Study at Cardiff | Undergraduate

School Selection Procedures - Biosciences

All applications must be made through the UCAS scheme, details of which can be found at www.ucas.com. Applications can be made either in the English or the Welsh language. Cardiff University is not made aware of applicants' other chosen universities, but is aware of an individual's application for other courses at Cardiff University. Applications for such other courses in Cardiff University do not affect the way that an application for Biosciences is considered in any way.

Applications are reviewed by the admissions tutors throughout the admissions cycle, and the process is not weighted. However, each individual application must satisfy all academic entry requirements in order to be considered. Decisions regarding the outcome of the application are made by individual admissions tutors on behalf of the Head of School.

School Selection Criteria

Academic requirements

Applications are reviewed by the admissions tutors throughout the admissions cycle. The initial assessment consists of vetting applications according to whether the specific minimum academic requirements have been met. In the absence of documented extenuating circumstances, applicants who do not meet these minimum requirements are usually rejected through the standard UCAS procedure. Applicants who satisfy the initial academic criteria will then be ranked according to their previous academic qualifications, eg GCSE, A and AS Level grades, Baccalaureate points, or degree classifications.

Non-academic requirements

Applicants who meet the minimum academic requirements and are sufficiently highly ranked academically are then selected based on the information provided in their Personal Statement and the Referee’s Report. Each application is reviewed independently and the Personal Statement should indicate the potential to cope with the academic requirements of the course applied for and to complete the course. In the personal statement, the admissions tutor will be looking for the following attributes:

• Ability to demonstrate a commitment to the pursuit of knowledge in Biosciences;
• Evidence of motivation and determination;
• Any work experience that has been undertaken;
• Ability to construct a coherent and concise statement;
• Non-academic interests, which may highlight other significant personal qualities.

Opportunities for certain types of work experience and participation in some non-academic activities may vary according to individual circumstances. This may be due to an applicant's cultural or socio-economic background or for other reasons. Admissions Tutors are therefore willing to be flexible about an applicant’s demonstration of non-academic selection criteria. It should be noted that additional information from the school/ college or the applicant will be considered particularly in the case of extenuating circumstances.

The admissions tutor would expect the Referee’s report to demonstrate the following attributes of the applicant:

1. Academic ability
2. Interpersonal/communication skills
3. The applicant’s suitability for the applied course
4. Confirmation of the applicant’s commitment to higher education

Professional Judgement

Academic staff will use the criteria as guidance during the decision-making process. However, places are keenly sought and there is a high level of competition so admissions tutors will also use their professional judgement in the selection process. Places cannot be guaranteed purely on the basis of possession of the criteria and qualities required. The whole selection process draws upon academic and non-academic criteria, and there must also be a certain degree of professional judgement before a place can be offered.

Use of Contextual Data

All suitable applicants who are eligible for additional consideration and are predicted a minimum of grades BBB-BBC will be guaranteed a typical offer on the School of Biosciences undergraduate courses. Typical offers can be found here. 

For details of University policy on the use of Contextual Data, please click here.

Admissions Tests

Cardiff School of Biosciences does not have any standardised admissions test requirements.

Selection Interviews

Cardiff School of Biosciences does not routinely interview applicants for its undergraduate programmes.

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