King's College London

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King’s College London Open Week 12-16 March

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Original post by King’s College London

Hi prospectiveoxonian

Thanks for your messages, apologies for not getting back to you sooner, we're just catching up on some of the other queries that have come in overnight.

Firstly, I must say that King's College London and the King's College London Student Union have an absolute no tolerance policy to drug taking and the possession/distribution of drugs on campus. This is not something I have ever heard of in the 3+ years I have worked here and I'm sure does not occur. I totally understand your concern and you're need to check out the claims but I can say with confidence that this sort of activity does not take place at King's.

I hope this helps to clarify the matter.

Fran

Hello Prospectiveoxonion,

Affirming with Fran and Charlotte’s responses, I can also guarantee you that during my time here at KCL, I have never encountered nor heard of any rumours regarding the purchasing or distribution of drug or drug-related products at or near any KCL campus including any of the residential accommodations.

I am sad to hear that such rumours exist and I hope this will not change your mind in attending King’s to further your education.

- Dalia

King's College London

London

Reply 201

King’s College London

Original post by Natalie21

Hey,

In terms of your A100 Med course:

How many hours of dissection do you do a week roughly?

What percentage of graduates go on to be GPs/ consultants/ surgeons?

How do you look at the UKCAT?

Is intercalation compulsory, or do you have to get certain exam average grades to be considered?

And in terms of the campus:

Are you only allocated a room for your first year?

Can you pick your campus?

Thanks :colone:

Hi Natalie21

Just been looking into your questions!

Its quite hard to be precise on how many hours of dissection you would do a week over the course of the degree, as the modules you take will vary term to term. However, the MBBS Application guide gives a breakdown of what you will generally be doing each term (see pg 12 in particular for this, but the whole document is really useful as a guide to the degree): http://www.kcl.ac.uk/prospectus/images/assets/Web%20ready%20AppGuide1323%20final%20version.pdf

I’m afraid I wasn’t able to get specific statistics on GP/surgeon/consultant statistics, but its fair to say that many of our MBBS graduates go on to work in these areas, and some continue with further study, but I will try and get you some specific details.

In terms of the UKCAT, everyone is required to sit the UKCAT aptitude test before applying, you can find more info about the UKCAT on their website: www.ukcat.ac.uk In terms of our approach to the UKCAT, your scores in it are not the only thing considered for your application. It is balanced alongside your achievement in other areas, and your academic performance to date. Please remember that there is not a universal cut off score for the UKCAT so we can’t say that you need to get a certain score to be made an offer unfortunately as its considered alongside everything else!

Intercalation isn’t compulsory, it is just something you might want to consider during the MBBS if there is a particular area you want to specialise in (there are over 20 different specialisms you can study here). To do intercalation you would need to demonstrate from your marks that you are capable of taking it on and you would discuss this with your personal tutor, but to be honest, if you’re doing MBBS its very likely that you would be at a level to consider Intercalation!

In terms of accommodation (I think that’s what you’re asking when you mention campuses?) basically if you live outside of the M25, have not studied in higher education before, or are an international student, you have a higher priority to secure King’s accommodation. You are guaranteed to secure King’s accommodation for one year of your programme but this may not be your first year. If you do decide to apply for accommodation then you need to rank the different residences in order of preference and then you will be allocated a residence by random computerised ballot, so you can choose which you would like to stay in but you are not guaranteed these places. If you want to apply for accommodation. The deadline for accommodation applications this year is 30 June. You can find a lot more info on this on the accommodation website: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/campuslife/accom/applying/index.aspx

I hope this helps! :smile:

Fran

Reply 202

sandrog33

Hi there,

I applied for accommodation about a month ago and I'm slightly worried if I did everything correctly. I haven't received an e-mail yet saying my application has been acknowledged. Does it take some time or should I've got this e-mail by now but something went wrong?

Thanks for helping me,
sandrog33

Reply 203

Lotte P

Original post by yasmyne

Hi there!
I applied for the BA International Politics programme late November and received an offer last week...only it was for the BA/BSc Politics of the International Economy course instead!
I intend on firming this anyway as the courses seem similar (and I just love King's!), I was just very surprised that I had been moved from one course to another. Is there any particular reason for this, or is it quite common?

Thanks for all your help!
yasmyne_

Hi Yasmyne,

Many thanks for your message and congrats on your offer! :smile:

Politics of the International Economy degree is a new course to King’s and, as you say, is very similar to the International Politics degree. As it is a new degree students didn’t have the opportunity to apply to it directly, however some students, who applied for International Politics, were selected for it because of their personal statements and other aptitudes. If you have any queries about the differences and similarities you could email: [email protected] , or telephone +44 (0) 20 7848 1403/7216. They will be more than happy to answer any queries you have!

I hope this clears things up and I’m glad that you are interested in the degree! As a student of European Studies and French you will be having some of the lecturers I have had, and they have been great.

Charlotte

Reply 204

Lotte P

Original post by sandrog33

Hi Sandrog33,

Thanks for your email, and well done for applying before the deadline! Shortly after submission, your application will be verified at Accommodation Services and you will receive an acknowledgement letter, by email, once the application has been processed. You also need to make sure that you are checking the accommodation portal regularly as correspondence will often be here.

Due to high numbers of applications received, it may take up to 3 working weeks to process and verify an application; if you are concerned however, and would like to confirm receipt of your application, please telephone Accommodation Services who will then verify receipt or otherwise although the application may not have been fully processed at this point.

The telephone number you need is +44 (0)20 7848 2759 and a member of staff should be there Monday - Friday 09:30 - 12:30 & 14:30 - 16:45, but 4pm on Thursdays.

Hope that helps,

Charlotte

Reply 205

draoof

Original post by RosyJK

Hi!

I have an interview at King's next week for Dietetics. Just wondering whether anyone has any advice and support. This is my first interview for a university course and really don't know what to expect. Any advice would be helpful. :smile:

Thanks

Rosy

Dear Rosy,

First and foremost... don’t panic! Think of the interview process as a formal conversation you are having with someone where the main topic is you. Usually, interviewers will target you with questions similar to what you would be asked to write in a statement of interest such as:

- Why have you decided to apply for Dietetics? What is your motivation for applying to the programme of Dietetics?
- What are your strengths/weaknesses? – Remember, that even though you are required to state weaknesses, those that put you in the most positive light would be the best options. Saying that ‘I am very disorganised’ wouldn’t be the best weakness to advertise. Also, when stating weaknesses, interviewers usually expect you to explain how you are dealing with the problem (i.e. what you are currently doing to rise above them) or how you have overcome them. Saying you have no weaknesses isn’t a good response either. Nobody’s perfect, and your interviewers know that.
- Have you had any experience in this field? If so, what kind of challenges did you face and how did you deal with them?

Sometimes, interviewers may pose a scenario in which you are asked how you would deal with the situation. Usually this is to see how you would respond in a stressful circumstance where you need to act fast.

Other interviewers may ask about extra-curricular activities that you have participated in. It is always good to find a way to relate them to your programme. For example, having performed in a school play shows that you are confident, an active team player since you are working together with other members of the cast, and that you are social/interpersonal thus communicate well with people. These characteristics are advantageous for a career in Dietetics especially when dealing with clients.

Remember that the interviewer isn’t ‘out to get you’. As long as you are relaxed and have done some amount of preparation you should have nothing to worry about. Don’t forget to be yourself. The more natural you are at responding to questions, the better.

I hope that helps Rosy.
- Dalia

Reply 206

RosyJK

Thank you Dalia for the information. It is really helpful as I really do want to attend Kings! :smile:

Reply 207

King’s College London

Original post by memszie

For the international relations course what type of work experience do you see as fitting for UCAS personal statement

Thanks

Hi memszie!

Thanks for your message. I've just had a quick chat with the admissions team about work experience for this programme. Basically, try to demonstrate your academic experience as much as possible as your academic record is really important when applying for this programme. Obviously try and link what you have done in your undergraduate degree to the specific modules and themes that form part of this degree.

In terms of work experience, if you have some experience with international organisations then definitely flag this up but this isn't a requirement to get offered a place on the degree. Other work experience (such as part time jobs) and volunteering are also useful to mention. As long as you are demonstrating how you are academically competent, then that's the main thing!

I hope this helps! :smile:

Fran

Reply 208

King’s College London

Original post by ruixue

Hey Laura!

Thanks for the info. I am so happy you're doing this, makes me feel much more comfortable :smile:

However, I have a few new questions.
How long will a conditional offer be valid? What IF I get accepted into the programme, I will graduate June 25, but won't get my official degree on paper until July 4. I can understand that a period of about two months holding a conditional offer is pretty long. Is there a time limit of holding a conditional offer?

Also, about the 2:1 equivalent. I have been searching everywhere to see what the equivalent is in Dutch, but with no success. Some sites say your average has to be between 60-70%, other state that it has to be above 75%. What grades does King's want their students to have, being it a 2:1? As my average is 7,87 in Dutch, I take it it's 78,7% in the UK? I only had a 6 four times during my four-years study, so I really do hope my grades are well enough to be even considered for King's :smile:

How long does it usually take to hear whether you get a (un)conditional offer?
How many students can enter this programme?

thanks again for answering all my questions!

rachelle / 瑞雪 :smile:

Hi Rachelle,

I'm afraid Laura's not on the site today so I'm answering your questions, hope that's OK! :smile:

So conditional offers are held (i.e. valid) until a few weeks after enrolment commences (which is late September) so you are totally within the timeframe if you are due to get your degree certificate in early July. :biggrin:

In reference to the 2:1 equivalent, in the Netherlands you basically need an average of 7 out of 10, so again you are well on target, if not higher than what you need for the entry requirements!

We try to turn around all offers for postgraduate programmes in around 60 days from the date it is received by the department. However it does obviously depend a little on the volume of applications for each programme, whether the department interviews applicants etc etc. But be patient and keep checking the myApplication portal for new messages!

Hope this helps! :smile:

Fran

Reply 209

Sherskey

Original post by draoof

Hello Sherskey,

The online prospectus can give you a detailed list of requirements https://www.kcl.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/entryrequirements/name/medicine/alpha/M/header_search/ , however, currently we do not have entry requirements specifically for students coming from Singapore. Despite this, I can tell you that one of the requirements from Singaporean students are 3 A Levels (or H2 subjects) and 1 AS (H1 subject) where Chemistry and Biology are compulsary subjects. According to the KCL entry requirements for the Medical programme, GCSE grades are required. However, I would advise you to contact the the Health Admissions Office [email protected] for more details and information that would be specific to your case.

Another interesting website to browse: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/international/yourcountry/singapore/info.aspx
This provides information for students applying to KCL from Singapore.

I hope this information has been useful.
Good luck!

- Dalia

Hi Dalia,
The info is very useful, but I guess for more details id have to contact the admissions team! Thank you very much :smile:

Reply 210

King’s College London

Original post by SofieTM

Hi KCL,

I've just received a conditional offer for English Lang. and Lit. (Yay!)!
I have a few questions I'm hoping you can help me with:

1) My condition is that I pass the TOEFL (e.g.) but I'm wondering by which date the school needs my results? Also, assuming I pass, when will I receive an unconditional offer?

2) Will it be an advantage for me to send in my TOEFL-scores sooner rather than later (still within the deadline of course) in regards to receiving an unconditional offer? Basically meaning: Am I guaranteed a place if I pass the TOEFL?

3) Is it an advantage to apply as soon as possible for accommodation or has the date of the application no relevance as long as it is before the deadline (June 30th) ? Also, just checking: As a student not living within M25, I am secured accommodation in one of the halls, right?

Thank you for all the answers in here - they are very helpful :smile:

Hope to see you in the fall!

-Sofie

Hi Sofie

Great news that you’ve received a conditional offer to study with us – congratulations! :smile:

I’ve just checked this out with the admissions team for this programme. Essentially if you meet the TOEFL requirements and pass it, then your offer will be made into an unconditional offer. You will need to get a scan of the documents proving that you have passed it by the deadline of 31 August, you will be able to do this through the myApplication portal. You’ll also need to bring hard copies of the documents with you when you register at the start of term.

In terms of when you would get an unconditional offer if you pass TOEFL, well the sooner you can send across your documents, the faster it would be to get the unconditional offer to you. I’m afraid I can’t give an exact timeframe but just make sure you process them fast and this will help!

So, in summary, if you pass your TOEFL you will receive an unconditional offer and be guaranteed a place on the course.

With regards to accommodation, make sure you get your application in before the deadline of 30 June as late applications get a lower priority. If you live outside the M25, are an international student and get your application in on time, then you are a higher priority for accommodation and will be guaranteed a place in one of our halls of residence for one year of your study with us, but it may not be in your first year of study. Competition for places in accommodation is fierce but hopefully you will be lucky and get a place :smile:

Hope this helps and hopefully we'll see you in September! :smile:

Fran

Reply 211

Caulfield

Hi everyone, I'm Ben, a first-year English Language & Literature student at King's. Alongside my degree, I'm taking the AKC and I'm an editor at Roar! Newspaper, King's student paper. So any questions about these things in particular would be great for me to answer, as well as anything more general like accommodation, living in London, the student experience, the Strand campus etc.

I look forward to answering some of your questions :smile:

Keep me busy!

Reply 212

ruixue

Original post by King’s College London

Hi Rachelle,

I'm afraid Laura's not on the site today so I'm answering your questions, hope that's OK! :smile:

Fran

Hey Fran!

Thanks for answering my questions. I am so happy to hear that my grades are sufficient :smile:

So one more thing about the IELTS, as I am in Shanghai right now, I want to take the test here, since I won't be back in the Netherlands before June 10. I've read that there are two different formats; Academic and General. I assume I need to sign up for the Academic one?

Can I apply even before I have done the IELTS test or know my results? Or will that lower my chances of getting a conditional offer? Because basically all I can submit is my personal statement and maybe a resume...Don't think thats enough to receive a conditional offer is it ?

Also, do you know an approximate number of applicants for the master China&Globalisation? How competitive is it and how many people can enter this programme?

I think these were my last questions...Hopefully I can apply sooner rather then later :smile:

Cheers!

Rachelle

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 213

elob

Hi,

I am holding an offer for medicine , am very excited to attend offer holders open day next Wednesday,
Have been looking for accomodation and have heard lots about properties.
Can you tell me how many hours we will be on campus roughly in 1st year so I can see if traveling in from further out would be an issue.
I see how the application for accomodation works but am worried about the allocation. How likely are you to get a place in your 1st couple of choices. With such varied prices it would be unfair to offer something I couldn't afford

Thanks Elob

Reply 214

MsGmm1

Hi again KCL,

I want to thank you for letting us ask all the questions we want and giving us such detailed answers! :smile:

There was another question that I have for you. How long is the clinical placement at Maudsley Hospital in the MSc programme: Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Institute of Psychiatry?

Reply 215

Caulfield

Original post by elob

Hi Elob,

Congratulations on your offer, brilliant achievement. :smile:

In answer to your second question, I would recommend you to put Brian Creamer House near the top if you're worried about priority and inadvertently getting costly accommodation. It's very nice and sociable, I've stayed there, and surprisingly it's not one of the popular ones. The popular ones tend to be the expensive ones.

A lot of my friends live at Hampstead Residence and that's quite affordable so I recommend you put that high up on your list too!

In response to your question about medic hours at campus, I've just text three of my medic friends and am awaiting their replies! So I'll get back to you on that as soon as I can :smile:

- Ben

Reply 216

Kaxelcy

Original post by King’s College London

Hi Kaxelcy,

Thanks very much for your questions and congratulations on your offer!

So I've spoken with a colleague in the postgraduate admissions team to try and get some more information on your questions, so I'll try and answer them as best I can!

1. In terms of compulsory modules, apart from the research methods modules offered by the Graduate School which you should attend, there are not really any 'compulsory' taught modules as the programme you have applied for is 100% research. However, with the agreement of your PhD supervisor, you might be able to sit on other modules but you wouldn't be required to.

2. Its hard to say exactly how much time a Postgraduate Research student would need to be on campus in the first year, it would really depend on what you and your PhD supervisor agree is necessary. Therefore it could just be for a few hours a week or a lot more, depending on whether you want to travel to campus to use the library and other facilities. So, in terms of choosing accommodation, it may not be necessary to live really centrally if you are only needing to travel in once or twice a week.

3. In terms of off-campus fieldwork, I'm afraid you wouldn't see a reduction in tuition fees as this is at a set level for the programme. Obviously in terms of living expenses, if you aren't living in London (paying rent, travel etc) then you would see a reduction in living expenses in the nine months out of the country.

4. You're right, there are a number of funding opportunities available for Postgraduate Research students. If you haven't submitted your applications for funding yet, please make sure you do so as soon as possible. You can find more information about applying for PG funding here http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/funding/sources/index.aspx and the Graduate School also has a lot of useful information and contact details: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/school/index.aspx. In terms of the basis of why one application is approved for funding over another, well, that's really down to the discretion of those reading the applications! Essentially, if they think the research is really valuable and progressive then it would be more likely to be approved.

5. It is possible for you to transfer to part time study in your third year (or before) and you are right, part time is roughly equivalent to two years of study. So if you transfer to part time in year three then that would mean you would be studying for a minimum of four years in total. Just one thing to mention, if you require a visa to studying in the UK and you secure it on the basis that you will be studying full time then that may cause a problem if you are thinking of transferring to part time, so that would be something to think about when considering the option. I'm afraid, you would need to look into the visa as I'm not able to advise you on that I'm afraid.

I hope this helps! :smile:

Fran

Dear Fran,

Thanks and I have a few more questions.

Concerning the compulsory modules, do I only need to attend one research methods module, or there are actually a few ? May I have the course list and the schedule? If there are classes every day or 3 days a week, I need to have alternative plan for my acocmodation. In other words, there are no compulsory modules from the School of Arts and Humanities that I have to take. Is my understanding correct?

I would like to know there will be any postgraduate students office for my programme (Film Studies) as well, and if there are any photocopying facilities and services in the campus? Can I have the details, such as price, opening hours, self service or not?

Thank you very much again!

Reply 217

King’s College London

Original post by ruixue

Hey Fran!

Thanks for answering my questions. I am so happy to hear that my grades are sufficient :smile:

Cheers!

Rachelle

Hi again Rachelle,

A few of the IELTS questions are getting a bit beyond my field of expertise I'm afraid, so I would think it would be best to contact the department/admissions to discuss your specific circumstances. You can email them on [email protected] or phone on 020 7848 7210. Sorry I can't help on this bit of your question :colondollar:

In terms of how competitive this course is, I can tell you that last year there were 160 applications (for full time and part time places) and the course takes 60 students (again, this figure includes full and part time students). So as you can see its pretty competitive with about three people going for every place last year.

Good luck with your application and fingers crossed we'll see you with us in September! :smile:

Fran

Reply 218

King’s College London

Original post by MsGmm1

Hi again KCL,

I want to thank you for letting us ask all the questions we want and giving us such detailed answers! :smile:

There was another question that I have for you. How long is the clinical placement at Maudsley Hospital in the MSc programme: Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Institute of Psychiatry?

Hi MsGmm1

Thanks for letting us know that you're enjoying the forum, glad its coming in useful! :smile:

So I've just checked this with the IoP and this is what they've said: The clinical placement starts in the second term, ie January, and most students continue through to July or August, depending on their own circumstances and in agreement with the clinical superviser.

Hope this helps! :smile:

Fran

Reply 219

Caulfield

Hi all,

I thought I'd try and give you an insight into what it's like to be a student (English student, at least) at King's. So, I've come up with this!

A Week in the Life of a KCL English Student

Monday – I leave halls at 11am with my friend to go to the AKC (Associateship of King’s College) which is a one-hour weekly lecture on philosophy of religion. This week, the lecture was about Nietzsche and it was pretty good. You can find information about the AKC here: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/aboutkings/principal/dean/akc/index.aspx Then I normally have lunch with friends at the Terrace or we go to the Maughan Library for an hour. After this break, it’s two solid hours of English lectures. This semester, that means a lecture on Medieval Literary Culture and one on Classical and Biblical Contexts in English Literature. Despite the sound, it can be fun. Last week, one lecturer stood on the table at the front and sang a medieval lyric. We all joined in and it was very funny. After my Classical and Biblical Contexts lecture, I go home and do some studying/procrastinate.

Tuesday – at 10am, it’s a lecture on Early Modern Literary Culture, which you must do your reading for otherwise you won’t know what’s going on! Then I have lunch with friends at the Terrace – they do very nice soups. And at 12, it’s my elective module in the Philosophy Department: Political Philosophy. This is probably my most challenging module so concentration is key. After this, I have a five hour gap and so I normally go home and do my reading for the Political Philosophy seminar at 6!

Wednesday – the day begins at 10am for my Classical and Biblical Contexts seminar with a particularly lively tutor. This seminar has seen many a rousing debate about things such as whether Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is mainly based on classical or biblical allusions. Classical allusions, obviously. Everyone does a presentation one week, on chosen questions on that week’s novel. I did mine this week on the significance of biblical contexts on family relationships in James Joyce’s “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man”. Wednesday night is somewhat infamous amongst King’s students and alumni due to what has been termed “Walkabout Wednesdays”. So if you want the archetypal King’s clubbing experience, I recommend you try it out. It’s so bad, it’s good.

Thursday – it is perhaps unfortunate that my Medieval Literary Culture seminar is so early in the morning on a Thursday. It begins at 9am and I generally surprise myself due to how much I can say about medieval literature at that time in the morning. Coffee helps, too. The rest of the day is taken up with sleeping/reading.

Friday – I get a bit of a lie in on Fridays, not that I deserve one. My Early Modern seminar is at 1pm in a dark room far beneath the Strand campus. The discussion is generally very informative and I get a lot out of it. Again, everyone does a presentation one week and this week it’s my turn – my theories on James I’s intentions with his court masque, “Neptune’s Triumph”. Friday night, me and friends from my corridor normally do something like go to the pub down the road – a quiet night!

Saturday – Lunch with friends from halls, followed by a bit of reading. A night out normally takes place on Saturdays – Soho’s my favourite spot.

Sunday – I’ll wake up late and normally stress over work I haven’t done yet for the week ahead or articles and layout I should be doing for Roar! Newspaper. You can read Roar here: http://roarnews.co.uk/ The afternoon is taken up with catching up on work and reading, things like that. And maybe watch a film with friends once all that’s done.