Could someone explain the ridiculous entry requirements for internationals?

Like you said I think it is probably due to the admissions being misinformed about the standard grade expectations in Finland, I've seen the same thing happen between Scottish and English Universities not to this extent though lol. If you're interested in applying to Glasgow, I would recommend contacting the admissions board directly. In terms of Glasgow's standard entry requirements (for the UK anyway) , I would say that they try to appeal to students with slightly above average grades for most subjects. Hope this helps

What the...

I'm a French student and the minimal requirement is beyond ridiculous - minimal average score of 16, that's asked by Oxbridge..

Hahah I guess they are indirectly discriminating against all international applicants if this is not solely a problem with Finland.

Man they really must hate internationals. Asking for more than Oxbridge in the case of Finnish students and asking the same as Oxbridge for French students.

I believe they are asking for pretty ridiculous (same or higher than Oxbridge) grades from IB students as well.

I swear ! I mean, 16 is an achievable grade for a very good student, which is understandable for Oxbridge entry requirements but the University of Glasgow - woah

I suppose if your going to get a free ride, they should expect you to be the best.


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If they wanted the best then they should demand A*A*A*A* from uk nationals. Asking to be in the top 1% is a bit too much for a top 100 school whether it's free or not imo.

It's exactly the same thing for applicants from Belgium.. They ask for 85%, which is nearly impossible. Your grade depends much on your area of studying and the quality of your school. If you, like me, go to a good school and you study Latin or Maths you almost can't achieve that. 85 means passing with greatest distinction, the highest classification possible.

Yep. Seems like Glasgow isn't really interested in giving international applicants fair consideration when compared to UK nationals.

I'm not sure myself but I guess it's the demand from abroad particularly in China and Egypt where academic standards are high. I'm not sure myself because you probably speak better English than those up north lel

"International" (ie. as opposed to EU) students pay high fees so are actually more valuable for universities.

e.g. http://www.gla.ac.uk/undergraduate/fees/#/tuitionfeesforinternationalstudents
£14k pa upwards depending on course at Glasgow

By international I was referring to EU nationals. I am aware, that overseas students most likely are very valuable to these universities on financial grounds.

I just find it to be pretty hypocritical that they advertise how they want to give all students of certain level equal consideration in the application process, but in effect they prevent anyone but the top 1% of the EU students in any cohort to apply with their ridiculous requirements. While at the same time dishing out offers of AAB to UK nationals.

I mean if they were as harsh on UK nationals and ranked in the top 10 in Europe at least, then I could understand these requirements. But as of now, there really is no academic justification for these requirements, especially given the fact, that A-levels have been troubled by grade inflation, whereas the Finnish Ylioppilastutkinto has not, thanks to the method of using normal distribution when allocating grades in each exam taken (like in many other EU qualifications).

You could say there is something fishy about the fact that your minimum entry requirements are far above that of Oxford or Cambridge (and the Ivy League), while at the same time you rank in the bottom of top 100 in global university rankings.

Do they say they give equal consideration to EU applicants? TBH I'm not surprised they have higher requirements for non UK applicants. They get £9kpa fees from non Scottish UK students so they are attractive to Scottish unis. And then Scotland has a limited budget to share between Scottish students and EU students, it makes sense for them to give priority to local students.

If you don't like it apply elsewhere...


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A lot of the Scottish unis do it deliberately because of funding pressures - you're much less valuable to them than a student from England, so they have relatively low A-Level requirements. It's a consequence of our bat**** crazy funding system for higher education I'm afraid.

Oh yes they do, like any other universities. And the last time I checked, your own national laws and EU-laws actually require them to do so. Equality and anti-discrimination legislation is pretty bothersome, eh?

I'm not applying to Glasgow at all, even though I am in the lucky few Finns who satisfy the requirements. Doesn't mean that I couldn't voice my critique of their discriminatory admission policies.