The 24Fall application season has just begun, and there are already cries of despair!
The answer is many UK schools have once again raised their application requirements...
KCL officially rejects non-Prestigious institutions; Edinburgh and Leeds drastically increase application difficulty; Southampton advances application deadlines...
That is to say, 23Fall already crushed countless applicants, and 24Fall applications have been upgraded to purgatory level...
KCL Officially Announces No Longer Accepting Non-Prestigious Institutions
Recently, KCL announced its latest application requirements. In the adjustments for the 24Fall entry threshold, in addition to the existing Business School and Law School that no longer accept applications from non-Prestigious institutions, KCL has now added all programs in the Department of Informatics and the Department of Engineering.
Currently, these KCL faculties have announced that they only accept students from Prestigious Institutions, meaning they no longer accept applications from non-Prestigious students, including:
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Business School (King's Business School)
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Department of Informatics
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Department of Engineering
Apart from all programs in these faculties, KCL's Law, Public Policy, and Political Economy programs also basically no longer accept applications from non-Prestigious institutions, only considering applicants from 985/211 Double First-Class universities.
The heartbreaking part is that these programs basically cover all the popular choices for domestic students, and this indicates that before the application even starts, students from non-Prestigious institutions are already shut out by KCL!
But when it comes to mainland Chinese students being frozen out of UK applications, KCL is just the beginning. In 24Fall, UK universities' hostility toward mainland Chinese students is just too deep...
Southampton Advances Application Deadline for Mainland Chinese Students
Take the University of Southampton, for example. The 24Fall application season has just started, and everyone is still leisurely beginning their applications, but this big brother directly announced the application deadline for Chinese students for 24Fall: November 29th!
This means that after November 29th, Southampton will no longer review new applications submitted by Chinese students. The programs affected include business, economics, electronics and computer science, art design and fashion culture, film and media education, and many others, covering a very wide range...
Not only that, many students report that Southampton's deposit is already very expensive, and for 24Fall, it now has only a one-month deadline...
When other schools have just started accepting applications and students are still waiting for offers, they have to pay Southampton's hefty deposit. This awkward timing discrepancy has everyone complaining, not knowing what to do...
Leeds Raises Average Score Requirements by 5 Points Across the Board
Now let's look at Southampton's good brother, the University of Leeds. Possibly because in 2024, Leeds' QS World University Ranking jumped 10 places from last year's 86th to 75th.
Not only did the school eagerly show off on its official website, but its smugness is also reflected in the increased application difficulty.
Opportunities for Independent Colleges Sharply Decline
In previous years, the University of Leeds was practically the "dear mother" of independent colleges; on its list, independent colleges could apply for many programs, and the average score requirements were moderate.
However, starting this year, several schools such as the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies, and the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, etc., no longer accept applications from independent colleges for 24Fall.
Degree Classification Score Requirements Significantly Raised
Previously, the University of Leeds had many programs accepting a 2:2 degree classification, where applicants with an average score below 80 still had hope, but this year, not only have some 2:2 programs been raised to 2:1, but some even require a First-Class degree.
Except for Leeds Business School programs, the average score requirements for all other programs have increased by 5 points across the board. Among them, the computer science program's average score requirement has skyrocketed by 15 points; last year it accepted 2:1 and 2:2, but this year only First-Class degrees are accepted.
We get it, your ranking went up this year, but does application difficulty have to go up like this too...
Could it be because of the newly appointed Chinese international student president?
Why do Chinese people make things hard for Chinese people! This is visibly driving students applying to UK universities in 24Fall crazy, and many even call the requirement change on September 20th the "Leeds Incident"...
Manchester and Edinburgh Both Raise Application Requirements
Edinburgh Comprehensively Raises Admission Requirements for Mainland Chinese Students
For 24Fall, all LLM and MSc programs under the University of Edinburgh Law School have comprehensively raised requirements for mainland Chinese students, from Band C/B to Band A.
That is to say, this year, for mainland Chinese students wanting to apply to Edinburgh, not only must your undergraduate institution be on Edinburgh's China Priority List, but your score must also reach 85%.
Whereas in previous years, the Law School only required Band C for mainland Chinese students, meaning those on the list needed 80+ and those not on the list needed 85+, and students from non-Prestigious institutions also had a chance.
Beyond that, Edinburgh has also comprehensively raised its language requirements for 24Fall.
For the following programs, although the overall IELTS band score remains 7.0, the minimum score for each component has been raised from 6.0 to 6.5:
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MSc Artificial Intelligence
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MSc Cognitive Science
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MSc Computer Science
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MSc Data Science
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MSc Design Informatics
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MSc CyberSecurity Privacy and Trust
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MSc Advanced Technology for Financial Computing
The following programs have had their overall band score requirement raised from 6.5 to 7.0, while each component remains at 6.0:
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MSc Animal Breeding and Genetics
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MSc Biotechnology
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MSc Evolutionary Genetics
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MA Human Complex - trait Genetics
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MSc Quantitative Genetics and Genome Analysis
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MSc High-Performance Computing
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MSc High Performance Computing and Data Science
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MA Film Directing
Manchester Raises Subject Background Requirements
For 24Fall applications, many programs at Manchester have indicated that when application volumes are high, even if applicants meet the minimum entry requirements of the school, the university will also examine your grades in relevant specialized courses.
In addition, some programs at Manchester's School of Environment, Education and Development have also raised IELTS requirements: from an overall 6.5 with no component below 6.0, to overall 7.0 with no component below 6.5.
IELTS requirements for some science and engineering programs, including computer science, mechanical, civil engineering, and project management-related programs, have also been raised from overall 6.5 with no component below 6.0 to overall 7.0 with no component below 6.5.
How UK-Bound Students Can Swim Against the Current
In this cutthroat application season, UK universities' application requirements really are increasing every year without pause. 23Fall's requirements were already "crazy" enough, and now 24Fall doesn't care whether UK-bound students live or die!
Faced with such a fiercely competitive application environment, for students who still want to study in the UK, where should they go from here, and how can various application difficulties be resolved?
Choose Multi-Country Mixed Applications
As the saying goes, there are plenty of fish in the sea; why hang yourself on one tree? Amidst the UK's fierce competition, we can choose to apply to multiple countries. Overall, the advantages of multi-country applications are significant:
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Use a combination of mixed applications to increase the offer hit rate
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Mitigate policy risks and always have a fallback
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Avoid delays due to slim chances, turning fallbacks into viable options
Multi-country applications not only expand your options but also provide more possibilities. Most importantly, understand the application characteristics of each region, plan rationally, and don't choose blindly.
You can refer to the comparison chart of study abroad in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong, and Singapore compiled by CheersYou（清柚教育） to understand the similarities and differences in applications among these popular destinations.
Select Schools and Programs Reasonably
Next is the selection of schools and programs. Often, choice is indeed more important than effort. School selection is definitely a technical job, requiring a comprehensive consideration of various factors to choose the most suitable institutions and programs.
Based on the above four aspects, you can match and filter schools and programs to efficiently complete school and program selection that is targeted and meets your circumstances and needs.
Plan Your Time Well
For students planning to study abroad for graduate school, whether you're an early bird or a late starter, you should have a plan checklist. Effective planning can make your graduate application journey twice as effective with half the effort.
The process of applying to study abroad is very complex, and each step requires constant weighing of pros and cons. Therefore, allowing ample preparation time and having sufficient experience can help avoid unnecessary mistakes and secure an offer smoothly.
We hope all students can take it step by step, steadily moving forward, and CheersYou（清柚教育） also wishes everyone a successful journey to their dream schools in the new application season!
