Written tests and Evaluation
Stages of Assessment
Applicants will move through 3 stages of assessment, according to the evaluation criteria provided in Appendix D:
1. Compliance with eligibility criteria and formal/administrative procedures including providing an application form with academic credentials and all the required supporting documents.
2. Assessment of applicants under test conditions on the following tests:
- Language proficiency in any official EU language – either English language proficiency through British Council’s APTIS test, or a language test in an EU official language chosen by the applicant, which corresponds with the language of the programme of study.
- A verbal and numerical reasoning test in Turkish or English. It is expected that most applicants will complete the test in Turkish however for those applicants who do not have sufficient knowledge of Turkish, they can choose to do it in English. All applicants will need to indicate their choice on their application form.
3. A motivation letter in any official language of the European Union as chosen by the applicant for the programme of study.
4. An interview in any official language of the European Union as chosen by the applicant for the programme of study.
STAGE 1: Eligibility
Applicants will be first assessed for proof of eligibility against the criteria provided for the type of scholarship they have applied for along with their application form and the evidence in their supporting documents. Applicants should read carefully the eligibility criteria and list of required documents for their type of scholarship, which are provided on pages 2 – 8. Those who have not proved their eligibility against the criteria, and/or have not provided all the supporting documents required, will be rejected at this stage, and will not qualify for any further stages of the assessment process. Only those who have proved their eligibility and provided all the required documents will be invited to the second stage.
STAGE 2: Assessments
Candidates will complete written assessments, under test conditions on one day, at the designated venue, the Merit Hotel in Nicosia. The address is Merit Hotel, Bedrettin Demirel Caddes, Nicosia. The indicative dates for the assessments are:
Applicants Type A, B, and C
Saturday 14th June
Sunday 15th June
This date will be confirmed on the website. Candidates will be notified of the time for their designated test session in advance. There will be different session times on each day. Candidates should ensure they are available on the confirmed dates on the website when they apply, as no exception can be made. More information will be posted on the website abburs.eu.
The assessments will consist of:
- Language proficiency – either English language proficiency through British Council’s APTIS test (max 55 mins) or a language test in an EU official language chosen by the applicant (see 7.2 on page 14 for further information on EU languages other than English).
- A verbal and numerical reasoning test (max 30 mins) in Turkish or English. This is a multiple choice. Most applicants will complete the test in Turkish however for those applicants who do not have sufficient knowledge of Turkish, they can choose to do it in English. All applicants need to indicate their choice on their application form.
- A motivation letter in an official EU language (45 minutes) to be completed by the applicant under test conditions, in any official language of the European Union to correspond with the language of their chosen programme of study.
Candidates will need to state their language preference for the language proficiency test on their application form in advance. Those applicants, who wish to study courses in EU countries that are taught in English, are required to take the English language proficiency test (APTIS).
Following the tests, candidates for Type A, B and C scholarships will be ranked according to their summary scores for the language proficiency test, and the verbal and numerical reasoning test. Only the top 200 in the order of ranking will be invited for the final stage which is the assessment of their motivation letter and the interview.
Motivation letter and Interview
The top 200 successful candidates who are called for interview will have their motivation letter assessed at the same time as their interview and both will be added to their scores. The evaluation criteria for the motivation letter and the interview can be found at Annex D.
If two applicants obtain the same summary score at stage 2 and qualify for an interview, the applicant who gains the higher interview score will be ranked higher.
Selection for Interview
The top 200 applicants will be shortlisted for interview from the ranking list for an indicative 100 scholarships. 60 interview sessions will be allocated for Type A, 100 interview sessions for Type B, and 40 interview sessions for Type C, of which 14 will be allocated for language studies (based on the % of funding allocated to these categories).
The British Council reserves the right to reallocate interview sessions between the categories, according to the numbers of eligible candidates identified in one or more of the categories.
Interviews
Interviews will be held during the period from Monday 30th June to Friday 11th July at the British Council office, 7, Şht. Üsteğmen Ünal Genç Sok. Marmara Bölgesi, Nicosia. Interviews will be conducted by a team of external/international assessors in 3 panels. The interview will last for 20 minutes and candidates will be asked questions by a panel of 2 or 3 assessors. Observers may also attend the interview but will not participate. Interviews for selected candidates will be conducted in the official EU language chosen by the candidate for their programme of study and must correspond with the language of the motivation letter. (Please see the Evaluation criteria for the Interview in Annex D). Candidates who do not arrive in time for their interview will be rejected.
Candidates must score 60% in their interview to qualify for the award of scholarship. For those applying for Type A, B, and C - academic and short term professional courses, candidates must score at least 18 out of the 30 marks allocated. For those applying for Type C - short language courses, candidates must score 24 out of the 40 marks allocated.
Overall Scores
Following the interviews by the team of external assessors, the scores from the assessment tests (language proficiency, verbal and numerical reasoning), the motivation letter, and the interview, will be given a weighting according to the Type of scholarship, as per the tables below, to make a summary total.
Candidates must score 60% or above in their interview and in their summary scores to qualify for the award of scholarship.
FURTHER INFORMATION ON ASSESSMENTS
Language Proficiency and the CEFR
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR) is a reference framework for benchmarking levels and assessing language proficiency. It was designed to provide a transparent system for developing curriculum guidelines, language syllabuses and teaching and learning materials. It is used in Europe but also in other continents and is now available in 39 languages.
Six levels of foreign language proficiency
The CEFR describes foreign language proficiency at six levels: A1 and A2, B1 and B2, C1 and C2. It also defines three ‘plus’ levels (A2+, B1+, B2+). Based on empirical research and widespread consultation, this scheme makes it possible to compare tests and examinations across languages and national boundaries. It also provides a basis for recognising language qualifications and thus facilitating educational and occupational mobility. Level B2 is normally required for entry to an undergraduate course, and C1 and above for postgraduate but this can vary between universities, and countries.
Language proficiency test in English - APTIS
APTIS is a British Council English language placement test which shows the candidates’ English levels from A1 to C on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The test for this scholarship programme includes 2 parts from APTIS which are 1) Grammar + Vocabulary and 2) a Reading test. The Grammar + Vocabulary part has 50 questions and lasts for 25 minutes, the Reading test has 4 parts and lasts 30 minutes. More information and a demo test on the full APTIS can be found at www.britishcouncil.org/Aptis.
Candidates will receive an APTIS report which includes the CEFR level achieved. The candidate’s raw scores on APTIS will be converted to a mark out of 20, for the purpose of ranking.
Applicants who wish to study in EU countries on programmes which are taught in English are required to take the English language proficiency test (APTIS).
Language Proficiency tests in other official languages of the EU.
Language proficiency tests in EU languages other than English will be provided for those applicants who wish to study a programme in an EU language other than English. These will test similar elements to APTIS, and be of a comparable level. The test will consist of Grammar + Vocabulary and a Reading test. They will show the candidates level on the CEFR. The candidate’s raw scores will be converted to a mark out of 20, for the purpose of ranking.
Applicants should fill out the application form accordingly with their choice and arrangements will be made either through the relevant embassy or delegation in Cyprus, or through the British Council. More information will be available on the website at abburs.eu in a supplementary information sheet which will be available on the website.
Verbal and numerical reasoning test
This is a verbal and numerical test that measures critical reasoning through short verbal and numerical sub-tests and is used widely to predict the ability to work with words, numbers, systems and logic. The test is a multiple choice and will be in Turkish or English.
More information will be available on the website at abburs.euin a supplementary information sheet.
A useful website in Turkish where more information can be found is
http://www.shldirect.com/tr/example-questions
http://www.dbe.com.tr
Useful websites in English where applicants can try examples of these tests are listed below.
http://www.verbalreasoningtest.org/index.html
http://www.graduatewings.co.uk/try-free-tests/
Motivation letter
As part of the assessment process, applicants will be required to write a motivation letter about why they want to study in the EU country of their choice. The language of the motivation letter can be in any official language of the European Union and will be chosen by the applicant, to correspond with the language of the programme of study chosen, the language of the proficiency test, and the language of interview. Applicants will have to state their choice of language for the motivation letter in their application form. Applicants will be assessed on the quality of their argument, the evidence presented and the coherence with their application form and academic credentials/career to date. The motivation letter will be assessed on the same day as the assessment of the interview.