Greek applicant for UK unis needs help.

I do not know about neuroscience but for engineering usually you need apolytirion with a mark of at least 17 for direct entry for good universities. You can also study for a Foundation Year(average apolytirion) and then move on to an engineering course. As you might already know, the degrees in Scotland have an extra year compared to English universities. Stay away from Glasgow, very rough town.(from a Greek that lives in England for many years

I've forgotten to mention that you might find it more difficult to been accepted in universities in UK this year because more young people are going to university instead of going straight to find a job due to the credit crunch. At least that is what the Times newspaper is reporting.

Back to our subject then, you are welcome Despoina, you did not mention what route of engineering you are interested in following. You are interested in both neuroscience or engineering, hopefully you like both and not just being put under pressure from your family to choose one of them

I am applying for eleectrical and electronic engineering in most universities but also for Bioengineering at Imperial. This way I actually combine both of my interests, since choose this engineering field because I can have a career related to biomedical siences and, consequently, neuroscience. So,I think it's a fine combination that satisfies all of my aspiratons.

Attention please: People, I opened this thread for a reason and this reason was to find some help for the UCAS application procedure since here, in my small place they offer nothing. I would appreciate it if you stayed on-topic.

Thank you

Have you thought of some of the interdisciplinary engineering degrees that allow you to do a bit of everything before specialising? Cambridge pioneered this a while back, but others are beginning to implement more of the ideas in their degrees. I once did software eng before switching degrees, so I know a little about that area (although we're going back about six years), I think I should be able to go hunting for some info for you.

As for the thread, it'll be cleaned up soon and put back on topic. The best advice is to visit these places yourself, see what the course offers you- and not to listen to one person's view of a place as vast as some of the UK's major cities. I'd disregard the idea about competition increasing- it's not really a factor for international students, as there's a quota to be filled for British undergrads, but not foreign students. Edinburgh and Warwick for example this year said they were full in terms of funded places through the government, but they'd still consider overseas applicants through clearning in certain courses. You should be ok then providing you're hitting or exceeding the minimum standard.

Thank you really much for this information. I already have some (tons) of prospectuses here and they refer to some general engineering courses but some further information would be really useful.
I am predicted with really high grades (I could hit med school here if I wanted) so I don't think it'll be a problem, either to hit or exceed the grades, considering there would not be an unfortunate event. After all, I'm studying hard.
About visiting the places, I was planning this summer go to Glasgow and Edinburgh anyway and visit London, too if I was accepted at a uni there, so I think I will get a personal opinion.

Does anyone know how EU students get interviewed, if they do?

You won't normally be interviewed for Engineering courses in Scotland, unless you're going for a bursary or some form of scholarship. Even then, its far from normal. You will do for med school or Oxbridge (as well as some others), but if medicine isn't your thing, then don't do it, its a big commitment. If you're planning on staying in the UK once you have your degree, then the Russell Group or 1994 group is pretty irrelevant- most UK employers care more about the reputation of the department (if they didn't, then places like Strathclyde wouldn't do half as well as they do, because they're arguably the strongest in Scotland for Eng). However, if you go abroad then name recognition tends to help, and departments are less well know. Glasgow and Edinburgh can be reached in an hour from each other cheaply on the train- go and see what you think, it's possible to get a feel for both in a few hours, although I'd personally take the day if I were you. London to both cities is a major rail link, so again getting there isn't hugely tough. Some of the more out of the way places might take more forward planning, but they're all within easy enough reach- the UK isn't all that big!

I'll go looking for specialism paths from a general overview if I can later on. It might be worth having a look at Cambridge's if you think you have a shot at those sort of grades, it's a course that lots of people seem to get a lot out of. You can of course look at league tables, but the general advice is to not rely too much on them, they have problems with weightings and methods which often means a few good grades and happy students can skew a table in favour of places that employers wouldn't necessarily consider amongst the UK's best.

I rejected Oxbridge because they need A-Levels or IB and stuff (and I do not have such qualifications) and I focused on London or other "recognised" institutions, mostly taking advice from people that know about sciences and Engineering here. But I'll check Cambridge's syllabus anyway, if available. For example, I am making 2 applications to Imperial, where they accept my qualifications and it is a world-known university with a great reputation. And I am searching unis not only among the tables but those that proffesionals in the area I want to study see as top in their field. Which unis would you sugges, by the way, given that my grades (when compared to A-levels) are on the level of, let's A*AA?

For A*AA, you'll have a shot at Oxbridge if you're performing to those levels- they'll have something that converts their entry req to Greek exams, they're two of the most international universities in the world, they're bound to. For engineering, you might want to look at Strathclyde or Southampton. Strath has a the usual deal of a longer course in Scotland, but don't be fooled by the lower entry req and thinking its a poor institution because of it. You might also want to look at Bath.

It is true that Strathclyde(Scotland) and Bath/ Southampton(England) are very good universities, with a strong reputation in engineering. As I said before, if you can afford an extra year of studies in a Scottish university go for it, they charge no fees for home students but I am not so sure what the situation is for EU students. One of the benefits to a Greek student is that you can join the Technical Institute of Greece (TEE) much easier since in order to graduate from a Greek university it takes five years of studies. Scottish universities need four years of studying for the undergraduate degree so this is closer to Greek universities and if you obtain a separate Masters this will make your life much easier(if you want to be professionally recognised in Greece). England is trying to catch up with MEng but at the moment in Greece this is classed as an undergraduate degree and therefore joining TEE is out of the question without taking further exams on some extra modules. With the Bologna Convention things might change in the future so you might get lucky. Personally, TEE had refused me registration with them unless I take some extra modules(three in number) in a Greek University(NTUA) or the other option was to be classified as a technician and not as an engineer in other words refusing me the right(which you receive automatically when joining as engineer) to put my signature on engineering projects. Having spent my time and money obtaining both a bachelors and Masters degree abroad that was out of the question for me. I stayed in the UK and received a Chartered Engineer status from the British Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). Therefore TEE was forced to recognise my qualifications in Greece without asking any further questions since I was already recognised as an engineer in another European Union country. Be carefull with your choices though, some universities such as Strathclyde or York (from personal experience) are not regarded as highly in Greece as they do in the UK. If you want to avoid this problem go a Russell Group university.