My guess would be that if it's not written on your letter that you need to achieve a minimum grade, then you just have to get the MA, with no regard to marks or anything else. The conditions attached to any offer are (or at least should be) clearly set out in the offer letter. If it's not there, it doesn't exist. However, to be on the safe side and avoid any sort of unpleasant situation at enrolment, I would contact Admissions and ask them to advise on that.

Thanks for the advice. I'll ring them up on Monday.

hello hello

I have just received an email recommending me for a place to ucl for september ! im 21 (will be 22 by september) and from scotland.

Was wondering if anyone could give me a wee bit of advice - i am wondering if anyone knows about the possibility of deferring the place and if it is a good idea or not? I had resigned myself to a rejection from ucl after a lengthy period of silence and so had a year out on the cards!

Any help would be great!

deferring your place wont make any difference to the uni,,,you are already in and they will save your place until next year.

however why do want to do that? had you plan something already, maybe gotten a job ?? let us know more

cheers

hey all :)
those of you who have received an offer recently, around when did u apply? and did you get an acknowledgement letter before?
My application was completed around 5 wks ago (as in though i submitted it before, the last reference was completed then) and have heard nothing yet; haven't even gotten an acknowledgment email/letter besdies that which is sent automatically after the last reference is sent in.

usually it takes almost 2 months! so dont worry dear

I've just this minute emailed UCL admissions to ask whether there were any issues with my application for exactly the same reason. My application was submitted after my second referee submitted their reference on 18th March and I haven't received my acknowledgement letter yet either.

The automated response I got said that it was taking around 10 working days to reply to emails as it was so busy at the moment. I guess that explains why it's taking so long with the application process at present.

thanks :)
i actually ended up emailing the law faculty today and they got back to me already...apparently by some oversight the letter was not generated...though of course now with the airline disruptions, God knows when any of us will get the letter :o)
apparently because of the flight disruptions, they're emailing applicants when the Admissions tutor makes the recommendation, so you shouldn't worry ;-)

Thanks,

Based on what you said I've emailed the law faculty myself. UCL is the only one of the universities I haven't heard back from that I care about!

np :)
yeah it gets a bit crazy waiting for an answer!! i'm perpetually on email inbox standby atm!!
i wish u all the best :)

I know - every time my BlackBerry buzzes I'm checking whether it's related to any of the applications I made.

Good luck with your applications, I'm sure you'll get accepted into a good uni

I wouldnt worry too much about acknowledgement letters or anything. I received my offer before even receiving an acknowledgement letter/email. In my case it happened as follows: posted paper application in November (mid or early, dont remember) and got an email from Ms Jane Ha on 3rd December (actually I received the email on the 4th, cause she misspelt my email and sent it again in the morning after). About two months latter I got the offer letter in the post. However, considering Im a rather anxious applicant, Id already asked for a fax copy of the letter which I used to accept the offer. The funny thing is that the acknowledgement letter saying theyd received my complete application came in almost together with the offer letter. That goes to point out that you neednt freak out about not having an acknowledgement letter/email. When the time comes, the lovely Ms Ha (Ive never met her, but shes been extremely helpful by email and so have the other members of the Law Faculty to whom Ive spoken) will let you know the outcomes of your application. I hope to see you all in September!

I suppose the only thing we're perhaps worrying about is that a lot of people applied before us. Having applied in March, it might be the case that all the spaces are taken up by the time our applications are looked at.

I'd like to think that this wasn't the case but it's maybe best to assume the worst. It's always a bonus if we're offered places but it won't be so devastating if we're not.

yeah definitely!! it's my fault i left it so late but i actually got an offer from TCD which i'm probably taking up...however i want to consider all options, and talk to some of my lecturers etc etc

I totally get your point. But I reckon you've still got a shot at it. I think that as long as the application portal is up and running, everyone who applies has a chance. Especially because Cambridge and Oxford havent sent out all their offers yet so many people whove secured a place at UCL might withdraw their acceptance if theyre offered a place at either Cambridge or Oxford. So it is very likely that UCL will call in those late applicants (so to speak) should people start to take back their previous acceptances.

I suppose you're right. I have an offer from Durham, which is my other first choice, so my approach is to assume I won't get an offer from UCL and not worry about it. If I do get an offer then great - but then I have a tricky decision to make!

Would you turn down UCL in favour of Durham? I do think Durham is a fine law school and is surely held in high regards in the UK, but as far the LLM goes, they havent got many specialisations to choose from. I wouldve applied to Durham if it werent for that.

It's a tough decision. Durham has a limited number of specialisms but that's of less consequence to me as I'm applying for general LLM programmes. The module choice is significantly wider at UCL but Durham offers a range that would allow me to cover the areas of law that I'm interested in, so I wouldn't really be missing out in that respect. I also quite admire the way in which they've kept the programme small to ensure it focuses on the law school's areas of research expertise.

That said, the decision may ultimately be an economic one. UCL probably has a slightly better reputation and I love London but I don't know whether it's so much better that it justifies the extra expense - the course is £2,500-£5,500 more expensive for me depending on ELQ supplements at UCL. Living expenses increase the differential further.

You do have a point (actually, two). One, the specialisation: if Durhams modules, in spite of not being as wide as UCLs, fit your interests, then it really doesnt really matter to you. Two, the expenses: London is expensive and UCL is more expensive than Durham. Anyway, if you are made an offer by UCL, I hope you will have a change of heart so that we can meet in London. I too wasnt very comfortable with the extra pounds Id have to put aside every month to go to London, but in the end I came to terms with the idea

Well in the unlikely event I'm made an offer by UCL, I'm not saying I have made my mind up already. UCL would be good and I am keen to relocate to London, if not for my masters than definitely for my career. It's just that the economics are quite important. I'll be requiring assistance from my parents, so I feel a little guilty about asking to go there when Durham's excellent and wouldn't cost so much. I'll make a compelling argument for both.

The good news is that there doesn't seem to be an extra cost at either institution for ELQ students. I was a little annoyed to read in my offer letter from Nottingham that, while the course was £4,000 I would need to pay an extra £2,750 simply because I have an MA. That's about 70% extra!