Am I exempt from IELTS for OSPAP due to my British nationality

[saniah]

Hello Dear,
I want to ask some question related to pharmacy. I am british citizen by birth .I am overseas pharmacist ,recently moving from karachi,pakistan . May I exempt from IELTS for OSPAP.(overseas pharmaceutical assistment program).My whole education is in English.

I am very greatful to you if you guide me.

thanks
saniah

[paul2008]

Hello Dear,
I want to ask some question related to pharmacy. I am british citizen by birth .I am overseas pharmacist ,recently moving from karachi,pakistan . May I exempt from IELTS for OSPAP.(overseas pharmaceutical assistment program).My whole education is in English.

I am very greatful to you if you guide me.

thanks
saniah

Well, at one point the RPSGB could not ask for it but universities demanded it anyway before they would accept you. I am not sure what the current application pack says. You could probably fight and get away with it but my advice is to just do it after all they are making Australians, Americans and New Zealanders do it. The test is not that hard and with some practice you can buy the sample papers from the IELTS website you will pass. You may need to work on your spelling and grammar though.

Good luck with the OSPAP it is a worthwhile experiance.

[GoatGirl]

Hope this helps. I'm quoting directly from the OSPAP information pack.

"You must supply a satisfactory English Language test result from the Academic test of the IELTS. The result must be a MINIMUM OF 7 IN EVERY CATEGORY AT THE SAME SITTING . The IELTS result is valid for 2 years from the date of the test. Your IELTS must be valid until your application is complete and ready to be considered by the Committee."

"If you do not include one, or we do not have a satisfactory IELTS result for you on file when we receive your application. WE WILL RETURN YOUR APPLICATION IMMEDIATELY."

"The only exemption from this requirement at application stage is if you are an EEA (non-British) passport holder.
Please note that if you are an EEA (non-British) passport holder you will be required to provide a valid IELTS result of the same level to the OSPAP providers. There are NO exceptions."

So it looks like perhaps you might not have to provide an IELTS result with your application, but that the university will require one, with no exceptions. You could contact your university of choice just to confirm this.

Hope that answers it?

[friendlyy]

Well, at one point the RPSGB could not ask for it but universities demanded it anyway before they would accept you. I am not sure what the current application pack says. You could probably fight and get away with it but my advice is to just do it after all they are making Australians, Americans and New Zealanders do it. The test is not that hard and with some practice you can buy the sample papers from the IELTS website you will pass. You may need to work on your spelling and grammar though.

Good luck with the OSPAP it is a worthwhile experiance.

Hello Paul,

can you explain how can somebody fight and get away from doing the IELTS required by the schools for OSPAP and have acceptance letter from the RPSGB?

[lamzee]

If your English is good enough, why not just go ahead and to the IELTS test, rather than "fighting" to avoid doing it.

[Fleegle]

Well, at one point the RPSGB could not ask for it but universities demanded it anyway before they would accept you. I am not sure what the current application pack says. You could probably fight and get away with it but my advice is to just do it after all they are making Australians, Americans and New Zealanders do it. The test is not that hard and with some practice you can buy the sample papers from the IELTS website you will pass. You may need to work on your spelling and grammar though.

Good luck with the OSPAP it is a worthwhile experiance.

This does not bode well with me. If you can't speak English, then go away and bloody well learn how to do so, and come back when you are able.

Fleeg.

[shan]

The question here is not just plain ENGLISH it's about Academic ENGLISH, which is why the score requirement is very high (7 out of 9) I can bet my bottom pound that about 80% of british born, bread et etc people wont be able to secure even a 5 out of the 9 maximum points available. They want to test whether you will be able to cope with the level of English used in the course (MPharm or OSPAP) So even if you are a British citizen, my guess will be, as long as you hold a non UK pharmacy degree they will ask for an IELTS. Academic English in other countries, for god knows what reason, is not considered to be equivalent to the academic English in UK. Again, I can bet my bottom dollar that many of British students cannot spell or pronounce many simple words in day to day use (including the word pronounce) So, why argue, write a letter to RPSGB and all four universities who provide OSPAP, that you are a British citizen holding a foreign degree and interested in doing OSPAP to practice as a Pharmacist in the UK. Ask them if it is necessary to give an IELTS test. My guess in all probable scenario the answer will be "YES, YOU HAVE TO". The RPSGB has never helped its own members, so don't expect a great deal of support from them.

Anyway, All the best.

Shan

[friendlyy]

If your English is good enough, why not just go ahead and to the IELTS test, rather than "fighting" to avoid doing it.

well,firstly it is for my friend,not for me.he always get 7 in all modules except the reading.and btw all those language exams IELTS,TOFEL,OET are just ways to make money of the developed world :d..the british council in cairo which is registered as a non profit organization makes dozens(hundred thousands) of money from the IELTS.they all the time gives the guys the score they want in 3 modules out of four sections just for the sake they know that they will come and re-sit again the test.the funny,they ask u in a silly questionaire with ur application for the IELTS, for what school/immigration u wanna use this test and they know the scores..and in some extent i agree with Shan,the IELTS stands for International English language Testing System.it never measure you r good/fluent or not in all the four sections.it is all about techniques!!and it is unfair that UK is unable to test the english of European pharmacist and i strongly believe they have level of english not better than non-Europeans!!crazy world ..peace

[shan]

Are you a British Citizen??

[friendlyy]

Are you a British Citizen??

do u ask me?!