from SOAS please get back to me??

i go to soas. I would suggest calling the admissions office and asking them!

Reply 363

philipp.lahm

Original post by Trottoir

i go to soas. I would suggest calling the admissions office and asking them!

I have, and they said they take the whole package into consideration, but I'm not sure if my 'blip' is acceptable??

Reply 364

Trottoir

Original post by philipp.lahm

I have, and they said they take the whole package into consideration, but I'm not sure if my 'blip' is acceptable??

to be honest, i think you should just apply and see. have a cracking personal statement, mention your health problems. I dont exactly have anywhere close to the grades required for my course, but i showed persistence, had an amazingly passionate personal statement and had health problems and learning difficulties taken into account.

Reply 365

Trottoir

Original post by philipp.lahm

Can anyone from SOAS please get back to me??

sorry, what university are you at currently?

Reply 366

philipp.lahm

Original post by Trottoir

Oh really?! What did you get and what was your offer? Did you apply for a transfer as well? I have given a crackingly passionate personal statement highlighting my very high first-year results. I haven't mentioned my health problems on the statement, but I have on the 'disability' section of the application, and on the e-mail I sent to SOAS. My tutor has also given me a good reference.

Reply 367

philipp.lahm

Original post by Trottoir

sorry, what university are you at currently?

University of Westminster :/

Reply 368

Trottoir

Original post by philipp.lahm

im going to pm you.

Reply 369

philipp.lahm

Original post by Trottoir

im going to pm you.

Yes please, thank you :-)

Reply 370

barnes59

Hi

I'm considering SOAS for postgraduate but also have an offer from Princeton (Woodrow Wilson). I've previously worked in Zimbabwe with the UN Volunteers. My question is: how is career services at SOAS? I've noticed that most of the Young Professionals at the World Bank, IFC, IMF and other UN programmes are from US universities. When I visited Princeton, they also talked a lot about career placement and the faculty seemed very engaged. Is it the same at SOAS? Or is it as poor as at undergraduate level (at least at LSE)...

Reply 371

barnes59

Original post by philipp.lahm

I have, and they said they take the whole package into consideration, but I'm not sure if my 'blip' is acceptable??

Most universities have a form called "extenuating circumstances" which your tutor or doctor completes. It explains how such circumstances have affected your performance. I'd get one completed and submitted to SOAS.

Reply 372

philipp.lahm

Original post by barnes59

Oh. Yeah, a SOAS admissions tutor emailed me earlier saying that she wants evidence of it, like a doctors letter, and asked me to attach it in my reply. So hopefully everything will be alright...

Reply 373

naberbenbegum

Hey you all! It feels like %90 of the students at SOAS are international students, can someone correct me if I am wrong? Are there a lot of British students?

Reply 374

hennypenny

Original post by naberbenbegum

Hey you all! It feels like %90 of the students at SOAS are international students, can someone correct me if I am wrong? Are there a lot of British students?

equal proportion. I would say there are more brits in my course than international students (law). I guess people presume they are loads of international students at soas as almost all courses have international elements :smile:

Reply 375

ritu_21

Umm... Do SOAS-ians have good employment prospects w.r.t the literature subjects?

Reply 376

HangingWisteria

Would anyone be willing to answer silverwavez's questions two years later?

Thank you.

Original post by silverwavez

Can someone tell me a typical schedule of a Masters student in History of Art at SOAS please?
What is the class schedule like and the weekly workload?

Also how are the terms split up in SOAS? I know there are 3 terms but I understand you only do 2 terms of classes as a Masters student and then must finish the thesis by August?

Reply 377

Chi Sum

Hi, nice to meet you all, particularly the one who made this post.
Let me introduce myself first, I am from Hong Kong and i have just finished my a level in the UK.

I was originally planning to do engineering, but after visiting SOAS with my friend, it made me want to study Japanese and Korean (the one focuses on language more than culture) there. I just wonder if i will have a chance to get in SOAS through CLEARING with A level BCC(this is the minimum i will get i think, minimum. i think ABB will be maximum) providing that i have JLPT level 4 and level 3 certificate(the old version, equivalent to n5 and n4) ? I dont really want to take a gap year.
Thank you so much.
Samuel Chow

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 378

non-ki-san

Original post by Chi Sum

All the advice l can give you hear, is that the student body at Soas is made up from students from over 150 different countries. I really don't think that 'A' Level result are the deciding factor for entry into University for every students, from whatever country they come from. The university is as much interested in you, as an individual, as they are, as you as a university student. Contact the university directly (J&K faulty), asking to be put in contact with someone directly:

Department of Japan and Korea, SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, London, WC1H OXGTelephone +44 (0)20 7637 2388
Fax +44 (0)20 7898 4009

And put your case to them personally. You have nothing to loose, do you now?

Reply 379

non-ki-san

Original post by Ferdowsi

What percentage of the SOAS body conforms to the hippy stereotype?

First of all, define the 'hippy' stereotype, please? Probably inside Soas, they are considered to be quite the norm. It's when one goes outside, you realise the rest of the world is fixated on labelling people and almost everything else, for that matter. Don't tell me? You're coming to Soas? If you like labels and labelling everything, do Soas a great favour; don't bother!