[Tinberry]

I have recently been trying to find out my options for studying at Edinburgh Uni but am having difficulties getting replies. I was wondering if others would factor this in when choosing where to study? Would you think this might imply poor organisation etc at the uni.

Im mainly annoyed as I attended an Open Day at the uni in order to speak to relevant people in person but the Admissions people asked me to email instead. I wanted to speak face to face but they said it would be easier for them if I emailed. Its now been a week and a half with no response so I guess they ment easier to ignore.

What are others thoughts? Would you let this affect your uni preference?

[chloemo14]

Certainly if people actually on the course said that the communication within the department is bad. My course had a reputation for it and that was something I seriously considered when deciding between offers. However, I wouldn't extrapolate from the admissions department to your prospective faculty, because it's likely to be run by completely different people with completely different procedures, and I think it would be a bit silly to potentially miss out on a course that would otherwise be right for you because of a misconception formed through some annoyances in applying.

[Antifazian]

It's a busy time of year for unis at the moment, your email is probably not their primary concern right now, they have people graduating and all that. I wouldn't judge them too harshly.

It's possible that if they haven't replied it's because you're asking questions you could've found the answers to elsewhere with effort. If not, you can't do much but be patient.

[TheSownRose]

I didn't.

Getting in touch with my university was exceedingly difficult. I was trying it in Clearing, and for days on end I couldn't get through to someone who could actually help me - for some reason, they ran it all through main reception who then was supposed to just transfer you to the appropriate person ... but the appropriate person was never there. To his credit, though, when I did finally get through to the admissions tutor (I somehow managed to get hold of the direct number, which apparently was not the same number that my calls had been transferred to by main reception ), he was good with communication and phoned me back when he said he would.

The university in general has a reputation for not being great at communication, but I'm glad I didn't let it put me off because my university was otherwise excellent. Communication within the department was always good, but it has at times been difficult finding the appropriate person to speak to outside the department - finance advice, employment advice, that sort of thing.


As a side note, phone them up: you can't avoid a phone call.

[ch0llima]

I did.

I rejected one because it was neck and neck between two of them. The second one was very slow and inefficient with regards to their communication and some of the correspondence I received had quite a rude tone to it. I thought to myself, "If this is indicative of how the place is run and what the people are like, do I want to go there?". "No", was the answer.

First impressions count.

[Tinberry]

(Original post by chloemo14)
Certainly if people actually on the course said that the communication within the department is bad. My course had a reputation for it and that was something I seriously considered when deciding between offers. However, I wouldn't extrapolate from the admissions department to your prospective faculty, because it's likely to be run by completely different people with completely different procedures, and I think it would be a bit silly to potentially miss out on a course that would otherwise be right for you because of a misconception formed through some annoyances in applying.

Well it was the faculty admissions. So it is the College of Science and Eng. Admissions that is currently not responding. I would potentially be studying within Earth Sciences department but the Science and Eng is the umbrella College :/

Similarly though the my course leader that I managed to speak to at the Open Day could really answer my questions but just wanted to keep advertising his course to me despite me clearly already picking it.

[Meat is Murder]

This is a very interesting question. I found the communication with the admissions team at Queens Belfast to be very sound, they rang ME on two occasions following emails I had sent them. Very good. My girlfriend on the other hand applied to Southampton and has had some real problems before and during the admission stage and it certainly is a put off.

It gives a general impression of the uni and a professional admissions team who are thorough and efficient would sway me in my decision making. I think chloemo14 has it right though, it would be wrong to judge a uni with thousands of staff on the basis of one inadequate member of an admin/admissions team.

[edjunkie]

There is usually a split between general university admission and departmental admission administration. If you ask a questions which falls between the two or requires third party input, it can extend the response time. They would rather not reply, than give misleading information.

It is better to try and frame your question(s) such that it can be answered yes/no. Asking complex dependency based questions, requires more time to respond and makes a prompt response less likely.

There is a specific problem with email in that it can flag as spam and not delivered successfully. Try and make sure your email subject is descriptive, e.g. "2012 BA History Admission Option Question".

[DarkWhite]

(Original post by edjunkie)
There is usually a split between general university admission and departmental admission administration. If you ask a questions which falls between the two or requires third party input, it can extend the response time. They would rather not reply, than give misleading information.

It is better to try and frame your question(s) such that it can be answered yes/no. Asking complex dependency based questions, requires more time to respond and makes a prompt response less likely.

There is a specific problem with email in that it can flag as spam and not delivered successfully. Try and make sure your email subject is descriptive, e.g. "2012 BA History Admission Option Question".

This is very true in many institutions, but they shouldn't just ignore your query; they should at least reply saying, "We'll double-check and get back to you by the end of next week.", for example.

OP, give them a ring and see what they say. Often, admissions staff are also academics, and some academics are rather poor when it comes to email!

[Tinberry]

Now been two weeks since my first email and sent a second one on Friday. Its ridiculus.

Re: above.

Its not a simple question but technically it does have a yes /no answer though hopefully ill eventually get more info too.

Annoyingly I had to email as I was sending attachments. If no reply tomorrow ill definetly be phoning. But should I be angry/make a complaint on the phone? If it was a company id make a complaint but its a uni that a might be attending.

[TheSownRose]

(Original post by Tinberry)
Now been two weeks since my first email and sent a second one on Friday. Its ridiculus.

Re: above.

Its not a simple question but technically it does have a yes /no answer though hopefully ill eventually get more info too.

Annoyingly I had to email as I was sending attachments. If no reply tomorrow ill definetly be phoning. But should I be angry/make a complaint on the phone? If it was a company id make a complaint but its a uni that a might be attending.

You want a helpful answer, I presume? Then don't be angry on the phone, it gets you nowhere. If you wish to make a complaint, do it in a separate phone call to the relevant person.