Moving abroad for your higher education provides unlimited opportunities. A degree from a well-known foreign university boosts your career prospects in India and abroad. The United Kingdom has emerged as a popular education destination for Indians. If you’re planning to head there for a post-graduate degree, here’s a look at what you need to know about entrance exams.
Why Should You Study in the UK?
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The United Kingdom is known for housing some of the world’s most esteemed higher education institutions. Universities across the UK, including Cambridge, Oxford, and Edinburgh, welcome nearly half a million international students each year! When you decide to study in the UK, you enjoy high-quality education and a better chance of securing a good job in the future. You can leverage your degree to negotiate better pay and more. You also gain access to people from around the world, broadening your horizons.
Understanding the Entrance Exam Requirements for a Masters in the UK
To secure your admission for a post-graduate degree in the UK, you must complete language tests and subject-specific exams. Let’s first explore the language tests.
English Language Exams
Most UK universities accept three English language tests:
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
You do not have to meet any minimum age or educational qualifications to appear for the TOEFL. The exam has four sessions – reading, listening, speaking and writing. There’s a 10-minute break between the listening and speaking sessions. For the first session, you must read a few passages and then answer 30 to 40 questions based on them in 54 to 72 minutes. You have to listen to lectures or conversations and then answer 28 to 38 questions based on them in 41 to 57 minutes for the next section. The speaking section has four tasks that you must complete in 17 minutes. Finally, the writing section has two tasks that you need to complete in 50 minutes. You can score a maximum of 120 on the exam. Most UK colleges accept scores above 80. However, it’s a good idea to check your preferred university’s minimum score requirements before applying.
International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
Like the TOEFL, IELTS exams also have four sections – listening, writing, reading and speaking. You must complete the listening, reading and writing sections without any breaks in one go. In the listening section, you have 30 minutes to complete 40 items across four sections. You have 60 minutes to complete two writing tasks. Finally, you have 60 minutes to complete 40 reading questions across three sections. The speaking section involves a three-part one-on-one conversation with your examiner. You must complete this section within seven days of the written test. The IELTS uses a unique nine-band system for points. Most universities require a minimum score of seven.
Pearson Test English (PTE)
The PTE is a two-hour exam that tests your speaking and writing, reading, and listening skills. You have to answer 20 types of questions across the three sections. The highest score you can get is between 85 and 90. Most UK universities accept PTE scores over 51.
Subject-specific Exams
Business Graduate Programme/MBA
Many Indians head abroad for an MBA. If you’d like to secure admission at a top UK university, you must also complete the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). The GMAT exam has four sections:
- Analytical Writing Assessment – Here, you discuss whether you believe a given argument has been reasoned well.
- Integrated Reasoning – The section tests your ability to examine, sort, analyse and interpret information from multiple sources.
- Quantitative Reasoning – The section checks your problem-solving skills.
- Verbal Reasoning – Here, you need to complete reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and sentence correction tasks.
You could potentially get a total of 800 points on your GMAT. You must answer the 80 questions in a little over three hours. MBA candidates can choose the GMAT order that best works for them. You can opt to complete the analytical writing assessment first, followed by the integrated reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and verbal reasoning sections. Or, you can opt to start with verbal reasoning, followed by quantitative reasoning, integrated reasoning and the analytical writing assessment. The third option available starts with quantitative reasoning, followed by verbal reasoning, integrated reasoning and the analytical writing assessment.
Law
Aspiring lawyers in the UK must complete the Law National Aptitude Test (LNAT). The test has two sections. The first contains 42 multiple-choice questions, while the second has three essay question options. You only need to answer one of them. The questions in the LNAT test your comprehension, interpretation, deduction and analysis skills.
Graduation, Management or Engineering Courses
For most other MS courses, you must complete the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Indian students appear for the computer-based exam that has three main sections – analytical writing, quantitative reasoning, and verbal reasoning. The exam has two variable sections as well. The quantitative and verbal reasoning sections have 40 questions each. Based on the MS degree you hope to pursue, you may also have to attempt a GRE subject exam. Subjects currently offered include biology, chemistry, English literature, mathematics, physics, and psychology. In these exams, you get a mark for every correct answer and get docked a quarter mark for every incorrect one.
Financing Your Masters in the UK
A post-graduate degree in the UK often comes at a high price. If you don’t have all the money upfront, don’t worry. You can get an education loan for study abroad to finance your higher education. Education-focused finance companies like Avanse provide more than just funds for your tuition. You can use the loan amount to finance your living costs and purchase study materials like books and a laptop. You can get a loan that offers a student-friendly education loan rate of interest, ensuring you don’t have to stress about your finances in the future. The student loan repayment period often only starts once you complete your course or get a job. However, it’s a good idea to get a part-time job while studying and make some payments towards your loan while you’re still attending university.
Every college and course has unique entrance exam requirements. You must check your preferred institution’s website for the latest updates on the test scores they accept. You can then prepare for and ace the tests to secure your admission.
