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Undergraduate Admissions Policy

Contents:

1. Background

2. Application Routes and Deadlines

9. Data Protection

1. BACKGROUND

1.1 Admission to Undergraduate Programmes at Imperial College:

1.1.1. Consistently rated amongst the world’s top universities, Imperial College

London is a science-based institution with an international reputation for

excellence in both teaching and research.

on these programmes our students need to be extremely well-qualified on entry,

code, Advice and Guidance: Admissions, recruitment and Widening Access, as

published in November 2018.

1.2. Equal Opportunities Statement:

1.2.1. The College's mission is to maintain excellent standards of achievement in

consideration of academic ability, motivation for study, interest in the subject

area and the potential both to benefit from the experience and to contribute to

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College life while on a programme. All applications are considered and

evaluated on the basis of individual potential.

1.3. Widening Participation and Contextual Admissions

The College may consider contextual information provided as part of a UCAS

application in order to identify or classify applicants who meet particular

for Students. The College reserves the right to define and apply reasonable

adjustments within the admission process for applicants that it identifies as

disadvantaged or underrepresented in order to support its objectives in

enhancing equality of access and participation. The College will publish and

make clear the contextual information it may utilise and any reasonable

adjustments it may make. The College also reserves the right to request any

applicant to evidence any declarations made within an application where

these factors are considered within the contextual admissions measures or

schemes.

2.2. When to apply:

2.2.1. All our undergraduate programmes start in the Autumn of each year: typically

late September or early October. The deadlines for receipt of complete

applications (including an acceptable UCAS reference) for entry in the next

academic year (or deferred entry within the same UCAS cycle) are as follows:

2.2.2.15 October 18.00:

• All other applicants and UCAS choices excluding those outlined in 2.2.2. If

you have applied for Medicine or to Cambridge or Oxford and have

additional application choices left in UCAS, you may add these after the

15

th

October and prior to the January deadline (these choices will be

treated as on-time applications).

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2.2.4. Applicants are required to meet the deadlines outlined in 2.2.2/3 when

applying to Imperial. However, UCAS accepts that some applicants, especially

those from outside the UK, may find this difficult and UCAS will accept

applications up to 30 June within the UCAS cycle. Applications submitted after

the January deadline will be marked by UCAS as ‘late’ applications. It is at

the discretion of Imperial College London to consider late applications and this

Note:

2.2.5. Applicants for programmes requiring the Biomedical Admissions Test (BMAT)

as part of the assessment for entry must register for this test in the Autumn

prior to the expected year of entry. From 2017, Cambridge Assessment

Admissions Testing (CAAT) will offer two BMAT sittings. Registration,

examination and result dates should be checked with CAATs at:

http://www.admissionstestingservice.org

2.2.6. Applicants to the Department of Mathematics (excluding those who wish to

the 15

some MAT candidates who have a borderline mark may also receive offers

that include STEP requirement(s).

2.2.7. Departments in the College may also administer their own tests as part of

their selection process. Where required, this will form part of the published

admissions and selection programme details at www.imperial.ac.uk and

www.ucas.com

2.3. Pre-university experience:

2.3.1. The College’s departments may consider applications from candidates who

2.3.2 Where applications are considered for deferred entry, the relevant years of

entry will be made available to applicants via the UCAS course search.

Alternatively, applicants may apply for entry in the next academic year and

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subsequently request a deferment of their place. Any such requests will be

considered and processed in accordance with the Deferment Policy:

Undergraduate if submitted by the deadline of 19

2.3.3. Please note that only one deferment of your application will usually be

permitted. Therefore, if at the outset you apply for the next available intake

you may be granted a deferment to the following academic year. If at the

2.4.1. It is at the discretion of admitting departments as to whether or not they will

consider applicants for direct entry to the second year, though generally this

will only be considered in exceptional circumstances. Applicants should be

aware that the default position is that our courses are only advertised on

UCAS as available for year 1 entry. Where a department may exceptionally

consider an applicant for entry into this second year, this will be subject to;

school qualifications.

programme at another higher education institution approved by the College

2.4.2. Applicants wishing to apply for direct admission to the second year should

contact the relevant department directly, giving full details of their current

programme and their academic background before making an application.

2.4.3. Applicants applying for direct admission to the second year must indicate a

point of entry two on their UCAS application form. If departments are unable

to offer direct entry to the second year, they may at their discretion make an

amended point of entry offer for year one entry.

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3. ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

3.1. Age:

3.1.1. Students entering the School of Medicine must have reached the age of 18 by

their programme start date. This is due to the pattern of delivery of the

programme which requires compliance with NHS patient contact regulations

those applying for programmes in the School of Medicine who must be aged

18 at the point of entry as stipulated in 3.1.1). This is due to the regulations of

the College’s sponsor licence.

3.1.3. For all other programmes/applicants as not covered by the exclusions outlined

in 3.1.1 and 3.1.2, there is no minimum age for entry to the College, however

applicants must be aged 13 years to provide their data to UCAS and offers for

undergraduate programmes are normally made on the basis of national higher

secondary education qualifications which will usually be obtained by the end

of year 12/13 of schooling (age 17/18). There is no upper age limit.

requirements before they can enrol on their chosen degree programme.

Applicants should consult the individual programme web pages on

www.imperial.ac.uk and www.ucas.com where we publish the minimum entry

requirements and typical offer ranges. Exceeding the programme academic

entry requirements does not make an individual applicant more qualified. It is

the responsibility of an applicant to demonstrate that they are eligible (or

potentially eligible) for entry and so must ensure that they provide details of all

relevant qualifications (whether complete or not) and to ensure that their

nominated referee provides predicted grades for any qualifications pending

completion when submitting their application. The College reserves the right

to process an application and outcome where this information is missing. It is

at the discretion of the College to take additional steps to request this

two of which will usually be required in the following subjects: Mathematics,

Further Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry or Biology. Programme specific

entry requirement details are provided in the College’s undergraduate

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prospectus and within the UCAS entry profiles. Applicants for medical

programmes are required to achieve the three required A levels in one sitting.

Applicants may also not present two A levels in the same subject awarded by

two different examination boards that have been sat in the same sitting. In the

case that an applicant does so, the College will require any requisite grades to

have been achieved in both exam boards, otherwise the College reserves the

right to treat the requirement as not met.

requirements are provided in the College’s undergraduate prospectus and

within the UCAS entry profiles

Advanced Placements

3.2.4. The College will consider a minimum of three to four Advanced Placements at

grade 5 in required subjects for entry. However, where this is the case it is

expected that these will be presented alongside other qualifications or high

school diplomas. These other qualifications may or may not themselves also

be recognised towards the College’s entry requirements. In the event that they

Placements are presented in the absence of additional qualifications, a

minimum of six to eight Advanced Placements would be expected.

Other qualifications:

3.2.5. Information about the acceptability of a wide range of alternative qualifications

can be found on the College’s website, search:

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/ug/apply/requirements/ugacademic/.

Applicants who are in any doubt about the acceptability of their qualifications

for a particular programme should write to the appropriate admissions team

giving details of their qualification, the subjects studied (and at what level

where applicable) and grades if already achieved.

requirements as the Standard Level) from a College approved test. Some

Departments may operate a departmental English entry requirement above the

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Higher Level). Applicants should view the relevant programme pages for

specific information regarding the required English level. Full details of our

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/ug/apply/requirements/english/

3.3.2. Overseas applicants who meet the English requirement, but who would like to

improve their confidence in English are recommended to undertake the

4. SELECTION POLICIES & PROCEDURES

4.1. Timetabling of selection:

4.1.1. The selection of undergraduate applications normally begins in October and

continues until March when the final decisions are returned to UCAS. All

applications submitted by the 15

of October or January deadlines are given

equal consideration and will have an outcome confirmed by the 31

March (in

exceptional circumstances, some decisions may be released after this date

but no later than May).

certain general points which are equally applicable to all departments:

(i) The reference: Considerable importance is attached to the report of the

academic referee. This can play a major part in deciding whether an

applicant is called for interview (where applicable) and in determining

whether and at what level a conditional offer is made. Predictions of likely

performance in examinations are also considered, as are indications of

the strength of an applicant's motivation to study the chosen subject at

Imperial College London. Departments reserve the right to process an

unsuccessful outcome on an application when an acceptable reference is

not received as part of the UCAS application submission by the relevant

deadline.

note that the personal statement should accurately reflect the applicant’s

interests which may also be discussed at interview (where applicable).

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The personal statement is analysed by UCAS to ensure that it is the

applicant’s own work. Further information can be found at the UCAS

website under ‘Similarity Detection Service (SDS)’. It is the College’s

policy that applications with an SDS score of 80 per cent or greater will be

rejected. It is for this reason that the personal statement must be

submitted via UCAS as part of the application. Applicants can submit one

personal statement when applying and will not be permitted to submit

admissions tests as part of their selection process:

• Undergraduate Medicine (MBBS/BSc) [Biomedical Admissions Test –

Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing]

• All BSc and MSci Department of Mathematics programmes

[Mathematics Admissions Test – Cambridge Assessment Admissions

Testing]

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and approval of all relevant Departments affected by the change, but

any such requests should be submitted no later than the 19

July.

Any requests to amend your application choice after this date will only

be considered in exceptional circumstances. However, it may be

possible to amend your programme within the same department up to

the end of year 1 of your studies.

4.3. Applicants with disabilities:

4.3.1. The College's policy is to consider all applications solely on academic

grounds. However, any reasonable adjustments that may be necessary will be

put in place to enable all students to compete on an equal basis. It is

important therefore that the College is informed of any disability well in

advance so that early discussion can take place to determine the reasonable

adjustments that it may be possible to put in place. Every effort is made to

ensure that our programmes are accessible, but occasionally, due to the

nature of the programme competency standards, it may not be possible to

works closely with the Registry, the Student Accommodation Centre and

academic departments to provide a variety of support initiatives that enable

students to access their studies successfully. The Disability Advisers are

available to discuss on a confidential basis any issues of concern that people

with disabilities may have and can advise on necessary documentary

evidence that may be required.

4.3.2. More information can be found here:

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/disability-advisory-service/

4.4. Criminal Convictions

be required to declare whether they have any relevant unspent criminal

convictions. While the College does not wish to penalise individuals with a

criminal conviction the College does have a duty of care to its community and