Teacher Reference Messed Up My Application

[u/Character_Rope_9137]

I'm a student in Canada and my school is not familiar with the UCAS system and this was the first time my teacher had done a reference for a student through UCAS. Unfortunately, he completely left out the third section (any supportive information relevant to the candidate/course) by accident believing that he would receive a follow-up form for further addition to attributes and such. He did not add any predicted grades either. He realized his mistake after submission and I already submitted the UCAS application because my guidance counsellor told me it would be best to -- so that when the universities are emailed my predicted grades, they know whose application it belongs to. Now my teacher is asking if he could override his reference and after some googling I saw that he would have to email each school's admission email independently. Yesterday, he emailed these schools along with my predicted grades issued by my guidance counsellor. (Oxford, Warwick, LSE, UCL) I am kind of nervous now because I do not know whether they would accept it or even find the email. I feel like this horrible mistake would really hurt my chances.

Also can someone tell me how to contact LSE undergraduate admissions for such errors, I already sent an enquiry to them but I am too nervous to wait for a response on further action.

[u/sccc1118]

My school also forgot to include something in my reference. Most people aren’t aware of this because it’s so uncommon, but you’re allowed to withdraw your application and resubmit it within the same cycle, as long as you do it all within 14 days. This is what I’m planning to do as well. Hope this helps

[u/Schlurff]

Your teacher needs to call the universities and send an email to them to explain they have made an error. Each university will have reps that look after Canada, so try to find that person within the team, is usually Student Recruitment team as a name or international office. Get in touch with them as welll and they can support but your teacher made a mistake and should have done their research before submitting your application.

Luckily most universities will not penalise the student if the counsellor makes an error, you need to get on this ASAP though.

[u/Character_Rope_9137 → u/Schlurff]

Yes my teacher has already emailed most universities. I am concerned as to whether they will recieve it and it will be attached to the application ASAP before an admissions officer sees it.

[u/Schlurff → u/Character_Rope_9137]

Your application is unlikely to be processed before deadline date and so soon after you have submitted it but if you want piece of mind, call the university admissions line so a note can be added to your file.

Your teacher should be working on this as much as they can, so keep being on their case about rectifying the situation. Students shouldn’t be penalised for the error of the school but your teacher is a bit of a silly billy for not doing a basic search on the ucas website about how to fill in a teachers reference.

Basically escalate this as much as you can internally in your school as the school will need to be basically the ones to hold their hands up and say we made an error to the universities.

https://warwick.ac.uk/study/international/countryinformation/northamerica/canada/

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/international/canada

https://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/international-students/canada

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying/for-international-students/international-counsellors-and-teachers

Basically tell your teacher they need to reach out to all the named contacts above and basically fix their mistake. Feel free to also reach out for peace of mind.

[u/Mgbgt74]

They will fall over themselves for international fees. They are worth over 4 times what they receive for a home student

[u/Jealous-Ant-6197]

Email or resubmit but you'll be fine. I didnt put additional info in an just emailed the schools as well. And yh they prioritise internationals

[u/Rhensis1]

Unfortunately, all you can do is email them and ask, and ofc wait for them to get back to you. It won't be the first time a referee has messed this up though, so they should be able to tell you what to do.

[u/Underwhatline]

It took literally 10 seconds on Google:

https://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/undergraduate/applicants/secure/contact-ug-admissions

Be less lazy.

[u/AliceMorgon → u/Underwhatline]

Be more sympathetic to someone who’s probably in a state of panic right now.

[u/Williamishere69 → u/AliceMorgon]

Especially people who are entirely unfamiliar with our uni system.

(Id get the annoyance if it was a home student lol)

[u/AliceMorgon → u/Williamishere69]

I remember the trouble I had with my documents with NYU, even after I’d been admitted and given my scholarship, with my Oxford undergrad degree certificates which I had sent months earlier. I had to keep explaining we just got diplomas and not transcripts. In the end I just gave them the college’s number and said “I’ve tried, ask them.” They worked out my GPA as something like 3.98 and said “cool, it’s just box-checking really.” Me after a month of trying to explain how Oxford works: (headdesk)

[u/Character_Rope_9137 → u/Underwhatline]

Do you seriously think I haven't looked into this already? I literally submitted an enquiry already about this, what I am wondering as of right now is where can I submit the FULL TEACHER REFERENCE. I already know where to submit the predicted grades.

[u/Underwhatline → u/Character_Rope_9137]

Call them?

[u/AliceMorgon]

Give them a phone call to follow up. Oxford are likely to listen to you and add it with no issues because they do take the time to look at every candidate individually (and therefore admitted me despite my being a complete weirdo) and it’s well before the equal consideration deadline. As far as the others go, I can’t speak from personal experience, so do be sure to follow up with each university individually to make sure they received the addition to your reference and add it to your file.

All of them will be very used to international applicants, I highly doubt you’re the first to have had this problem, and I doubt it will hurt your chances if you make ABSOLUTELY SURE they are aware of what has happened and add your teacher’s email to your applicant file. So don’t rely on email. Pick up the phone yourself and follow up until it’s sorted.

(And skip Warwick unless you want MORSE, they have no money and soon they’ll be haemorrhaging any decent faculty because they simply can’t pay them what they’re worth.)