I have recently completed my A-level with good grades and decided to get a foreign degree. Out of many options/offers i had, i choose a digital marketing related course from one of UK's university with a good ranking.
After doing a bit of google research, i have found this forum to be very useful and informative, i would really appreciate if i can get some comments so that i can plan what my next course of action should be.
Reasons Of Refusals:
In the first reason the ECO states that he is not satisfied that I am a genuine student claiming that I have not done any meaningful research about my institute,
Below are the comments by the ECO.
I have considered your application in the round, including the fact that you have been issued with a confirmation of acceptance for studies. However, I am not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that you are a genuine student
You were asked why you choose this university, you stated “most of the universities were offering me business studies with marketing but this was offering me the course as per my requirements and interests. This was the reason why I choose this over the other universities” from your response it appears that your choice to study at this institute was by execution rather than for any academic reason. I am not satisfied therefore that you have made a meaningful research into this university.
Just to clarify, i remember me telling me quite a lot of reasons, either in the previous or in the next questions during my interview. My interview lasted for good 2.5 hours, as the interviewer was writing my answers and kept on repeating and clarifying words. So i must say that the first half of my interview was good but in the 2nd half, i was a bit tired and exhausted and i literally forgot the things that i had memorized. - Anyways -
Above was just one point out of many i made during the interview, i don't understand why would they ignore many other reasons that i gave and just pick up the one they found was some ambiguity in.
i have received transcripts of my 2nd interview from the HO now, and i can see i answered my university related answers in many other questions in detail.
You stated that you researched into a number of institutions before deciding for for this university however when asked what their rankings are in comparison to it you were unable to respond because you forgot. You claimed that this was because you had a lot of things to memories. I am not satisfied that a genuine student with a genuine intention of pursuing the best education would not know this information, especially considering your claim to have choose it because it was better than the others.
Completely shattered, as i did give ranking of two other universities and also their international raking ??
You were asked what advantages this institution has over the others you considered and you said “the university has a beautiful countryside campus, it has the 9th safest campus in the UK, a newly built business school, highly equipped with technically advanced technology having sports facilities, campus accommodation for all international students and new libraries. These are all advantages for this university and these are also the reasons why I chose this one other universities”. Whilst I acknowledge that one’s safety is an important factor when choosing an institution I take into consideration that UK is an overall safe country and many other institutions are also considered safe .many other institutions also offer the other facilities you described and therefore I am not satisfied that you have satisfactorily explained.
Though i agree that it wasn't the best comment i made, but i would be very honest, that it is just fraction of what other reasons i gave regarding the university, course, how it was meeting my career objectivity, employ ability rate, teaching awards etc etc. But i understand i shouldnt have made "Safety Comment"", in there but i honestly read it when i was researching about university
When asked how this course helps you achieve your future plans you said “I am very hopeful that I will be fully equipped with knowledge and skills at the end of this course. I can work in various types of jobs related to the telecom industry, textile industry and NGO. So I can also work for any multinational company as an assistant director as a web manager, social media marketing expert, web analytic engineer” and “ I can also work as a brand ambassador or PR manager for any clothing brand and run their marketing campaigns, due to my interest in textiles and clothing industry” your answers are generic and applicable to a number of different courses and do not demonstrate that you have made any meaningful research into your future career options. Given the considerable cost of these studies and the lack of any evidence of any benefits to be gained from studying in the UK I am not satisfied that you are a genuine student . I am not satisfied that you meet the requirements of paragraph 245ZV(k) of immigration rules}
Graduation cost in Pakistan from a good university, doesn't cost much different from what i was going to pay abroad, (bearing in mind Grad is 4 Years in Pak), so i don't agree with this particular reason to term someone a non genuine student, but going back to the points ECO mentioned above are just a fraction of reasons i gave.
So seriously i am both annoyed, disheartened and also worried right now as the Universities in Pakistan have closed their admissions and i am going to end up wasting my 1 year of study.
My understanding is that i have two choices right now.
To go for an Administrative Review: Which i don't know will make much difference but i will try my best to explain my answers from the transcripts that i have received from the HO
Re-Apply:
In both options, my chosen university states that it closes enrolling students after 1 October 2018, hence i doubt i am going to get any of above sorted before that. However i am not going to let it go like this, as what annoyed me is ECO terming someone as non genuine student specially when you make few comments, which may not be the best one's but i think some leverage should be given specially where the interview is long as nearly 3 hours. My previous educational background is good and is one of the best schools in Pakistan.. so it is quite disappointing to discourse students by calling them non-genuine. I wish i could have gone to Australia, where one of the University offered me without me applying for it, due to my grades...
i have heard that there is something called Judicial review as well ? Does someone know what that is ? how does it work ? can i go for it whilst i am in Pakistan ? - Regardless of whether i get the visa or not, but literally i want to prove that ECO is wrong in his comments.
any comments would be appreciated