Accepted without reference letter

[Maddie1609]

Hello,

I will be applying to universities in England for fall 2016 entry and I have one particular concern. I have studied independently instead of attending an ordinary high school, but I've taken and will be taking various exams. Because of this I have no one who can write a reference letter for me, and it is my understanding that this letter is very crucial to the application. Can I apply without a reference? Will this weigh negatively towards my admission? Can I let the universities know somehow that there is a reason for my lack of references?

 

[artfullounger]

Reference letters really aren't essential unless maybe you're applying to oxbridge (or worse, oxbridge level unis which don't do interviews like most courses at LSE and UCL). Even then your personal statement is much more important. Most UK state school students letters are just really generic things written by their personal tutors, many of whom may have only known the student for a year at that point anyway.

I believe you do need A reference letter, however you may be able to get a character reference type thing from someone who knows you e.g. your work boss. Alternately I assume you took your exams through some kind of organized system, and whoever you did that through e.g. tutoring agency or whatever can probably write you a letter.

You may want to consider foundation or access programmes which are a) probably more flexible with regards to entry requirements including reference letters, and b) may be required to apply to other courses depending on exactly what your prior qualifications are.