The Student Room Group

Complaint about uni as a prospective student

I'm a prospective student for this particular university but i want to make a complaint about how my application was wrongfully dealt with (i was told it could potentially be discrimiation) without going into too much detail, my concern is will making a complaint have a negative effect on my chances of getting into the course?

I'm worried since I only have 2 unis to choose from and this is my preferred uni, but I've been advised by multiple organisations and people to complain because of how my application was dealt with, but I'm worried about not being able to get in especially considering this course requires an interview, and I'm worried they'll reject me and use my interview as an excuse when in fact its because I raised a complaint and potentially a serious one since it may be discrimination. Also to make matters worse the person in question who dealt with my application is one of the senior lecturers of the course itself, so the uni is bound to defend them based on what I've heard on here about uni complaints being useless.

Does anyone have any experience in making a complaint about a university they haven't yet been accepted into or applied to yet, and did it negatively affect your chances getting in? Any advice would be appreciated this is stressing me out and I have no clue what to do. Thanks in advance!
(edited 7 months ago)
Reply 1
Do you really want to go to a university where your senior lecturer is someone that you feel has discriminated against you?
Original post by Chocfudgecake20
I'm a prospective student for this particular university but i want to make a complaint about how my application was wrongfully dealt with (i was told it could potentially be discrimiation) without going into too much detail, my concern is will making a complaint have a negative effect on my chances of getting into the course?

I'm worried since I only have 2 unis to choose from and this is my preferred uni, but I've been advised by multiple organisations and people to complain because of how my application was dealt with, but I'm worried about not being able to get in especially considering this course requires an interview, and I'm worried they'll reject me and use my interview as an excuse when in fact its because I raised a complaint and potentially a serious one since it may be discrimination. Also to make matters worse the person in question who dealt with my application is one of the senior lecturers of the course itself, so the uni is bound to defend them based on what I've heard on here about uni complaints being useless.

Does anyone have any experience in making a complaint about a university they haven't yet been accepted into or applied to yet, and did it negatively affect your chances getting in? Any advice would be appreciated this is stressing me out and I have no clue what to do. Thanks in advance!

I suspect that I might catch some flack for this, but don't we all have an obligation to call out bad behaviour when we see it, regardless of the consequences for ourselves?

If we don't, then the perpetrator can use the consequences (or the implication of consequences) to get away with said behaviour.

Despite that being what I think we all should do, it's much harder in practice. I have no particular experience of the situation you find yourself in, so I will leave it to others to offer more informed advice.
Original post by CAG575
Do you really want to go to a university where your senior lecturer is someone that you feel has discriminated against you?

I asked myself this question and unfortunately with the course im studying I literally have only 1 other uni option and they're ranked significantly lower than this uni, despite this I did think to myself I should complain regardless and just apply to the other uni but theres a chance I might not get in there either since its all based on the interview regardless of your grades, so it limits my options by half so it's tricky, and idk if its just for show but the uni itself seems very diverse from what I've seen when i visited and also their videos online, I still have no clue as to why they did what they did but at face value and since i didn't get an explanation from anyone about why it happened, it seems like discrimination and i should probably not give them the benefit of the doubt to be fair.

Then again if i complain and then manage to get in, there's always that lingering thought that the lecturer will be out to get me and I might end up failing modules or not getting the grade I deserve because of that complaint I made against them :/
Original post by DataVenia
I suspect that I might catch some flack for this, but don't we all have an obligation to call out bad behaviour when we see it, regardless of the consequences for ourselves?

If we don't, then the perpetrator can use the consequences (or the implication of consequences) to get away with said behaviour.

Despite that being what I think we all should do, it's much harder in practice. I have no particular experience of the situation you find yourself in, so I will leave it to others to offer more informed advice.

I get this but it's just difficult when your chances of getting into uni for a niche course like this is at stake, if I had other options it wouldn't be difficult but its literally 50:50 and as mentioned in the other post the other uni is significantly lower ranked so that would affect my future prospects too i'd assume.

That being said, idk if it would be wise to complain after I get in perhaps? I guess it is only a few months away but there's probably a time limit on how long ago the incident happened was and it probably wouldn't really matter then. Its just a shame that it had to be my preferred uni, at this point I'm put off by it anyway but the thought of limiting my options and having to take another year out making it 3 years because of this uni is ridiculous
Reply 5
It really is a tough call. You need to do what is best for you, not what is best for society in general. When I say that I mean what is best for you in all aspects, your prospects , but also your sense of well-being and self-esteem. Good luck x
Original post by CAG575
It really is a tough call. You need to do what is best for you, not what is best for society in general. When I say that I mean what is best for you in all aspects, your prospects , but also your sense of well-being and self-esteem. Good luck x

Thanks so much for your advice i really hope i end up making the right decision I cannot wait till this is all over xx
Are there any informal methods you could use to raise a concern? Often universities have "report and support" channels that students and staff can use to report discrimination and behaviour of concern anonymously.

Are you able to give some more details about the university concerned? Your TSR account is anonymous

Quick Reply

Latest

Trending

Trending