unsuccessful application - problem with minimum requirements

My application was unsuccessful due to "not meeting the minimum entry requirements". The minimum requirements, as stated in the prospectus are "AAAA (Highers) or AAA (A Levels with a strong set of GCSE A* grades) unless one or more contextual factors applies. Conditional offers will be made in the range of BBBB–AAAA (Highers), BBB–AAA (A Levels) or 34–42 (IB)".

I am an international aplicant from Serbia, therefore my qualifications are Serbian. Grading system in Serbia is numeric (grades from 1 to 5). There is no information at University's website about minimum entry requirements aplicants from Serbia (or elsewhere, where qualifications are other then Highers/GCSE/IB) should achieve before applying. Therefore I would like to know what does "minimum entry requirements" mean for someone with Serbian qualifications??

My grades as listed in my UCAS application are:

Serbia-Secondary School Leaving Diploma 4.3 average

English language and literature 5
Basics of economics 4
Monetary economics and banking 5
Business economics 4
Constitutional law 4
Business informatics 5
Marketing 06/2011 4
Serbian language and literature 5
Mathematics 3
Statistics 5
Accounting 2
Serbian language and literature -Matura final exam 5
Monetary economics and banking - Matura final exam 5
Accounting - Matura final exam 3

Also, as I stated in my personal statement I believe that one of the contextual factors apply, and my referee confirmed this in the reference.

I am confused! Should I contact the University? Why was my application unsuccessful? Can they alter decision if they made an error?

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1

StefanieLouise

Firstly, it would help if you told us which university you're referring to.
And if they're asking for those grades, it's going to be an incredibly competitive selection of students.

Reply 2

Clayderman20

I am referring to University of Edinburgh.
I applied for MA (Hons) Psychology and Business studies.

Reply 3

StefanieLouise

Well, in that case Edinburgh will almost always make offers nearer to AAA than BBB - in fact it's very rare to hear of people who get a BBB offer from them. I certainly wouldn't feel bad about being rejected by Edinburgh, it is SERIOUSLY competitive and it happens to a lot of people, myself included.

I don't know whether your grades are good or not in comparison to A levels, but obviously you must feel your have the potential to go to a top university or you wouldn't have bothered applying. If you did contact the university, chances are they'd just tell you it's very competitive and your grades didn't match up or something. Don't you have any offers from other universities?

Reply 4

Clayderman20

I have 2 unconditional offers, 1 from University of Glasgow, and one from Sheffield Uni. But Edinburgh was my top choice because:
1. I've been there 3 times, and I can't tell how much I enjoy the city, people.. almost everything about Edinburgh and life over there suits me perfectly.
2. I have a cousin there who insisted for me to live at his place during my studies, so it would be a great money saver.

The only thing I am unsure about is, what you already mentioned "whether my grades are good or not in comparison to A levels". For Serbian standards, 4.3 out of 5.0 average is pretty good, especialy having in mind that we need to attend 10-15 exams to get a degree in the first place.

Also, as I recall, they listed "language other then English" as one of the requirements for getting into Edinburgh. I don't know if they taken into consideration my mother tongue - Serbian, as language other than English.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 5

Clayderman20

By the way, the Uni of Edinburgh website sais that minimum entry requirements for applicants from Serbia are:
* Matura, with an average 4.0/5.0 or
* At least 1 year of degree-level study at a recognised university.

http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/international/country/europe-russia/serbia/national

My Matura's average is 4.3... that's more than 4.0. Is it possible they made a mistake?

Reply 6

StefanieLouise

Original post by Clayderman20

No, unfortunately, it's very unlikely they 'made a mistake'. Sorry. Are you sure they don't want one year of degree level study AS WELL AS the 4.0/5.0 average? That's what it seems they're asking for to me.

And even if they don't want the year of study, as I said before, they're likely to make offers in the higher ranges, so perhaps something like 4.6 and upwards. When I applied to Edinburgh, my grades were more than the entry requirements too, but that by no means guarantees anyone a place.

Perhaps you could take the offer at Glasgow/Sheffield and then try and reapply to Edinburgh after you've done a year of a study, which it seems is what they want.

Reply 7

Clayderman20

* Matura, with an average 4.0/5.0 or
* At least 1 year of degree-level study at a recognised university.

:redface:

In the rejection letter they clearly stated that the reason for declining my application is that it didn't meet the minimum requirements. I would understand if their reason was "yeah, you were good, but we are likely to make offers in the higher range, like 4.7-5.0". And that would be perfectly fine. But they're telling me that I didn't fulfil minimum requirements whilst in the same time the minimum requirements (according to their website) are lower than my grades on Matura exams.

I feel confused :rolleyes:

By the way, I want to thank you for your help Stefanie. You're so kind providing me with these answers.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 8

Minerva

Original post by Clayderman20

* Matura, with an average 4.0/5.0 or
* At least 1 year of degree-level study at a recognised university.

:redface:

By the way, I want to thank you for your help Stefanie. You're so kind providing me with these answers.

I suspect someone has been a little careless when completing the 'why unsuccessful' box. If you did contact Edinburgh and clarify that you do meet their minimum requirements, all they would then need to say is that you were unsuccessful because other candidates were stronger. There's nothing to stop you from asking them, but you're very unlikely to change the outcome.

I understand your disappointment, but as has been pointed out Edinburgh is hugely competitive and turns down many many applicants who meet their 'minimum' requirements every year.

Reply 9

Txi

Yes get in touch, with so many applications mistakes can happen - got nothing to lose.

I'd suggest that your particular course would not be oversubscribed.

Reply 10

onneetse83

Original post by Clayderman20

* Matura, with an average 4.0/5.0 or
* At least 1 year of degree-level study at a recognised university.

:redface:

By the way, I want to thank you for your help Stefanie. You're so kind providing me with these answers.

I also got rejected for msc finance and investment despite meeting the min requirements...i want to believe the reason might have been that the other applicants were stronger...i then got offers from strathclyde,glasgow,nottingham,bristol,aston,bradford..i know its sad,contact the school t get clarity, if they cant offer u anything,start focusing on the offers u have

Reply 11

Clayderman20

Thank you for your answers.

I got in touch with them, and pointed out that according to their online information, I meet the minimum requirements.

I know it is very unlikely to change their decision, but I want to avoid the confusion, and also to make clear what does "minimum requirements" mean for someone with Serbian qualifications, so I could meet them next year.

Reply 12

Clayderman20

Updates: They asked to send them my transcript of grades, and so I did.
The last email I got from them sais:

"Thank you for sending this document.

I shall ask my admissions officer to review this and let you know as soon as possible if we are able to reconsider our initial decision."

So, there's still a chance.