The Student Room Group

Conditional offer/Failing to meet the language requirements/Rejected?

Dear guys,

I am addressing you with a concern which drives me successively crazy. I am neither begging for hopeful messages, which are not goal-oriented, nor denying that the final decision can be only made by the department from which a respond is impatiently awaited. Just being afraid of being rejected, because of not meeting the language requirements. I wrote the following mail to my department.
By the way, I have a conditional offer for the MPhil in Modern languages (Comparative literature: German and Russian) and my supervisor already confirmed that I fulfill the academic conditions. I took IELTS twice with the same horrible outcome.
"I took the IELTS exam this month and got my results today placing myself in a situation of discomfort. The language requirements make it clear that I am required to have a 7.5 overall and no less than 7 in every section.My results differ from that to that extent as I have a total of 7.5 and everything else at least or more than 7, except for the writing part where I scored a 6.5. I am absolutely aware that this is an important criteria, but I would like to ask if you explicitly recommending me to repeat the test, although you already have my writing example and my statement of purpose revealing my language level and the ability to study properly at the Oxford University without any issues. I do not believe in the significance of standardized tests, especially, as the difference between 6.5 and 7 doesn’t have any reliable impact on my academic success. But it is not a question of believe or opinion, for sure.I hope that this query isn’t inappropriate and at the same time, I am looking forward to hearing from you with your capability to diminish my incertitude.Best Wishes"

Do you have any experiences concerning the flexibility in handling marginal deviations for meeting the language requirement?

Thanks in advance for possibly dispersing my worries :-)
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 1
I really hope I could tell you otherwise, but perhaps your worries are as problematic as you think they are.

I'm not too sure about this, but like you, I'm an international student, and was taking a look through the visa application process. As the visa application also looks for the applicant's fluency of English, your IELTS score may affect your visa application. That is to say, even if Oxford decides to lower their standards for you, the VISA office may not.

However, this is just my speculation, and I may be wrong. If I were you, I would reach out to my College's admissions officer and seek his/her advice on this.

Cheers and I hope you'll be able to resolve this.
Original post by milkman94
I really hope I could tell you otherwise, but perhaps your worries are as problematic as you think they are.

I'm not too sure about this, but like you, I'm an international student, and was taking a look through the visa application process. As the visa application also looks for the applicant's fluency of English, your IELTS score may affect your visa application. That is to say, even if Oxford decides to lower their standards for you, the VISA office may not.

However, this is just my speculation, and I may be wrong. If I were you, I would reach out to my College's admissions officer and seek his/her advice on this.

Cheers and I hope you'll be able to resolve this.


Thank you for your kind and quick respond. As a European citizen, I am not required to apply for a visa. Nevertheless, I feel sorry for every international student, not entering their favorable program due to visa issues.
Reply 3
Original post by ViktorLiterature
Thank you for your kind and quick respond. As a European citizen, I am not required to apply for a visa. Nevertheless, I feel sorry for every international student, not entering their favorable program due to visa issues.


No worries. Hmm perhaps you can just reach out to your admissions officer? I'm sure they would have encountered past applicants with similar cases and will be able to advise you accordingly. However, since your English seems perfectly fine, I think it's a issue of test-taking rather than a proficiency one.

All the best!
Thank you for your wishes. Will wait, hope and preparing myself to retake the exam in two weeks to get sure and trying to not being rejected just because of such a marginal deviation.
I think the likelihood of their lowering the requirement for you is very, very low. The only other possibility is for them to advise you to go for another examination (TOEFL) or to give you an internal assessment (which you will still need to be able to pass).

If anything, writing would be the most important part of the four, since it's the principal element in examinations.

Original post by milkman94
I really hope I could tell you otherwise, but perhaps your worries are as problematic as you think they are.
I'm not too sure about this, but like you, I'm an international student, and was taking a look through the visa application process. As the visa application also looks for the applicant's fluency of English, your IELTS score may affect your visa application. That is to say, even if Oxford decides to lower their standards for you, the VISA office may not.
However, this is just my speculation, and I may be wrong. If I were you, I would reach out to my College's admissions officer and seek his/her advice on this.
Cheers and I hope you'll be able to resolve this.


That's irrelevant.

With the visa application, you don't submit to the office your IELTS score, but are advised to state that the institution (Oxford) has assessed you themselves and are satisfied with it.

Original post by ViktorLiterature
Thank you for your kind and quick respond. As a European citizen, I am not required to apply for a visa. Nevertheless, I feel sorry for every international student, not entering their favorable program due to visa issues.


In reality, it's not very likely for a normal student with a clean background from an OK country to be denied a study visa sponsored by a HEI.
Original post by ViktorLiterature
Dear guys,

I am addressing you with a concern which drives me successively crazy. I am neither begging for hopeful messages, which are not goal-oriented, nor denying that the final decision can be only made by the department from which a respond is impatiently awaited. Just being afraid of being rejected, because of not meeting the language requirements. I wrote the following mail to my department.
By the way, I have a conditional offer for the MPhil in Modern languages (Comparative literature: German and Russian) and my supervisor already confirmed that I fulfill the academic conditions. I took IELTS twice with the same horrible outcome.
"I took the IELTS exam this month and got my results today placing myself in a situation of discomfort. The language requirements make it clear that I am required to have a 7.5 overall and no less than 7 in every section.My results differ from that to that extent as I have a total of 7.5 and everything else at least or more than 7, except for the writing part where I scored a 6.5. I am absolutely aware that this is an important criteria, but I would like to ask if you explicitly recommending me to repeat the test, although you already have my writing example and my statement of purpose revealing my language level and the ability to study properly at the Oxford University without any issues. I do not believe in the significance of standardized tests, especially, as the difference between 6.5 and 7 doesn’t have any reliable impact on my academic success. But it is not a question of believe or opinion, for sure.I hope that this query isn’t inappropriate and at the same time, I am looking forward to hearing from you with your capability to diminish my incertitude.Best Wishes"

Do you have any experiences concerning the flexibility in handling marginal deviations for meeting the language requirement?

Thanks in advance for possibly dispersing my worries :-)


Dear Vicktor,
how are you? Sorry for bothering but I find myself in the same situation. What was the answer of the university?
I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,
Original post by EricaAnthropos
Dear Vicktor,
how are you? Sorry for bothering but I find myself in the same situation. What was the answer of the university?
I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,

Hi @EricaAnthropos,

I am also an offer holder for an MSc in Oxford. Rest assured, I got my writing component 6.5 as well, and I asked me department about it (I got an overall 8.0, fyi). Just a week ago, i have this dilemma. They told me they would write an English Language Waiver Letter for me, and luckily it got approved and my English Language conditions have been completely fulfilled. So, I would suggest you contact your department and see what options are available for you. Good luck!

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