Time at Leeds (MSc Student Edition)

I had applied for the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge before applying to Leeds. I was accepted into the former two but without funding. Leeds was a better choice and had much less 'halo' or pressure around it but was doing equally well or better in my subject. Hence, I choose Leeds, where my proposal was awarded with full funding for the PhD programme. Given that the proposals were accepted by the former two, it was mainly the funding availability. Especially because I was applying to study my individual project. If I had applied for a project that was nested within existing funded projects of the prospective supervisors, there would have been better chances. The main choice was the research interest and that the University of Leeds, Geography department in particular was exceptional and a world leader in its field. Secondly, there were several familiar scientists whose papers I have been reading. The admission process first involved contacting the prospective supervisor. I sent him a proposal and my CV. He liked my CV but did not have funding. However, he told me he will revert back if there are funding opportunities. It was almost like any common answer from emails one would get when the faculty is not interested. However, my supervisor wrote me back that there is an independent funding opportunity for a PhD which I could apply for if I was still looking. This was ideal and I then wrote a research proposal, which my supervisor helped vet and I submitted. I had to get an IELTS and a GRE score to qualify but it was not necessary at the application stage. I already had both at the time nonetheless. The selection criteria for the particular fellowship I applied for were mainly the merits of the proposal and my publications. I already had a 10-year research experience, which I think also worked in favour of my application. The department and the University steps were also very intuitive and easy. The team was supportive from the point of first contact until I arrived in the department. Again, it's been a while. So I can only recollect the high-level details. It took me almost 6-8 months from the time when I got to know about the LIRS fellowship opportunity to applying and starting my studies. I think it was during April 2015 that I started the application. The application was simple; the more crucial part was the research proposal. After application I think it took 3-4 months until the awards were announced. I think it was August or September that year. Visa process was also straightforward and the School admin kept in touch through email and helped. Upon arrival, there were only a couple of formalities: visiting student centre, visiting the post office to collect residence permit etc....Read More

The location and the ranking of the university and course, respectively. I was required to have a minimum of IELTS 7, with a good bachelor's degree mark (over 7.0 CGPA in Indian conversion)....Read More

The course that I went for was among the 100 in the world according to QS rankings for the University of Leeds. Apart from that, I read about the town culture which was happening. I also read about the alumni of LUBS and was sold from there to join the university. I gave the GMAT and IELTS. Got 640 on the GMAT and an 8 band on IELTS. However, GMAT was not required for my course....Read More

No application fee, easy process, great faculty, good curriculum, safe student city...Read More

Affordable world-class education. When I went to study, I met their English requirements without a need to appear for any English proficiency tests. I had to apply with my 12th class results for English proficiency, Statement of Purpose, 2 Letters of Recommendation. I did not have to appear for any tests. However, I was required to prove that I had more than 70% in English in my 12th class exams....Read More

Researched universities according to rankings Shortlisted 3 of them Applied to all 3 of them. Got offer letter from all of them Finalised which will be the best. In 2023, criteria for University of Leeds was having an IELTS score of 6.5+...Read More

The course was highly flexible. I got to choose 6 out of my 8 modules; also, it was one of the cheapest courses for a university in QS top 100 I had an 8.0 in IELTS. I think a stronger SOP and grades, along with supporting evidence, are what are most important....Read More

Course ranking: Leeds is a very lively city. Cost of living is lower than other cities like Manchester/London. IELTS (minimum 7 i think). Undergraduate degree. A very good appealing SOP (important!)...Read More

University of Leeds is in the Russell Group of Universities. Highly reputed and well-known faculty Highly ranked business school Great support from the University My IELTS score was 7.5 GMAT is not required For masters, your bachelors should be more than 65%...Read More

I only applied to UK Russell Group colleges, which are as follows: King's College London, University of Edinburgh, Queen Mary University of London, and University of Leeds. I got rejected from the first 2 and got accepted in the last 2. In my opinion, Kings College requires higher grades and a better portfolio than mine. The number of applicants each year is too big and I was not prepared for it, as MS was never something I had considered earlier. For Edinburgh, they did not specify a reason but I assume I hadn't given IELTS by that time; it could be a reason. I chose the University of Leeds over Queen Mary as it has a higher QS ranking and London is more expensive than Leeds. The University of Leeds just required 2 LORs and an SOP apart from all the identification documents. It didn't ask for any other exam. Although I gave IELTS for Queen Mary, which required 6+ bands in each section of the exam. Application was overall easy for me once I had all the documents in place. The only challenge was to get the LoRs and tailor the SoP as per the college. I got into the Fall (September) intake of 2023 batch because the data science and analytics program was only available in Autumn. The admission process wasn't very long. Once I accepted the offer and paid the initial amount, I received CAS in around 2 weeks. I can say the entire thing from applying to getting my CAS was around 1.5-2 months of process....Read More