UCL rejected me even though I was given an offer in 2016

In 2016, I managed to start an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering at Imperial College London, however I developed a chronic headache disorder and dropped out a year later because I couldn't cope with the pain. It took me years to find effective medication for it.
Recently I had a chat with one of the officers of the bioengineering department at Imperial. We talked about the degree and he said that as far as he was concerned the department would be ok with having me back, though I might have to apply through UCAS to next year.
I then asked him for advice for re-applying, explaining that 2 years ago I tried applying to university again and UCL rejected me.

Basically, UCL responded to my application saying I 'did not show why I was interested in the course' in my personal statement, and that I needed 'extra-curricular evidence of my interest in biomedical engineering'. Both this officer and my former tutor said that the fact that I did one year of biomedical engineering (and having stopped due to reasons outside my control) was enough evidence that I am interested in biomedical engineering.
This staff member from Imperial asked me 'And you explained in your personal statement why you quit the course?'
I said 'Yes'.
He responded: 'Strange... Don't go there'
You got that right

It is funny considering the first time I applied to universities in 2016 UCL gave me an offer straightaway, and the head of the biomedical engineering department personally told me 'how rare it was to see such a good personal statement'.
At the time I applied in 2021 I withdrew my application because I could see my treatment wasn't going as well as I thought, but other universities like King's and Queen Mary didn't take long to give me an offer.

It makes me think that UCL thought that me dropping out of the course before at a different uni was reason to be sceptical of my intention of trying the course again. That or they couldn't understand my disability made me unable to engage in much 'extra-curriculars' in the intervening years. Or, if I were really cynical, they just looked at my potential health problem and ASD diagnosis as a risk they did not want to take.

(edited 1 year ago)

OP

only bump

Well firstly, medical condition or not, I don't think anyone who has gotten an offer from previous years should be allowed to immediately assume or think they're guaranteed an offer in any subsequent admissions round. Also, this advice is coming from a professor at Imperial, not UCL, that professor may very well be wrong about UCL wanting you back since he doesn't work there. Your chances for admissions are different every year and you are supposed to be judged relative to others in the same year and applying in the same application round. There is every chance that applicants were just too good that year or you got very unlucky.

However, I do think they should give you at least some leniency, if you are a home student, you should be eligible for contextual offers if you told them directly (i.e. not through personal statement), it does say on their website that any disabilities should be told to them directly. It is also important to take into account that this is during COVID to post COVID and a lot has changed since 2016, this year is also famous for being one of the most controversial, unexpected, weird and competitive application rounds in history whether you're in the US, the UK, Hong Kong, Germany or otherwise (especially in the US and especially for STEM subjects like yourself), I personally don't think just attempting one year of an undergrad degree is enough "intent".

Having said that, I do not think that this should discourage you from trying again if you are willing to, and I don't think it's something thats worth fussing over, UCL isn't the ONLY institution there is. Personally, I am not an admissions officer, but I can tell you that schools don't tend to be that mean, in fact, they want to widen participation whether it is because they can boast about diversity or create a multiplier effect to attract more talent as they see widening participation. You might be able to appeal if you do think they judged you on an unfair basis or biased basis, even tell them in person about your health problems, though I doubt the effectiveness, unfortunately institutions like UCL are sort of spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting high achieving students with great qualifications.

Reply 3

safari24

OP

16

Original post by Anonymous

Well firstly, medical condition or not, I don't think anyone who has gotten an offer from previous years should be allowed to immediately assume or think they're guaranteed an offer in any subsequent admissions round. Also, this advice is coming from a professor at Imperial, not UCL, that professor may very well be wrong about UCL wanting you back since he doesn't work there. Your chances for admissions are different every year and you are supposed to be judged relative to others in the same year and applying in the same application round. There is every chance that applicants were just too good that year or you got very unlucky.

However, I do think they should give you at least some leniency, if you are a home student, you should be eligible for contextual offers if you told them directly (i.e. not through personal statement), it does say on their website that any disabilities should be told to them directly. It is also important to take into account that this is during COVID to post COVID and a lot has changed since 2016, this year is also famous for being one of the most controversial, unexpected, weird and competitive application rounds in history whether you're in the US, the UK, Hong Kong, Germany or otherwise (especially in the US and especially for STEM subjects like yourself), I personally don't think just attempting one year of an undergrad degree is enough "intent".

Having said that, I do not think that this should discourage you from trying again if you are willing to, and I don't think it's something thats worth fussing over, UCL isn't the ONLY institution there is. Personally, I am not an admissions officer, but I can tell you that schools don't tend to be that mean, in fact, they want to widen participation whether it is because they can boast about diversity or create a multiplier effect to attract more talent as they see widening participation. You might be able to appeal if you do think they judged you on an unfair basis or biased basis, even tell them in person about your health problems, though I doubt the effectiveness, unfortunately institutions like UCL are sort of spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting high achieving students with great qualifications.

they explicitly told me they rejected me because I didn't have evidence that showed my interest in biomedical engineering. Even though that was the course I was doing in the past.
The only reason they would think that is if they assumed that me having quit the course before was because I lacked motivation rather than for reasons outside my control
I tried talking to them and they just replied with 'our decision is final'

(edited 12 months ago)

UCL rejected me even though I was given an offer in 2016

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you