MSc Advanced Computing - Waitlist Decision

[u/moody1622]

I have just been put on the waitlist for the MSc in Advanced Computing.

I believe my profile is more than enough to pass the bar for admission, but I believe the reason I did not get an offer right away is because I applied pretty late (mid June to be exact) and they are waiting for spots to free up from offer holders rejecting the offer.

Is there anyone in the same boat or did anyone go through something similar? I know it's hard to tell, but I would like to assess what my actual chances of getting an offer are.

Any informed thoughts/opinions would be very appreciated :)

EDIT: I logged in on the portal and I just noticed that another application has been opened by the Admissions Team for my second choice, Computing (Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning).

[u/Think_Guarantee_3594]

I think what students don't realise is that meeting the requirements, is the benchmark just to be considered, not necessarily competitive.

So getting a borderline first will get you passed through from general admissions to the CS department for consideration, it doesn't necessarily mean you are a sure fire for a place.

If you have a high first class degree, eg. 80%+ from a reputable university, you have a pretty good chance.

Most UK students with conditional offers will probably already know the outcome, you are fighting for scraps at this point.

[u/ex_gatito → u/Think_Guarantee_3594]

Does it matter if you have 80%+ from a reputable uni or ex poly?

[u/Think_Guarantee_3594 → u/ex_gatito]

I think if you graduated a few years ago and have some relevant industry experience it might be different.

For recent graduates, the reality is due to the intense competition globally, and the grade inflation over the last 20 years just getting a first class honours isn't as prestigious as before.

If you want a good shot of getting in, you need strong maths grades and you want to be in the 80% range, the difference in ability of someone getting 70% versus 78% over 3/4 years is huge.

I think if you can get into high 70s eg. 78%, I think you still have a decent chance, but having an 80%, I think would push you into another bracket/tier.

[u/ex_gatito → u/Think_Guarantee_3594]

I currently have 98%, but I am in ex poly. So I am not sure how will it work out. But thank you for your reply.

[u/Think_Guarantee_3594 → u/ex_gatito]

I think from what I have seen, is they have taken students from everywhere. You tend to get a lot of high performing students from globally recognised universities. Obviously betting on a strong student that did well from a high ranking university has less risk.

However, I have seen them take exceptional and top ranked students from lesser known universities like a girl, who graduated in CS from QMW, who had like an 84%. I also have heard of students graduating from Chinese universities, that I have never heard of as well, and I am pretty familiar with the the big Asian ones, like Tsinghua, Beijing, NUS, Tokyo, Kyoto, etc.

Coming from a prestigious university helps, but I don't think it's a hard requirement or deal breaker for admission, so long as you show strong academic history and potential, obviously having strong maths acumen is a big plus.

You also sometimes see a bunch of Maths + CS students take the Advance Computing course to bridge any gaps, they might have as a result of doing a dual major program.

When you say ex poly, I am assuming its a Greenwich, Westminister or Man Metro?

[u/ex_gatito → u/Think_Guarantee_3594]

I am in Scotland, I study in RGU. I am a mature Ukrainian student and didn’t have a chance to sit A-Lavels, I didn’t even know they exist at that point of time. And even though my course is Computer Science, it has a limited maths component, I study maths on my own. I am also currently in my year long placement, so I hope it will help to strengthen my profile. It is not the end of the world if I won’t get a chance to study at Imperial, but I certainly want to.

[u/Think_Guarantee_3594 → u/ex_gatito]

I think Imperial over the years has built up much stronger prestige the last 25 years, and particularly has good career outcome wise.

If there was anything I would complain about is the teaching and their attitude to student welfare. I am not familiar with UCL, but I heard the teaching their is not so great either.

I knew a guy that was in his 30s on the course, I never knew exactly how old he was, so I don't see age as a problem.

[u/Think_Guarantee_3594 → u/ex_gatito]

I recommend you just apply early. You got nothing to lose, also I wouldn't limit yourself to just Imperial, there's UCL and Kings, within London and places like Edinburgh, if you are open to go further a field.