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Any chance I'll ever hear back from my 2013 MA applications?

I applied for a few MAs back in May. My module results for my undergraduate up till that point was all over the place, some mid to high 2.1s and the odd first and a slew of low 2.2s and thirds .

It all averaged out to be a high 2.2. I had hoped I could do reasonably well in my last year to bring it up but I it didn't really work out and I ended up less than a percentage point away from a 2.1 classifcation.

I applied to 5 universities, got rejected by two, a conditional offer asking for a 2.1 (I wrote back explaining the situation, but they haven't deigned to respond）and 2 others have basically ignored me.

Even though I thought the way my degree was taught made the whole thing pointless, I should have studied harder, maybe drank less, sucked up the proffessors some more or whatever, thats another story.

But its mid september now, almost 120 days since I sent my applications out and I cannot put my life on hold anymore.

I've tried calling the admissions offices but everytime they've stonewalled me. Everyone's on holiday so its slow going. You should be hearing from us very soon ect ect.

I'm an international student, its pretty much self evident that at this point they'res practically no chance that I can get the paperwork in order by the time the semester starts (if it hasnt already), which makes it even more aggravating. I would have prefered to have just gotten rejected across the board a month and a half ago, that way I could be off backpacking now or working towards a proffesional certification.

I have never witnessed such a flat out indiffrent attitude from universities, and I'm wondering if anyone can offer some insights explanation or advice.

Much obliged.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 1

Klix88

All I can think is that you were applying to quite heavily-subscribed courses which were able to fill their places with people who met the entry requirements. It seems very unusual (not to say rude) to have been completely ignored by two of them, but TBH, they'd have been in touch by now if they were going to make an offer. Most UK Masters courses will be starting about now. The fact that they haven't contacted you, suggests that they've managed to fill the course.

In your position I'm not sure I'd bother following up any more. Sorry you've had such a negative experience this time round, but now you have your result you might be able to try for different courses at other unis. Some do allow entry to a Masters with a 2:2, it's just a matter of shopping around. If you can find ones which offer a PGDip (essentially a taught Masters syllabus but without the dissertation), some will let you progress to complete a full Masters if your coursework results are good.

Reply 2

Doc.Daneeka

For all intents and purposes you should consider yourself rejected. What is your degree in? Perhaps you can top it up with a PGDip (as Klix88 suggested) otherwise you might want to aim at courses that are easier to get into.

Reply 3

Eubacterium

I had this problem when I applied for a master. The admin actually said "I left a note, I don't know what else to do". So I emailed the course director and she welcomed me onto the degree later that day. Try that, the admins don't care if some applicates fall through the cracks.

Edit: After reading the above responses, I should point out I knew someone who was made an offer after the course started, so it may not be too late.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 4

esrreas

I've had three universities that haven't bothered to definitivly respond. 2 of which I have heard hide nor hair of and 1 which gave me a 2.1 offer but has since remained silent after I sent them my final transcripts (in mid June no less) and explained that I was very very close to a 2.1.

For various personal reasons I would really like to continue my studies in the UK this year, but in my country it takes at least a 10 days to process a student visa. I had studied Media and Communications as an undergraduate and I had applied for Translation and Interpreting between English and my native language.

It is my opinion that the situation for me now is a fait accompli. I feel that I have been treated very shabbily by the UK's higher education system. But again for personal reasons if there is any chance that I can still gain admissions into any of the three Unis, I will take up the offer.

It would seem from the last post that I've been contacting a bunch of admissions pencil pushers as opposed to the real decision makers. If someone can confirm that this is actually the case, I'll write to the heads of admissions asap. I mean its not as if I have anything to lose at this point.

Reply 5

Klix88

You might be able to track down the academic leader for the specific courses, by checking out the unis' websites. That might be a more direct route.

Reply 6

Pariah

It is surprising that you haven't heard at all, which makes me wonder if there is more to the story than what you are posting. Are you sure that you submitted complete applications and everything else that was required for your application to be considered? Did the unis acknowledge that your applications were complete?

Reply 7

wadhamite

Original post by esrreas

It would seem from the last post that I've been contacting a bunch of admissions pencil pushers as opposed to the real decision makers. If someone can confirm that this is actually the case, I'll write to the heads of admissions asap. I mean its not as if I have anything to lose at this point.

Of course you've been talking to admin staff. The admissions tutors are too busy being academics to be answering emails. The head of admissions is most likely also an administrator, not the person coordinating the actual hiring/firing of students. You're better off phoning up, not emailing (harder to fob off) and ask them to check on your applications (were they ever received, processed, what stage of the application are you at).

Reply 8

esrreas

I sent interim transcripts, refrences, filled in the application forms submitted them, supplied financial proof got confirmation emails, called was given a canned reply that they were processing and so on and so forth. I'm not trying to be cagey here. In fact I got denied by 2 universities pretty fast, and while rejection never feels good academic limbo is many times worse so at the very least I appreciated their alacrity.

I'm going to call later today, not to beg for a place but to get to the bottom of this cluster****. I've already started making arrangements to begin a course at the foreign language institute in my home country so I'm ready to write off this whole MA application process as a bad experience