The deadline for applying for a year abroad through the university-wide exchange scheme passed in November, and in the last month, the lucky applicants have received the amazing news that their application was successful. However, only 47 per cent of students who applied managed to achieve a place at any of their five university choices in the first round of allocations. With 539 of the 1,018 applicants disappointed, we must ask whether the study exchange programme advertised by the university is functioning as it should.
The University of Edinburgh’s exchange programmes are managed by the Study and Work Away Services (SWAY), which I myself have had the misfortune of dealing with. I do not envy anyone yet to go through the study abroad application process. The poor communication of information, the lack of response from staff and the long-winded process all culminate in the high likelihood that you won’t get to study anywhere that you applied for.
Even the structure of the application process itself builds up students’ expectations, which are inevitably dashed by the lack of places available. The decision-making process uses your first-year grades, alongside a personal statement which is peer marked. A combination of these figures creates a score that decides your success. However, the personal statement focuses only on your top-choice destination, forcing students to become absorbed in researching their favoured destination. For mine, I wrote about how I was the perfect student to study in Berlin — I loved the city, had been learning German and was interested in the courses they offered. I spent so much time researching the accommodation, the student life, and the university that I could think of nothing but how amazing it would be to study there. So when I didn’t get the place, I was devastated.
It is the same story for the majority of applicants. This disappointment is only exacerbated by the long and anxious wait to hear back about the second round of allocations. The SWAY website acknowledges this, warning that the application process “may be extremely competitive and no student is guaranteed a place even if they meet…all application criteria.” The university seems almost despondent at the inaccessibility of its study abroad programmes.
Alongside the lack of available places, the process of peer marking also exacerbates the sense of competition for the exchange destinations. Not only does marking the personal statements of students from other degree programmes seem impractical, but it also extends the time spent agonising over the possibility of an exchange, with one student saying that the process “sets people up against each other.” Increasing partnerships and available places will mitigate the high likelihood of disappointment. Fewer places make the process highly competitive, and the exciting opportunity of participating in a study exchange seems unachievable. Following announcements that the UK will rejoin the Erasmus study scheme in 2027, which Keir Starmer, the UK Prime Minister, claims will benefit over 100,000 people, we can hope that students’ access to exchange destinations will be broadened.
Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash
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SWAY: A Pipeline to Disappointment
The deadline for applying for a year abroad through the university-wide exchange scheme passed in November, and in the last month, the lucky applicants have received the amazing news that their application was successful. However, only 47 per cent of students who applied managed to achieve a place at any of their five university choices in the first round of allocations. With 539 of the 1,018 applicants disappointed, we must ask whether the study exchange programme advertised by the university is functioning as it should.
The University of Edinburgh’s exchange programmes are managed by the Study and Work Away Services (SWAY), which I myself have had the misfortune of dealing with. I do not envy anyone yet to go through the study abroad application process. The poor communication of information, the lack of response from staff and the long-winded process all culminate in the high likelihood that you won’t get to study anywhere that you applied for.
Even the structure of the application process itself builds up students’ expectations, which are inevitably dashed by the lack of places available. The decision-making process uses your first-year grades, alongside a personal statement which is peer marked. A combination of these figures creates a score that decides your success. However, the personal statement focuses only on your top-choice destination, forcing students to become absorbed in researching their favoured destination. For mine, I wrote about how I was the perfect student to study in Berlin — I loved the city, had been learning German and was interested in the courses they offered. I spent so much time researching the accommodation, the student life, and the university that I could think of nothing but how amazing it would be to study there. So when I didn’t get the place, I was devastated.
It is the same story for the majority of applicants. This disappointment is only exacerbated by the long and anxious wait to hear back about the second round of allocations. The SWAY website acknowledges this, warning that the application process “may be extremely competitive and no student is guaranteed a place even if they meet…all application criteria.” The university seems almost despondent at the inaccessibility of its study abroad programmes.
Alongside the lack of available places, the process of peer marking also exacerbates the sense of competition for the exchange destinations. Not only does marking the personal statements of students from other degree programmes seem impractical, but it also extends the time spent agonising over the possibility of an exchange, with one student saying that the process “sets people up against each other.” Increasing partnerships and available places will mitigate the high likelihood of disappointment. Fewer places make the process highly competitive, and the exciting opportunity of participating in a study exchange seems unachievable. Following announcements that the UK will rejoin the Erasmus study scheme in 2027, which Keir Starmer, the UK Prime Minister, claims will benefit over 100,000 people, we can hope that students’ access to exchange destinations will be broadened.
Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash
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