ESOL courses in the UK are provided by private language schools and publicly funded colleges and universities. No matter the type of course or the place of study, whether it be a two week general English course at a small private language school or a three month IELTS preparation course at a university, the application process is basically the same.

Students should try to make their application as far in advance as possible, although applications can usually be made right up until the last moment.

As most ESOL courses and schools have few or no entry requirements, students are advised to consider carefully their preferred course, and then apply to just that one school; rather than applying to multiple schools, as rejected applications are quite unlikely.

Once students have chosen their preferred course and school, they should contact the institution to obtain an application form, or download it from the school’s website if possible. Students then fill in the application form, stating clearly the course they would like to study, the dates they would like to attend and their accommodation preferences as well as all their personal details. They then return the completed application form to the school along with any other relevant documents that may be necessary, i.e. previous IELTS test report form, copy of passport, etc.

A deposit is commonly required to confirm any booking of a place. This can usually most easily be paid by electronic bank transfer. When students make the money transfer at their bank, they should ask for written confirmation of the transfer from the bank, which they can then send to the school either along with their completed application form or after the school has confirmed acceptance of the student onto the chosen course.

Once the school has confirmed receipt of the deposit in addition to all the other required documents, they send a formal letter to the student giving a full outline of the school, details of the course and accommodation and a breakdown of the costs as well as any other relevant information, such as details of airport pick-up services, optional excursions and activities, etc. This letter is required by the student when applying for a visa.

Students wishing to attend a UK boarding school, and their parents, should research different schools and begin the application process as far in advance as possible. There is great competition for places in the reputable schools and the most popular boarding schools in the UK are usually fully booked one year in advance.

Each boarding school has its own application form which can be obtained by contacting the school directly, or downloading it from their website if possible. Students and their parents must complete the application form and send it to the school with the necessary application fee.

Once a school has reviewed a student’s paper application, they might be invited to attend an interview and sit an entrance exam as the next part of the admissions process.

At UK prep school level (ages 7 – 10) students are usually only required to be tested in the core subjects of English and mathematics.

Most UK children gain entry to independent secondary schools at age 11 or 13 by passing the externally set Common Entrance (CE) exam, which typically takes place in January or February, for entrance in the following September. Some schools may allow entrance to students at other ages such as 14 or 15. A number of schools prefer to use their own entrance exams and some schools use a combination of exams. The CE exam covers a broad range of subjects at age 13+, including English, mathematics, science, history, geography, religious studies and a modern or classical language. Schools are generally happy to provide students with sample exam papers to help them prepare.

Admission at age 16+ to an independent school’s sixth form or an independent sixth form college is usually dependant on a student’s GCSE grades or equivalent overseas qualifications. Some schools may also set their own assessments for each A level subject, which students must pass in order to study that subject at A level.

Note that overseas students that cannot visit the UK in order to sit an entrance exam are sometimes able to do so at an authorised overseas school or British Council office. The larger boarding schools may specially arrange interview sessions and entrance exam sittings abroad, in countries where they commonly receive a high number of overseas applications. Each UK school has its own policies for international admissions. Overseas students are considered for admission by some UK boarding schools purely on the basis of existing school reports, a reference from their previous head teacher plus an interview. In instances where overseas students cannot attend a face to face interview, either in the UK or elsewhere, a telephone interview can sometimes be deemed sufficient.

Successful applicants are sent offer letters by the schools as early as possible. At this point parents will need to complete and return the acceptance form and pay a deposit plus usually at least one or two term’s tuition fees in advance to officially secure their child’s place at the school.

FE vocational courses vary greatly in content and entry requirements, although admissions at both publicly funded and private FE colleges all broadly follow the same procedures. Students should apply at least three months before the desired course start date. Ideally, applications should be made 9-12 months in advance; this will help to ensure the student gets their preferred choice of accommodation as well as a place on the desired course and also gives the student plenty of time to prepare everything.

Students applying for courses that have a high demand but a limited number of available places and/or courses with high entry requirements should consider applying to two or three institutions, whereas students applying for courses with good availability and easily attainable entry requirements should only need to apply to their first choice college.

Students should contact the colleges directly to obtain an application form, or download them from the colleges’ websites if possible. Students then fill in the application forms, stating clearly the course they would like to study, the dates they would like to attend and their accommodation preferences as well as all their personal details. Some application forms may request the student write a short personal statement. Students then return the completed application forms to the colleges along with any other relevant documents that may be necessary, i.e. previous IELTS test report form, high school grades and transcripts, copy of passport, etc. Students applying for specialist professional training courses might be required to provide additional material to support their applications. For example; students applying for professional photography or fashion design courses may need to submit a portfolio of their work; students applying for commercial airline pilot training courses need to supply the necessary medical health check certificates.

Some students might be required to attend an interview as part of the admissions process. This is more common for highly reputable courses with a strong demand for places, courses with a traditionally high drop-out rate due to the intensity, workload and pressure of the course and also for courses that teach very advanced theory and/or skills, which require students to already possess a high level of knowledge and skills.

Each college reviews the student’s application and decides whether to send an unconditional offer, conditional offer or rejection letter. An unconditional offer means that the student is guaranteed a place on the course, based on the student’s current qualifications and achievements. A conditional offer guarantees a place on the course, so long as the student meets certain conditions before the course commences, i.e. scores 5.0 or higher on the IELTS and/or finishes high school and obtains a high school leaving certificate. An application will only be rejected if the college believes the student is clearly not capable of completing the course or if there are simply not enough available places on the course. In instances where the student needs a significant increase in their level of English language ability, many colleges will offer a pre-sessional ESOL course to help the student reach the required level prior to commencing the main study course.

When the student has received a reply from all of the colleges they applied to, they must then decide which one they prefer the best and then inform the relevant college that they accept the offer. The student should also inform the other institutions, which had made offers, of the choice made.

At this point, a deposit is commonly required to confirm the acceptance of an offer. This can usually most easily be paid by electronic bank transfer. When students make the money transfer at their bank, they should ask for written confirmation of the transfer from the bank, which they can then send to the college along with their signed and completed offer acceptance form plus any other necessary documents. Once the college has confirmed receipt of the deposit and received the signed offer acceptance form they send confirmation to the student.

Students with conditional offers must then wait until they fulfill all of the conditions in their offer. Once they have achieved this, they should inform the college in the UK. Once the college confirms that the student has met the conditions of their offer, they send a formal letter to the student giving a full outline of the college, details of the course and accommodation and a breakdown of the costs as well as any other relevant information, such as details of airport pick-up services, optional extra term-time activities, etc. This letter is proof that the student has been (unconditionally) accepted onto a course of study and is required by the student when applying for a student visa.

Students with unconditional offers will receive this letter the moment they accept the initial offer and pay the required deposit.

Students applying for international foundation courses, whether they are at a university, HE college or private college should apply at least three months before the desired course start date. Ideally, applications should be made 9-12 months in advance; this will help to ensure the student gets their preferred choice of accommodation as well as a place on the desired course and also gives the student plenty of time to prepare everything.

International foundation course applications are handled separately to all undergraduate admissions, with each institution having their own application forms and processing each application individually.

It is recommended students apply to two or three institutions, rather than just one. This gives them some security incase they are rejected by their first choice institution.

Once students have chosen their preferred courses and institutions, they should contact the colleges and universities to obtain an application form, or download them from the institutions’ websites if possible. Students then fill in the application forms, stating clearly the course they would like to study, the dates they would like to attend and their accommodation preferences as well as all their personal details. Some application forms may request the student write a short personal statement. They then return the completed application forms to the institutions along with any other relevant documents that may be necessary, i.e. previous IELTS test report form, high school grades and transcripts, copy of passport, etc.

Each college or university then reviews the student’s application and decides whether to send an unconditional offer, conditional offer or rejection letter. An unconditional offer means that the student is guaranteed a place on the course, based on the student’s current qualifications and achievements. A conditional offer guarantees a place on the course, so long as the student meets certain conditions before the course commences, i.e. scores 5.0 or higher on the IELTS and/or finishes high school and obtains a high school leaving certificate. Most offers sent are conditional offers. An application will only be rejected if the institution believes the student is clearly not academically capable of completing the course. In instances where the student needs a significant increase in their level of English language ability, most institutions will offer a pre-sessional ESOL course to help the student reach the required level prior to commencing the international foundation course. Note that interviews are very rarely, if ever, necessary.

When the student has received a reply from all of the institutions they applied to, they must then decide which one they prefer the best and then inform the relevant institution that they accept the offer. The student should also inform the other institutions, which had made offers, of the choice made.

At this point, a deposit is commonly required to confirm the acceptance of an offer. This can usually most easily be paid by electronic bank transfer. When students make the money transfer at their bank, they should ask for written confirmation of the transfer from the bank, which they can then send to the school along with their signed and completed offer acceptance form plus any other necessary documents. Once the institution has confirmed receipt of the deposit and received the signed offer acceptance form they send confirmation to the student.

Students with conditional offers must then wait until they fulfill all of the conditions in their offer. Once they have achieved this, they should inform the college or university in the UK. Most institutions will request copies of the certificates / documents to be sent to them. Once they confirm that the student has met the conditions of their offer, they send a formal letter to the student giving a full outline of the institution, details of the course and accommodation and a breakdown of the costs as well as any other relevant information, such as details of airport pick-up services, international students’ induction programmes, etc. This letter is proof that the student has been (unconditionally) accepted onto a course of study and is required by the student when applying for a student visa.

Students with unconditional offers will receive this letter the moment they accept the initial offer and pay the required deposit.

All applications for full-time undergraduate degree courses, foundation degree courses and Higher National Diploma (HND) courses in the UK are handled by the centralised Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). For more information, see www.ucas.ac.uk.

All UK universities (except the Open University), most HE colleges as well as some FE colleges that offer HE courses, are members of UCAS, totaling over 300 institutions that recruit all their eligible undergraduate provision through the UCAS service. UCAS covers the recruitment of UK, EU and non-EU students for all points of entry (i.e. including admission with credit) to undergraduate level programmes.

UCAS applicants are required to give their course choices, personal details, academic qualifications, predicted grades for current courses of study, details of other achievements and previous work experience, a personal statement and references.

Students may apply to up to five institutions through a single UCAS on-line application, using the “Apply” service (see www.ucas.ac.uk/students/apply). This service is available either through a “managed UCAS centre”, such as a school, college or educational agency, or through a “student log-in” for individual applications. The current fee for applying through UCAS is ￡5.00 for a single course application and ￡15.00 for multiple (maximum of five) applications.

UCAS applications should be made between mid-September and 15 January for entry at the start of the next academic year (usually in September). Applications received before 15 January are guaranteed to be considered. Applications received between 16 January and 30 June are considered to be “late” and will only be considered by institutions on a discretionary basis, depending on whether or not they still have places available on their courses. Note that students applying for courses at Oxford University and University of Cambridge or courses in Dentistry, Medicine or Veterinary Science/Medicine, at any institution, must apply before 15 October.

Once a student completes their UCAS application and submits it, UCAS then sends a copy of it to each of the chosen institutions. Each institution then reviews the application and sends its decision back to UCAS, which in turn forwards the response on to the student. Each UCAS applicant is provided with a unique Personal Identification Number (PIN), which they can use to log-in to UCAS’s “Track” service, through the UCAS website, allowing them to monitor the progress of their applications (see www.ucas.ac.uk/students/track).

It is quite common for institutions to request an interview with applicants, especially when there is a high demand for places on a particular course. For overseas students that cannot attend a face to face interview, some institutions may request a telephone interview. A number of UK universities also have admissions staff that travel around the world conducting interviews in the home countries of overseas students.

The colleges and universities reply to applications with either unconditional offers, conditional offers or rejections. An unconditional offer means that the student is guaranteed a place on the course, at the start of the next academic year, based on the student’s current qualifications and achievements. A conditional offer guarantees a place on the course, at the start of the next academic year, so long as the student meets certain conditions before the course commences, i.e. scores 6.0 or higher on the IELTS and attains certain grades in their final high school exams. Most offers sent are conditional offers. An application will be rejected if the institution believes the student is not academically capable of completing the course or if there are simply not enough available places on the course. In instances where the student marginally fails to meet the academic and/or English language entry requirements, many institutions will recommend an International Foundation course be undertaken first and those institutions that run such courses may even issue an offer of a place on this type of course.

Once a student has received replies from all the institutions they applied to, they will then be asked by UCAS to accept no more than two offers, one “firm” acceptance which is the student’s first choice, and one “insurance” acceptance which is the back-up choice. Note that students holding an unconditional offer as their firm acceptance are not permitted to hold an insurance acceptance.

If all of a student’s applications are rejected, they may enter the “Extra” procedure, which operates from mid-March to the end of June, allowing students to make one additional application.

A conditional offer is either confirmed (made unconditional) or withdrawn after the institution has been notified of the results of the students’ qualifying exams. If the student meets the conditions of their firm offer, they will be sent a formal acceptance letter from their first choice institution. If the student does not meet the conditions of their firm offer, but does meet the conditions of their insurance offer, they will be sent a formal acceptance letter from their second choice institution. Students whose firm acceptance is an unconditional offer will receive a formal acceptance letter the moment they accept the initial offer as their first choice.

This formal acceptance letter gives a full outline of the institution, details of the course and accommodation and a breakdown of the costs as well as any other relevant information, such as details of airport pick-up services, international students’ induction programmes, etc. This letter is proof that the student has been (unconditionally) accepted onto a course of study and is required by the student when applying for a student visa.

Students that fail to meet the conditions of either their firm or insurance offers can enter the “Clearing” procedure. Students will also be eligible for “Clearing” if all of their previous applications were unsuccessful and also if a student’s application to UCAS is made after 30 June. “Clearing” operates through August and September, by trying to match-up students without a place on a course with institutions that still have courses with remaining places available. During “Clearing” students must apply directly to the institutions that are advertising vacancies, without going through UCAS.

Unlike the UK’s centralised admissions system for undergraduate programmes (UCAS); each university in the UK uses its own admissions system for postgraduate programmes, meaning that students must apply separately to each university.

Students should apply for postgraduate programmes as far in advance as possible, ideally, about one year in advance of the course start date. However, courses usually only stop reviewing applications once they have filled up all their available places, so late applications might be accepted, it depends a great deal on the popularity of the course.

It is common for graduate students to apply to several institutions, most apply to five or more, as there is no limit on the number of applications a student is allowed to make. This gives them some security incase they are rejected by their first choice universities as competition for places on postgraduate programmes can be very high. It is not recommended students make too many applications, eight being the maximum usually advised, as each separate application will involve a lot of time and effort.

Students should contact the universities to obtain an application form, or download them from the institutions’ websites if possible. Students then fill in the application forms, stating clearly the course they would like to study, the dates they would like to attend and their accommodation preferences as well as all their personal details. All application forms will request at least two references and for research programme applications a research proposal will also be required. Students then return the completed application forms to the universities along with any other relevant documents that may be necessary, i.e. previous IELTS test report form, bachelor degree certificate, copy of passport, etc.

Note that students wishing to undertake an MBA programme will be asked by many UK business schools to have taken a Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) as part of the admissions process. For more information about GMAT, see www.gmac.com.

It is common for institutions to request an interview with applicants, especially when there is a high demand for places on a particular course. For overseas students that cannot attend a face to face interview, some institutions may request a telephone interview. A number of UK universities also have admissions staff that travel around the world conducting interviews in the home countries of overseas students.

Each university then reviews the student’s application and decides whether to send an unconditional offer, conditional offer or rejection letter. An unconditional offer means that the student is guaranteed a place on the course, based on the student’s current qualifications and achievements. A conditional offer guarantees a place on the course, so long as the student meets certain conditions before the course commences, i.e. achieves a first or an upper second-class (2:1) bachelor degree or overseas equivalent. An application will be rejected if the university believes the student is clearly not academically capable of completing the course or if there are simply not enough available places on the course. In instances where the student marginally fails to meet the academic and/or English language entry requirements, many institutions will recommend a Pre-masters course be undertaken first and those institutions that run such courses may even issue an offer of a place on this type of course.

When the student receives an offer from a university they must decide whether to accept or decline it. They may wait until they have received replies from other institutions they applied to before deciding. However, even if the preferred offer is conditional, they cannot hold an insurance offer; they must accept one offer only and also inform the other institutions of their choice.

Students with conditional offers must then wait until they fulfill all of the conditions in their offer. Once they have achieved this, they should inform the university in the UK. Most institutions will request copies of the certificates / documents to be sent to them. Once they confirm that the student has met the conditions of their offer, they send a formal letter to the student giving a full outline of the institution, details of the course and accommodation and a breakdown of the costs as well as any other relevant information, such as details of airport pick-up services, international students’ induction programmes, etc. This letter is proof that the student has been (unconditionally) accepted onto a course of study and is required by the student when applying for a student visa.

Students with unconditional offers will receive this letter the moment they accept the initial offer.

Note that students wishing to undertake postgraduate studies in certain technology subjects, sensitive to issues of UK national security, such as Physics, Aerospace Engineering, Genetics, Computer Science, etc. will also need to obtain an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate. This should be applied for after the student has received an offer from a UK university and is required by the student when applying for a student visa. For more information or to download an application form, see www.fco.gov.uk.

For professional advice and assistance in making applications to study in the UK at any age or level of education, students and their parents should contact Blue Sky Study to arrange a consultation with one of our helpful consultants. Blue Sky Study offers clients up to date, factual, informed and impartial advice about a range of study options and can be extremely helpful assisting students with their applications as well as offering a wide range of additional services.

For more information, contact Blue Sky Study today to see how we can help you.

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