University or The London School of English?
Should I prepare for my degree course at a university, or with The London School of English?
Many universities offer academic English and pre-sessional courses to help you reach the level of English you need to start your degree course. For some people studying English at a university is very appealing because you can get used to the university environment and settle into life as a student at a British university. However, for others it is not the right environment at this stage of their studies. At The London School of English you will find a more personal environment where we are able to help you through each stage of the university application process, monitor your progress in English and, most importantly, do our best to help you secure a place at the university of your choice.
To help you make your decision about where to prepare for university, we recommend you consider the four points below.
| Pre-sessional at a university | LSE | |
|---|---|---|
| Study plan | You can only do a pre-sessional course when you have a degree offer for that particular university and the pre-sessional course is only appropriate for that university. If you change your mind about your university or degree choice, the pre-sessional may not be accepted by another university. | Our courses are appropriate at any stage of the application process. We encourage our students to have more than one offer and to keep their options open. If your study plan doesn’t go as you had hoped you should have a back-up. We can also suggest options which you may not have considered. |
| Getting into university | Universities are usually not obliged to find you an alternative place if you do not meet your entry requirements for a degree course. During your pre-sessional you will need to improve enough to meet the language requirement for your degree by the time it starts. | If you narrowly miss the entry requirements you need and we believe you are ready for university we will work with our universities contacts to do everything we can to secure you a place at university. |
| IELTS v. university test | There will always be an element of assessment whether it is an English language test or continuous assessment. An in-house language test is not easier than an IELTS test. Universities will expect a high standard from all degree students. | We will probably recommend you take IELTS. It is the most widely recognised exam for entrance into UK universities. The IELTS exam is also a very good test of the English you will need on a degree course. All UK universities will accept IELTS as an entry exam so you can keep your options open. |
| Individual attention | Your progress should be closely monitored on a university pre-sessional, but you will be in a bigger and less personal environment. | We can adapt your course programme and tailor it to suit your needs. We will also monitor your progress so we can check you are on the right path. We have a dedicated team to check your progress, applications and options. We work with a much smaller number of students compared to universities. |
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Rosie helped me throughout the process. She helped me find the right course combination at the best university for me and showed me the right way to fill in the application form. It was very important to have her guidance on how to do the personal statement.
