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Undergraduate StudyAdmission to the College of Humanities and Social ScienceImportant Information for School Leavers - for 2010/11 entry (PDF version of these notes)The following notes of guidance provide information about how we make selection (admission) decisions in the College of Humanities and Social Science. The information below is specifically aimed at those of you who are still at, or have recently left, school or sixth-form college. We are committed to encouraging applications from talented students who are enthusiastic and keen to develop their academic potential whatever their personal, social and educational background. We believe that it is essential to treat every applicant as an individual and each application is given full and equal consideration. Selection decisions are taken by professional Admissions Officers who are based within the College Admissions Office (excluding Music and programmes in the School of Education where the selectors are based in the relevant departments). 01 Our General College Entry Requirements For all degree programmes, with the exception of degree programmes in the School of Education, applicants must also meet the General College Entry Requirement : this requires passes at Standard Grade (3), Intermediate 2 (C), GCSE (C), or equivalent, in:
Please note that some degrees require higher grades at Standard Grade/GCSE (see prospectus). 02 Our Minimum Academic Qualifications to enter the selection process Only applicants that have, or are predicted to achieve, the minimum academic qualification are considered for selection.
03 Our non-standard entry requirements
High demand programmes The College of Humanities and Social Science offers more than 230 different degree programmes. Demand for entry varies considerably across the subject areas and can also change from year to year. Different factors are taken into account in the selection process dependent on demand. We hope that you will be able to use the following information to see which selection process will be used for your chosen subject. (You can find detailed admissions statistics for all of our degree programmes at www.sra.ed.ac.uk/admissions ). The following list gives an indication of the degree programmes that experienced high demand for entry in September 2009:
** These subject areas have been under particularly high demand and have been for at least the last three years. Important Note!! The predicted/achieved grades we are looking for the high demand areas are likely to be much higher than BBBB or BBB at Higher or A-level. Low to Medium demand programmes In a number of subject areas the demand for places is such that if you apply for entry and meet the minimum academic requirement, and can provide a strong personal statement and supportive reference then we may be able to make an offer of a place. The subjects that fell within this category last year were:
Fine Art, Music, Primary Education and Physical Education have a higher level of competition for places and not all qualified applicants will receive an offer. For these subject areas the selection process may also include consideration of a portfolio, an audition or performance at an interview. 04 Applying for more than one programme We will make a maximum of two offers per applicant. Therefore, if your apply for 3 or more programmes, you should write to or email the College Admissions Office indicating their preferred choice(s). 05 Deferred Entry We support applicants who plan to take a gap year as a means of gaining valuable experience, either through work or travel, prior to commencing their studies. In some high-demand subject areas however, we are only able to make a limited number of offers to deferred applicants and so may advise you to apply during your gap year rather than for deferred entry. We do not make deferred offers for the Fine Art degree. 06 Our timescales for decision making We aim to ensure that the selection decisions for low to medium demand subject areas are made within two to four weeks following receipt of the completed application. In those areas that involve an interview we aim to ensure that the selection decision is made within two weeks of the interview date. Please note that we do not consider applications from Home/EU students submitted after the 15th January deadline unless there are extenuating circumstances. For the highest demand areas, we use a detailed selection process which means that some applications may be placed on hold until all applications have been submitted. We give all applications submitted by the 15th January deadline full and equal consideration and generally complete the selection process by late February. If you apply early in the cycle it may therefore take some time for you to receive the final decision on your application. 07 Our selection process and what we look for The primary consideration is given to your academic profile which covers all levels of academic achievement including that at Standard Grade or GCSE. The stronger the academic profile the better the chance of an offer. However, because of the demand, in certain subject areas, even those with the strongest academic profiles cannot be guaranteed an offer. We look for a well constructed and articulate personal statement that demonstrates a clear motivation for your chosen degree programme. This should include evidence of independent research and career exploration (where relevant). Your application also must be accompanied by a supportive academic reference that includes predicted grades (if applicable) and supports your suitability for university study. It is important to note that the selection decision is not an automated process. 08 Additional credit is given to students who:
09 What happens if you are unsuccessful? It is important to know that we have many more applications than we have places. For example in previous years we have received over 500 applications for Modern European Languages for only 45 places, and over 700 applications for International Relations for only 25 places. Unfortunately we cannot offer to every applicant but we are happy to provide feedback to any unsuccessful applicant. Please note that we receive most feedback requests between January and March so it may take 28 working days to respond to your request. As we deal with a very large volume of feedback requests we do ask that you contact us by email or letter (contact details below). Please note that data protection legislation means that we may not be able to provide feedback to a third party unless you provide written consent. If you wish to appeal the selection decision or would like us to reconsider your application, rather than simply provide feedback, then we strongly recommend that you read our Code of Practice on Complaints and Appeals for Undergraduate Admissions. Please contact the College Admissions Office for a copy of this document or you can view it here. Contact
details and how to apply For further information about our undergraduate programmes and study at Edinburgh please refer to the Undergraduate Prospectus or the UCAS Entry Profiles which are available at www.ucas.ac.uk If you would like any further information about our admissions principles and procedures or would like advice on your own circumstances, please contact us using the details below: College
of Humanities and Social Science Tel: 0131 650 3565 Fax: 0131 650 4678 Email: HSSUG@ed.ac.uk Updated
June 2009 |
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