School of Oriental and African Studies

London

SOAS University of London Rep - 2017 Applicants

Are you interested in SOAS and thinking about applying this year? Feel free to ask us questions, let us know your interests and get talking to other applicants. You can give us a tag @SOAS Student Helper

Here are some questions to get you started:

What are you applying for?
What qualifications are you studying?
What are you most looking forward to at uni?

Laura, Darryl, Vian and Tom :flip:

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

heyspiderman

Hi there!

I applied for the LLB Law programme recently and I was wondering how long it takes for SOAS to respond usually? Do applicants have to go through an interview process? I'm currently studying for my A Levels and i'm doing English, History, Law, and Economics. I've visited SOAS several times and I loved the atmosphere so I really hope I get in!

Thanks for your help!

School of Oriental and African Studies

London

Reply 2

SOAS

Official Rep

Original post by heyspiderman

Hi heyspiderman,

Great to hear you've applied to SOAS!

The admissions team aim to reply within 20 working days from the time you receive your receipt of acknowledgement for your application, so roughly a month. If for any reason your application is not complete they may get in touch to request further information from you by email.

Very occasionally people may be invited to interview for some degrees, but this is rare and we do not usually interview for Law.

Hope this answers your questions and best of luck with your application. If you have any more questions for us let us know! :h:

Laura

Reply 3

RFK1711

Hello!

I have applied for BA Korean and would like to ask something regarding open options - how many open options are you allowed to take over this course? Is it possible to take one every year and, if so, is it possible to take a language open option every year (I am interested in taking up an extra language alongside the main Korean) And finally, does taking an open option every year have an impact on how your degree is classified?

Thank you!

Reply 4

SOAS

Official Rep

Hi there,

Thanks for getting in touch with us. You can take three open option units in total, so one each year. Studying another language might be a problem as learning Korean is very demanding. I'm just waiting to hear back from the Admissions Tutor and will let you know if it is possible or not. Also, just to let you know that taking an open option unit each year will not have any effect on the classification of the degree.

Out of interest and in case the Admissions Tutor asks, which other language would you like to learn?

Thanks,

Darryl

Reply 5

RFK1711

Original post by SOAS Student Helper

Hello,

Thanks for your reply! I will most probably want to study Arabic, although I should add that I am not a true beginner in either languages as I have studied them both before and know the basics in both.

Thank you!

Reply 6

Gigi26SMILE

Hi everybody :smile:

I applied for Korean and got my offer yesterday :biggrin:

I'm planning on studying Chinese in my open options as I already have a very good knowledge of Korean :smile:

At the moment I'm studying French, Spanish, and Biology.
The thing I'm looking forward to the most... there's too many :wink:

I'm really excited about being able to spend all my time studying the subject I love, meeting people who are interested in the same things as me, living in London... I'm really excited :biggrin:

Reply 7

SOAS

Official Rep

Original post by RFK1711

Hi RFK1711,

We've spoken to the Admissions Tutor who has said that because the year abroad in BA Korean is in the second year, they usually discourage students from taking another language as an option in year 1. They like you to focus on Korean so that you are fully prepped for your year abroad. That being said, it does depend on your level of Korean and your level in the other language you are thinking of taking, so there may be a possibility.

If you aren't a beginner in Korean you will take a language placement test during Welcome Week at the start of term so that you can be put in a class which is the right level for you. After the placement test and after consultation with the relevant tutors during the first week of term a decision will be made on whether you can take another language as your open option that year.

Whatever the situation for the first year, you will be able to take open options in another language in the third and fourth year of your course (one each year).

Hope this helps, let us know if you need any more advice!

Laura

Reply 8

RFK1711

Original post by SOAS Student Helper

Hi!

Thanks for the help!

Reply 9

SOAS

Official Rep

Original post by Gigi26SMILE

Hi everybody :smile:

I applied for Korean and got my offer yesterday :biggrin:

I'm planning on studying Chinese in my open options as I already have a very good knowledge of Korean :smile:

At the moment I'm studying French, Spanish, and Biology.
The thing I'm looking forward to the most... there's too many :wink:

I'm really excited about being able to spend all my time studying the subject I love, meeting people who are interested in the same things as me, living in London... I'm really excited :biggrin:

Hey Gigi26SMILE

Congrats on your offer!!! :banana:

Glad to hear that you are looking forward to uni. Just get in touch if you have any questions for us!

The SOAS Students' Union has loads of interesting student clubs and societies where you can meet up with people who have similar interests. If you haven't already you might want to check out their societies page. There are several societies focusing on different aspects of Korean culture and lots of others too!

Laura

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 10

Senxpen

Original post by heyspiderman

Hi- I also applied for LLB Law and submitted my application of the 10/11 and I just received an offer today. Because I have already achieved an A grade in my EPQ I've been given a conditional offer of ABB (may also be because I attended their summer school). They go to back to me relatively quickly considering I'm still waiting for replies from my other choices- good luck!

Reply 11

heyspiderman

Original post by SOAS Student Helper

Laura

Thank you so much Laura that was really helpful! :pika:

Original post by Senxpen

Congratsss thats amazing! That's quite a good offer considering how competitive Law is. I was looking at their law modules on the website and they have really interesting programmes like Chinese Law and Legal Systems of Asia and Africa which I'm really looking forward to because it seems so different from the standard modules that all the other UK universities offer. Apparently when we're applying for internships it really stands out to have those kinds of courses because it shows you have a global outlook on law - so fingers crossed I hope I get in soon too!!! :cute:

Original post by Gigi26SMILE

Hi everybody :smile:

I applied for Korean and got my offer yesterday :biggrin:

I'm planning on studying Chinese in my open options as I already have a very good knowledge of Korean :smile:

At the moment I'm studying French, Spanish, and Biology.
The thing I'm looking forward to the most... there's too many :wink:

I'm really excited about being able to spend all my time studying the subject I love, meeting people who are interested in the same things as me, living in London... I'm really excited :biggrin:

Congratulations!! :clap2:

Being in Central London is actually going to be the best thing ever. :banana:

Reply 12

Senxpen

Original post by heyspiderman

Thank you so much Laura that was really helpful! :pika:

Thank you!! I really hope you get an offer soon, its so frustrating waiting. I agree, the SOAS law course is exceptional- If I go to SOAS i would love to study islamic law, I think that's what I like about their course the most. Unlike other unis, they have regional expertise in the middle east, Asia and Africa. Btw what other unis did you apply to if you don't mind me asking?

Reply 13

Annie881

Hi!

I've applied for Chinese and International Relations at SOAS, and I sent off my application about a week ago. I'm just curious, how long does it usually take to get a reply? :smile:

I know it hasn't been long since I sent mine off, I'm just curious.
Also, how does learning a language in the Language center work? How much does it cost for SOAS students, who study a language as part of their course anyways? Is it even possible for such students to learn a language alongside their degree, is it allowed? :smile:

I would love to learn a smaller language next to my degree, that is one of the reasons why I chose SOAS in the first place.
Oh and sorry, but one last question - when can I apply for a place at Uniersity of London or SOAS housing? Because I have read something like that you can only apply once you have secured your place at SOAS. How does that work?

Thanks in advance :smile:

Reply 14

SOAS

Official Rep

Hi Annie881,

Thanks for contacting us.

It takes on average about three weeks to process an application. As both Chinese and International Relations are popular subjects I would say it's probably going to take that long.

Students can learn a language through the Language Centre. There is no cost except for a £20 admin fee, but it doesn't form part of the degree so there wouldn't be any credit for taking it. For more information about the Language Entitlement Programme please click on the following link:

https://www.soas.ac.uk/languagecentre/lep/

With regards to SOAS and University of London housing, you will be able to apply for it once you have received an offer and firmed it. A serial number will then be sent to you which you can use for the application.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Good Luck!

Darryl

Reply 15

mellons

Hi

I've applied for BA South Asian Studies and Geography and really hoping for an offer back - SOAS is my favourite choice (although I guess it's not hard to be since it's the only uni offering Nepali :tongue:

). Anyhow, I was wondering how popular South Asian Studies is? When I went on the open day there were only like 4 other people at the South Asia talk in comparison to the multiple overflowing Arabic/Chinese/Japanese talks for example. Just wondering because I wanna know that there'll be a good amount of people to study with.

Thank you :smile:

Reply 16

SOAS

Official Rep

Original post by mellons

Hi mellons,

While the number of students on our area studies courses does tend to be a bit smaller than other subjects as it is more specialist, there is also a lower staff/student ratio on the course which can be advantageous. You will also get to know other students on your course very well often being in both lectures and seminars together.

The number of students on the course varies from year to year, but if you would like to find out how many students were on the programme last year you could get in touch with the Faculty of Languages and Cultures, who should be able to advise. They can be contacted by emailing [email protected]

Best of luck with your application! :h:

Laura

Reply 17

saamikayani

Hi,

I am currently studying "Arabic and English Language" at the University of Westminster, through the first year of this degree, is it possible for me to apply for second year "Arabic and English" at SOAS? SOAS is basically my dream University :colondollar:

*Please note, I have only MMM from my BTEC when I attended College and still need Maths GCSE.* :frown:

Is there any chance I would be accepted if I applied to transfer. :s-smilie:

Many thanks,
Usama Kayani :smile:

Reply 18

SOAS

Official Rep

Original post by saamikayani

*Please note, I have only MMM from my BTEC when I attended College and still need Maths GCSE.* :frown:

Is there any chance I would be accepted if I applied to transfer. :s-smilie:

Many thanks,
Usama Kayani :smile:

Hi Usama,

Sorry it's taken a few days to get back to you.

Any transfer applications are considered on a case by case basis and unfortunately because your grades from your BTEC are lower than what we would usually be looking for (we also usually require high school grades very similar to those we ask for with entry to first year with/including an A level in English in addition to a 2:1 in your first year of uni), it's unlikely that the admissions team would be able to consider you for Year 2. The modules you have covered in the English language part of your course may also not be suitable to progress to Year 2 as our BA English is not specifically English language focused.

I would however suggest that you get in touch with our undergraduate admissions team directly with further information on your qualifications/modules so that they can give you more detailed advice. You can email them at [email protected]

If you have any more questions for me, just let me know.

Laura

Reply 19

NaisyX

Hi everyone!

I've applied for BA Japanese and BA Japanese studies and received an offer for both, woo!

I studied maths, further maths and philosophy at college and did an epq on Japanese women in employment.

I'm most looking forward to being able to focus on a subject I'm really passionate and meet people with similar interests. So exciting!