Foundation Science at UEA - Your experience and feedback please

I have applied since December and I have yet to get an offer or anything :/. I am getting a little worried because they are my first choice. I have received offers from the rest of the universities and just waiting for UEA.

I applied in October and received offers from the other Unis within 2 months, UEA have only just phoned me offering an interview on Tuesday. I wouldn't worry if I were you, it seems like they just take their time. Where else have you applied?

Oh congratulations. Did you meet their course criteria and they still offered you an interview instead of an straight offer? They sure do seem to be taking their times.

I haven't applied to the best ones :/. I have applied to Manchester Met, London Met, UCS, Canterbury and UEA. The reason for that is I am studying IT now but I want to get into science so I thought I would have more chance with lower ranked unies, of course UEA is much better than the rest that's why UEA is my first choice.

What about you? Where else have you applied to?

The problem is that despite being predicted As and Bs in my 4 A2 subjects (Biology, Chemistry, French, PE) I got straight Cs. On the course site it states that 240 UCAS points from 3 subjects is the minimum entry requirements however those with Cs in two or more science subjects will not normally be considered for entry, specifically describing people in my position as unlikely for entry. They probably gave me an interview to explain why I think myself to be outside these criteria, I'll suggest that either one of my science A2s be ignored so I meet the entry requirements or that I took sciences because they interest me. If you study non-science related A2 level subjects and receive 240 points then you should be considered for entry.

I got offers for similar courses at QMUL and Uni of Liverpool however rejected from Sussex. Hertfordshire gave me an offer for straight entry to Biochemistry however I'd rather go to the others even with a preliminary year. Manchester Met is actually quite good for sciences, it's ranked higher than Hertfordshire for them anyway!

Basically - applied for the science foundation degree. I have a background in business, barely scraping the requirements but I have them, I called them up wrote my personal statement got my reference my UCAS has all been sent off etc.

I just want to rest my mind at ease a little. I applied so that I join in september 2011. Sent my application the 15th of November, that was yesterday. How long do they usually take to get back to you? and do they tell you if they decline you?

Thankyou, Also can anyone tell me if they are in the same boat as me or have been in the same boat? How hard are these degrees to get onto because I really want to go to UEA, I have my heart set on it.

Thanks in advance.


Also on a side note, I'm interested if theres any beginners badminton clubs there too

Oh I see. If you don't mind me asking but if you have two or more Cs in science subjects like you said, they will probably would offer you a place straight into an honours degree rather than the foundation degree. My question is why do you want to do the foundation when you can do the honours?

Are you looking to do Biochemistry after the foundation year? I was thinking about Biochemistry but then I changed my mind to Biomedicine .

I am doing a non-science course and I am predicted D*D*D* (A*A*A*) which is about 400-420 UCAS points. So I think that should be enough to get into the course haha. I wouldn't mind an interview either. I just wish they would hurry up a little bit.

I visited Manchester Met and they weren't bad, I just didn't like the atmosphere for some reason but UEA was just amazing. I was so excited that UEA does my course and I have a chance to get into it, I have yet to decide my second choice haha.

As far as I'm aware, only the first year is foundation, after that it's honours. This is the course I've applied for at UEA: http://www.uea.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/degree/detail/bsc-science-with-a-foundation-year

I'm looking to do Biochemistry however at UEA I'd rather do Microbiology as it still covers my area of interest but is a Master's course. If I went to QMUL I'd do a 1+4 year course ending in a MSci degree in Biochemistry which would be ideal, however I'd still like to see how good UEA as it may still swing my mind.

You should get into the F008 course at UEA no problem with those grades, they might just be skeptical about why you're applying to a preliminary year course with those grades! You could get into a top uni if you applied for a course relevant to what you're currently studying.

That's exactly the course I have applied to too. I may have misunderstood their wordings. I thought when they said "Students presenting with three A2 levels (or equivalent) of which two or more are science subjects (Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology) at Grade C (predicted or obtained) will not normally be considered for this course." they meant that those students with those grades didn't need to do the foundation year because their grades were good enough. I may be wrong, sorry.

I looked into the courses at UEA and found Biomedicine to be my best choice as I am looking to do PhD in Medicine after that to be a doctor. The reason I applied to the foundation year is because the honours always asks for A level science subjects at B and C which I don't have, so I had no other choice but to apply for the foundation year.

Yes I know, sometimes I think about that haha. I could have applied to one of the best IT unies in UK but I am not as interested in IT as I am in science. I didn't want to do something I am not interested in.

To get direct entry to science courses at UEA you normally need at least ABB so I doubt I'd have got it. I think what they meant is that if you have already underperformed in science then they wouldn't want to take you on, they want to give oppertunities to persons such as yourself who want to change disciplines to science. If your overall objective is to be a doctor then perhaps you should consider this course: http://www.uea.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/degree/detail/mbbs-medicine-with-a-foundation-year

I think they normally prefer applicants with science subjects even for pre-med, but maybe it's worth at least enquiring about it. That's a fair approach to take, even though I got disappointing grades at A-level science I still want to pursue it as it is my interest. No point paying £9000 a year studying something that you don't wish to do later in life!

Oh now I understand. Thanks for clarifying. I did have a look at that medicine with a foundation year course however this is where I was put off "Applicants must have a minimum of six GCSEs at Grade B or above including English Language, Mathematics and a Single Science subject (Biology, Chemistry or Physics) or grades BB in GCSE Science Double Award." I do not have 6 GCSEs at Grade B because when I was at year 10 and 11 which was about 5 years ago I couldn't speak any English therefore I didn't do so well :/ (you might have noticed, my English is still not perfect) and I didn't think they would accept me. I didn't want to be rejected. I would give everything to be accepted at medicine with the foundation year also it is a little too late I think since I have sent my application 2 months ago and can't change anything any more.

Wow, sounds like you've had quite a struggle! Much respect, your level of English is very good if you've only had 4 or so years to learn it in. I've been learning French for 7 years and I'm still not fluent! Anyway, the pre-medicine courses such as the one at UEA are for people such as yourself. They will relate your background to the entry requirements, if you only came to Britain a few years ago then they might overlook the GCSE requirements. On the page it states that "We welcome applications from students from all academic backgrounds". If you describe your circumstances to them then maybe they may give you access to the pre-medicine course. It's never too late, only a week ago I contacted Queen Mary to ask for a change of course and they obliged, they contacted UCAS and the course code was changed. The most important thing is that you contact them and ask.

I am feeling a little nervous now haha. I will contact them at once. Thank you very much .

Should I contact their admission department for that do you think?

Yes, their admission department is probably the best place to ask. Just tell them that you've already applied but would still like to enquire about whether you'd be able to change your application to the pre-med scheme and whether it is likely that you'd be accepted

Yes, I just pressed the "send" button. I told them that I have already applied and wondering if I could change my course to the medicine foundation year. I also explained my what I am already studying, my predicted grades and the reason why my GCSEs are low. Hopefully they will reply tomorrow, I am not very good with waiting haha.

Thank you for helping me out .

No worries my interview went well, they said they'll offer me a place though I'm not getting my hopes up until UCAS confirms it!

Have they replied? If not then I have the email address of someone you could contact at UEA that may be of more help.

Yes they replied. They said their deadline for Medicine was October 15th so they won't be able to accept any other applications. I thought about calling them in-case they have misunderstood my email but then I made it quite very clear in the email, so I didn't call them.What do you think I should do?

That may be a problem. You could suggest that you didn't know applications for the pre-med scheme had the same deadline as the main Medicine course? Otherwise, you could continue with your current application and try and swap from the Science to the Medicine preliminary years part way through. Yesterday the examiner said that after the first year on this course they will consider your performance and pass grade to decide which courses they will let you on to, so if you achieve good grades in the first semester of the Science year then you would be able to make a very good arguement!

Still no offer and it is getting closer to the end of march. I am beginning to worry and think they have forgotten about my application or something..

They won't forget about it, they'll just have received a surge of applications near when you applied due to the deadline the month after so it'll take longer to process the applications. I applied during October which would've been a much quieter period as only medical students seem to apply around then and they still only responded to my application a few weeks ago. You have to look at the bright side - they've had months to consider your application and if they thought you weren't suitable they'd have told you by now