Citizenship in AB Application

[Meese]

I'm applying for 2003 entry to the 6-year Irish meds...

Does anyone know of any reason why I should NOT include in my application essay the fact that I am a dual Canadian-British citizen?

I'd assume that this might help set me apart from other applicants; I can work in the EU with no hassle, and have the option of staying and practicing in Ireland after I graduate with relative ease (*I think*)

The only drawback I can think of would be if my status could change from International to Home student after 3 years in the country. Does anyone know about this? I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to emphasize it if this is the case, since it means that after 3 years the schools would be making less money off of me than they would off another, otherwise comparable student.

Just want to make sure that if I include this tidbit, it will be working for me...not against! Any opinions or suggestions are welcome

Cheers

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[lola]

that's a tricky one...
i think it's best to be honest and focus on how your dual citizenship is a good thing. even though the money may be a concern to them, 3 year's tuition is still quite a bit. now, if you would only have to pay for 1 year or something, i would think more seriously about witholding the info.

 

[Meese]

lola: you have a good point. I'm trying to find out from our British Council just what would happen after 3 years of study in the UK --hopefully they have dealt with this b/f and can tell me if my status would change. I'll post their response when I get it, just in case anyone reads this and is in a similar situation...

BTW lola, you're applying to Trinity, right? How's all that going?

 

[leorl]

Meese...actually...the only way you'd have to worry about that...is if you applied to Queens university. Queens is the only uni. in the UK, since it's in Northern Ireland. The rest of the Irish schools belong to the Republic of Ireland which is not part of the UK, so should not revert your citizenship to a permanent UK status . It does give you a good boost too, since you can work in the EU without visa problems.

And you can mention it in your AB application without worry, methinks.

 

[lola]

i assume you know this but was a little unclear from your last post -- ireland's not in the uk!

so you're applying for the 6 year program, huh? are you a senior in high school now?

i actually haven't started my app. i'm trying to get my u.s. secondaries done first. the application doesn't look too bad except that i can't just use the personal statement i've already written. i'm thinking of using some of it and then tacking on a few paragraphs.

are you applying to any other irish schools?

it looks like leorl beat me to the ireland's not in the uk part. just wanted to say that even though you're not an irish citizen, there may still be tuition discounts for eu people. i know the eu/uk people pay the same at oxford. don't know how it works at trinity.

 

[Meese]

Eeeee, my bad - I must have written "UK" without thinking!...probably b/c I'm considering applying to a few British schools as well. Thnks tho for catching me on that guys, it's not so much the kind of mistake I'd want to make in, say, my application essay...

Anyway, as Lola has touched on, I'm really trying to find out whether studying for those 3 years anywhere in the EU would affect my student status. Meh, it seems most logical that I'd have to be at school in the UK for that to happen (as Leorl pointed out), so it'd be all clear on the Irish front, but I will wait to see what the British Council says.

In the meantime, you guys have given some great input, which I really appreciate! I think I will most likely be including the citizenship info in my app

Lola: I'm just starting my 3rd year of undergrad here in Ontario. Kinda in the same situation as you with the PS I think; I basically wrote it this summer, and geared towards the whole "Why I want to be a doctor" thing. I'm really happy with it, so now I'm stuck trying to throw in a little "Why I'd be an asset" here and there....we'll see how it turns out!
I hope all goes well for you with your application!!

Cheers

 

[The Pill Counter]

Meese, here's a little info from a fellow British-Canadian citizen: you will NEVER revert to home student or EU student status while studying in Ireland or the UK. If you start the degree as a foreign, fee-paying student, you will finish as a fee-paying student. For the UK, you would have had to live there for the previous three years, but not in higher education, and something very similar for Ireland. The take-home message, doesn't matter what you put on your app, you'll never become a home student.

 

[Meese]

Pill Counter:

That is excellent information to hear....I'm so glad I've found someone in the same situation!
You have completely answered my question, thank you so much

 

[Meese]

(the same citizenship situation I mean...)

 

[lola]

meese,
glad you got your question answered. i didn't realize you wouldn't get the tuition reduction after 3 years. i knew for oxford that you had to live there for 3 years before matriculating to get the reduction but figured you'd get it for your 4th year if you moved there for school. guess not...

where else are you applying in the uk? i'm applying to oxford. it's a long shot, but i figure what the hell! the ucas application was a bit of a pain. i have all these parts whited out, because i messed up and didn't want to request another app. i noticed they send a copy to schools, so hopefully they won't be able to see how sloppy it really is.

yeah, my personal statement for u.s. schools tells a little story and discusses my reasons for wanting to become a physician. i'm just going to use most of it and tack on the why i'd be an asset part since it can be 2 pages, and my ps is only 1. hopefully it will turn out ok!

good luck!

 

[The Pill Counter]

Wow, I'm raining on everyone's parade today: Lola, you've still got one month till the Oct 15th deadline so you better get another app soon! From the UCAS website:

Do not detach the two halves of the form.

Do not attach extra sheets.

Do not stick or staple extra or replacement sheets onto the form.

Do not write in the shaded boxes.

Do not write outside the black border line.

Do not mark or damage the reference number boxes at the tops of pages 1 and 4.

Do not use correction fluid if you make mistakes.

I remembered that from last year, and I looked it up just to be sure, here is the link:

UCAS

 

[Meese]

Lola,

This may sound bad, but I'm still trying to decide what schools in the UK. Glasgow has told me I'm welcome to apply, and I've got to email Bristol back (originally I was asking about their graduate entry program, but now I want to know about the full one). From looking at other posts, I might see about GKT,Sheffield or Newcastle.....but I've still got to check some things out. What have you learned about the requirements for Oxford? I hadn't even thought about applying there, but maybe I'll look into it....

Hey, for your PS; is that one page you already have single- or double-spaced? What a ridiculous question, I know, but I'm trying to add a few things to mine....and I already have it down to 1.5-spaced. I think Leorl said at one point that hers was like 1200 words, which mine hasn't hit yet, so hopefully I'll be fine....
Honestly tho, I have nitemares about the adcoms looking at my essay and throwing out my whole application b/c I didn't double-space.... I think I need a vacation from all these forms...

 

[lola]

we can't use correction fluid??? well, i did! actually, it was more like correction tape. i did not see that in the instructions that came with the application, although i did see all those other instructions about no additional pages, etc... i didn't look on the website. i had to pay for the application, and it took several days for them to send it to me, so i'm not requesting another. plus i already sent it to my recommender. i didn't include my personal statement either b/c they didn't include the stick on page to print it out onto. i'm really hoping it's just a formality. i'm only applying to 1 uk school and at one point they said we didn't need to fill out ucas if that's the only program we're applying to. they've changed their minds now, though. aaaah! now you have me all worried. maybe i'll pay for and fill out another form. this sucks! last time i tried the ucas website didn't even work, and i had to request the form from the british council.

oxford's program is 4 years for people with bioscience or chemistry degrees. i was not eligible for the other graduate entry programs i checked out in the uk b/c my degree is in chemistry. most want a biology degree or take more than 4 years. you have to take an exam before they decide whether or not to interview you. you can take it at home but have to find someone to administer it to you on saturday november 9. that may be a bit of a problem for me since i'm not in school. they accept a maximum of 7 international students. i think this is for all medical programs not just the graduate entry programs. i guess you are not an international student though.

 

[Meese]

Just heard back from the British Council lady...

She told me that it is up to the individual school to decide my status, but that (as Pill Counter said) usually you have to have resided in the UK for at least 3 years before beginning studies there to be considered a home student. So this doesn't even have a bearing on the Irish schools, which is good to know.

Thanks for the info on Oxford lola, it's good to know. I hope all works out with your ucas application!

Cheers

 

[The Pill Counter]

Meese,
It has absolutely nothing to do with individual schools. They want their money and they could care less where it comes from: either you or the education council of the borough in which you reside. If you don't have a record of living the past three consecutive years in the UK, the borough won't pay your fees. Simple as that. Trust me, I've spent years looking at this from every single angle.
About Irish schools, I couldn't find it on the website, but I remember reading a while ago, residency in an EU country for 2-3 years in the past 5 years, but don't quote me on that.
Lola, call UCAS and ask them how flexible they are on the correction thing. If they're not willing to budge, ask them to express post a UCAS app to you, but you'll have to pay.

 

[lola]

aaah!
so i talked to the british council, and apparently the white out thing is a real no no. also, not including a personal statement is a no no as well. geesh. there just wasn't room for my personal statement, and they didn't give me a stupid stick on form. she suggested i hand write it in. how stupid! i don't know why i even have to include it since i've already sent one to oxford. i've been out of high school for 9 years, so i don't know how i'm going to fit what i want to say into that tiny little space.
luckily my referee hadn't sent it off yet. hopefully i'll get it in the mail soon.
aaah!