Hi

Just wanted to warn future applicants for Warwick especially those who did their LLB many years ago.

I applied to Warwick in Jan 2008. Before applying I sent them an email and asked them whether I could provide professional references instead of academic references as I had done my LLB in 1997. They replied back saying that professional references would be fine if I had done my LLB many years back.

On the basis of their email I applied and paid the 20 pound application fee. Surprisingly I received an email in May 2008 asking me to provide them with at least one academic reference despite the waiver given to me earlier.

At this stage it was impossible for me to obtain an academic reference. However they were completely rigid on the point of at least one academic reference despite their own email waiving the requirement. In short they didn't even consider my application fully. The 20 pound application fee I paid to Warwick was wasted. Further Warwick was the only University which asked for an application fee out of all the Universities I applied to.

My advice to future applicants is that unless you can provide Warwick with at least one academic reference, don't waste your 20 pound application fee despite what they say in their emails.

The 20 pound application fee doesn't bother me but their going back on their words does bother me. It doesn't show Warwick in a very good light. I'm sure it's a great University and it has a good reputation but they should be more careful before giving prospective students the wrong information.

Anyway since I've gotten unconditional admission to KCL I'm not too bothered about Warwick, but just wanted to warn others to be sure of getting an academic reference before applying to Warwick and spending 20 pounds.