This page details the College's Admissions Procedure for students who are applying from abroad or those students who will need to return to their country of origin to change their visa status.

Applying to any North West College  Course is simple.

Step 1 - Apply

First you must complete an application form as the first step of the application process. Once you have decided on the course that you wish to study, you simply complete the application form online or fill it out manually by printing a hard copy from the College website and return it to the College, together with copies of all or your latest educational qualifications for evaluation by the Admissions Department.

Unless specified in the course details, there is no official closing date for applications. However, you are recommended to apply early enough to allow you to arrive at the College on time for the commencement of your course.

Once you have completed one of these applications, you should send to us your supporting documents by post/fax/email scan. Please check that you meet the Entry Requirements of the course that you are applying for.

Step 2 - Receiving a Conditional Offer

Once we have received your application and supporting documents, our admissions department will review your application and, provided that you meet the entry criteria of the course that you have applied for, we will give you a conditional offer by email and/or letter. You can expect to receive a decision on your application within 48 hours of us receiving your online application. 

Step 3 - Accepting the Offer

In order to accept an offer from the College, overseas students will be required to pay part of their tuition fees, as described in their conditional offer letter. Students can pay the entirety of their tuition fees in advance. Once we receive the tuition fees, you will be issued with the Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies. This document will enable you to apply for a student visa.

Step 4 - English Assessment Policy

You must demontrate a level of English language proficiency that will allow you to succeed in the academic courses at NWC Reading. If you are applying for a course of study at NQF level 4 and 5, you must have an English language competency to a minimum of CEFR level B1. If you are applying for a course of study at NQF level 6 and above you must have an English language competency to a minimum level of CEFR B2. You must demonstrate this by submitting an official recent certificate of English language issued by the test providers approved by UKBA (E.G. IELTS, Pearson or TOEFL).

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Step 5 - Accommodation

The next important stage to consider is where you are going to stay whilst studying at North West College Reading.  If you would like the College to reserve your temporary accommodation early and send you a booking confirmation letter in support of your visa application, you will be required to pay a minimum deposit of £400 for the host family accommodation or £300 for single or shared room. It is usually a month's rent of the room we arrange for you. Please send this payment alongside your tuition fee payments.

Please note that this money will be refunded to you (deducting 1 week's rent i.e. £100/£75, if your visa application is unsuccessful or you inform us that you do not require accommodation two weeks before your arrival. Otherwise, this payment won't be refunded and can not be transferred towards the tuition fee. This payment directly goes to the landlord.

Step 6 - Dispatch of Unconditional offer

All the visa documents pack we send are dispatched via Royal Mail's International Signed For Service. This is efficient in Europe and the USA and will usually deliver your documents to you within two weeks. However, if you are not from the above countries and would like these documents on time so that you can apply for your visa, we strongly recommend that you request us to send this pack by courier (DHL) and send us £30 per delivery along with your tuition fee. If we have not received a clear instruction from you and we feel that this document will not reach its destination in time, without sending it by courier, then we will deduct £30 from your received tuition fees and dispatch these documents by DHL.

Please note that the DHL charge is non-refundable and we will not be liable if the package doesn't get delivered to you if the address you have provided is incomplete or you were not available to accept the delivery. For more information about DHL visit www.dhl.co.uk.

Step 7 - Final Registration

If your visa application is successful, please inform us of this as soon as possible so that we can make the necessary arrangements for your arrival in the UK. Once you have arrived in the UK you will be required to report to the College in order to complete any outstanding procedures and formalities. Be advised that you will need to pay the balance of your tuition fees before the commencement of your course.

The first week will be the induction week and the first day of your course start day will be the induction day. The final time-table will usually be distributed on the induction day.