The Student Room Group

Scholarships and admissions

For unis in England and Canada, etc. like idk take uni of toronto or of alberta, how likely is it for international students to get accepted? And get a scholarship? Say my grades are all 9s for igcse bc thats possible and similar for ia level, is that enough? What if i only take iAS? What IS enough to warrant, say, a scholarship? How many ECAs- bc im strongly lacking there? Im just rly confused and i want to know what my chances are- especially bc all unis abroad are so expensive for international students, so id need a scholarship or else we couldnt afford it. Financial aid for students isnt rly that likely here. So.

Doesnt need to be 100% accurate- just need a general idea or like estimated probability.
UK universities generally don't have scholarships as you're expecting, for anyone. Full scholarships covering all costs for international students are normally from external organisations or the student's home country (some countries provide scholarships for their students to study a degree in another country to then return and work in their home country I understand?). The UK universities themselves normally only provide at most small bursaries or partial scholarships e.g. a few hundred to a few thousand pounds worth.

Note also UK universities are generally somewhat less interested (especially at the "top" end) in generalist extracurricular activities (unlike US universities). They really primarily (or even potentially solely for e.g. Oxbridge/Imperial/LSE) want to see what specific things you've done relating to the subject you're applying to, beyond your school's curriculum (which may simply be wider reading in the subject area).

Note for UK universities you would need to complete the full A-level course. You can't be admitted directly to university in the UK with only AS levels - at best you might be eligible for some international foundation years that way, although that would add another year of international tuition fees...

I'm not that familiar with Canadian university admissions, I suspect it may be somewhat similar to US admissions for many territories but I think it can vary (I think Quebec has a slightly different system for example?).
(edited 4 months ago)

Reply 2

Original post by artful_lounger
UK universities generally don't have scholarships as you're expecting, for anyone. Full scholarships covering all costs for international students are normally from external organisations or the student's home country (some countries provide scholarships for their students to study a degree in another country to then return and work in their home country I understand?). The UK universities themselves normally only provide at most small bursaries or partial scholarships e.g. a few hundred to a few thousand pounds worth.
Note also UK universities are generally somewhat less interested (especially at the "top" end) in generalist extracurricular activities (unlike US universities). They really primarily (or even potentially solely for e.g. Oxbridge/Imperial/LSE) want to see what specific things you've done relating to the subject you're applying to, beyond your school's curriculum (which may simply be wider reading in the subject area).
Note for UK universities you would need to complete the full A-level course. You can't be admitted directly to university in the UK with only AS levels - at best you might be eligible for some international foundation years that way, although that would add another year of international tuition fees...
I'm not that familiar with Canadian university admissions, I suspect it may be somewhat similar to US admissions for many territories but I think it can vary (I think Quebec has a slightly different system for example?).

Ok thanks! Good to know i guess. About AS- at school the teachers say we apply at the end of y12 anyway with AS, and if we get accepted then great but if not then we go on to A level but that apparently u do foundation if u dont do y13. So you get that extra yr either way- ig better to do it at skl and just finish a levels. I was mainly curious bc most unis have all these scholarships on their websites but if getting one is not that likely or well known in uk it prob wont be for canada. Considering the international fees ill prob have to look elsewhere. Money is annoying.

Thanks anyway!
Original post by Anonymous
Ok thanks! Good to know i guess. About AS- at school the teachers say we apply at the end of y12 anyway with AS, and if we get accepted then great but if not then we go on to A level but that apparently u do foundation if u dont do y13. So you get that extra yr either way- ig better to do it at skl and just finish a levels. I was mainly curious bc most unis have all these scholarships on their websites but if getting one is not that likely or well known in uk it prob wont be for canada. Considering the international fees ill prob have to look elsewhere. Money is annoying.
Thanks anyway!

Not the case in England and Wales. you do apply in Year 12, but you need to complete Year 13 and pass A levels regardless. You get a conditional offer, conditional on getting the A level grades in that conditional offer. You get onto a Foundation year only if you get poor A level grades, but can convince the university you stand a good chance of improving and getting through the full degree. That's usually a route for UK students who had had some disadvantage, it's not designed for overseas students, and you still need to sit A levels anyway. You won't get any funding to do a Foundation year as an overseas student, nor are you then likely to be competitive for further scholarships, and they are nearly always based on academic merit.

No idea what goes on in Canada.

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