Post
by rella » Sun Sep 25, 2005 2:57 pm
I guess I'm one of the people who would rather include all transcripts to make the case clear, no matter what the rules say. There are plenty of people who get their HSMP approved quickly and easily with the minimal evidence and others have been turned down with the same... It's hard to know how each case will be treated and so I feel it's better to give them the information you think will help them to see your case in the best light. And since each country has it's own peculiarities in their education and employment systems, it's better to give as much info as you think will help the caseworker to understand what your qualifications mean.
The univ systems are quite different between the US and UK with plenty of misconceptions on both sides. I've heard over and over again (both here and in the U.S.) that a UK high school education is equivalent to a U.S. bachelors, which is simply completely untrue. My husband and I were looking at the GCSE tests for physics and biology the other day and they are at the same level as U.S. high school courses--lower, in fact, that AP courses.
And the U.S. graduate school system is completely different. I would've assumed that there are enough American applicants that the caseworkers would completely understand how how the system is the U.S. works, but... it may be that they have believe the same mythology that many people seem to believe.
So... I think that a Jhonny approach is required here. It shouldn't be, because IMO, a M.S. from a state school in the U.S. is very clear and is obviously a real Masters. But... you can't take anything for granted at this point... you have to try to get every piece of evidence together to make your point. That is, if others have said, you decide it's worth effort and expense to pursue this.
One thing I would do, is call NARIC first thing Monday morning and speak with them directly. Get your B.S. transcripts together. Circle all economics and economics-related courses. Then... I would find what is required for the PGDip in the UK for economics and show that your undergrad minor either is equivalent or exceeds it. Show what the requirements are for a masters degree in economics in the UK, and show that your masters is equivalent. You can gather info from various UK programs -- I'd only pick the top schools-- and show what is covered in their courses and do a comparison with your course.
Then... get letters. Get one from your UK advisor showing that your masters is equivalent to one from his department in the UK. Think of anything else you can put together as evidence. You can get the UK advisor to fax you this letter, so you can have all this on-hand to send to NARIC and HSMP. Try to leave nothing uncovered. Anything you can think of to make your case, include.
I still don't know what your odds are. It should be accepted, but they make some very odd decisions sometimes. If you read over Jhonny's case, he has a Spanish masters from an excellent school -- so it's even a European masters, but due to terminology, NARIC can't state in the wording that HSMP requires that it's equivalent to a UK masters, even though it is. He also has exactly what is defined as significant achievement in the HSMP guidelines, but they are not evaluating it according to their own rules. He has a good chance and he's made the best case humanly possible. So... all he can do is wait and wait and wait to see if they'll apply the rules fairly in his case. That's all anyone can do.
So... gather your info and put together a top-notch rebuttal to their decision. And do call NARIC and talk it over with them to see exactly what they will need in order to grant you a favorable decision, so you'll know what to give them.
After you get your appeal all ready to go, fax it to them to get it there on time and follow-up with a hard copy. Then... after you're sure the fax arrives, call and go over it with the caseworker, to make sure that they see all your points and have actually read your evidence.
My husband ended up in a very frustrating position with an HSMP approval he couldn't use due to a bunch of rule changes after his application was submitted and got stuck in a long queue. You just do the best you can with the system and keep on trying. It's frustrating, but when dealing with gov't bureaucracies, these things happen. As others have said (and having friends who had to deal with the U.S. immigration system), we have it easy compared to many. The U.S. Immigration System is a nightmare. And as Americans, we probably have the easiest time and the least amount of scrutiny of all non-EU citizens coming into the UK. So, don't take it personally. Just do your best and then let it go until they make the decision.