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How applying works: one applicant’s path

This page follows one applicant, Sofia, from the first look at the requirements to an offer of a place. Sofia is made up. The steps are real: they are how the admission portal works, in the order you will meet them.

At a glance

  • When: applications run from 1 January to 31 March. Eligibility checks are done before 15 April and admission decisions are sent before 30 April.
  • Where: you apply through this portal, with one application per person.
  • What to have ready: your transcript, CV and English certificate as PDF files, a valid ID, and the names and email addresses of two academic referees.
  • How you hear back: the portal emails you when you submit, when your interview is booked and when a decision is made.

Before January: getting ready

Sofia is in the last year of a Bachelor’s in biomedical engineering. She can still apply: final-year students may be admitted provisionally, as long as the degree is awarded before they enrol. In the autumn she reads the admission requirements and books an IELTS Academic test, because she needs at least 6.5 and the certificate takes a few weeks to arrive.

By December she has her transcript, her CV in the Europass format the handbook recommends, her IELTS certificate and a scan of her passport, each saved as its own file. The portal refuses the same file in two document slots, so one combined PDF will not work. Two of her lecturers have agreed to be her referees.

Step 1: create an account

In January, Sofia selects Student Application in the main menu. The portal first shows a short checklist covering the degree, GPA, documents and English requirements. Once she has ticked every item, she can register. She gives her name and email address and says whether she studied at a NeurotechEU alliance university.

The portal then sends her an email with a link. She opens it, sets her password and goes straight to the application form.

Step 2: fill in the application

The form has five parts. Her name and email are already filled in from her account. Under academic background she enters her university, her degree title and her GPA. She uploads the four documents, adds her two referees, and then works through the programme preferences.

She does not finish in one sitting. Save as Draft keeps everything, and she picks it up again later from My application in the account menu. Nobody else sees a draft: admission officers only see an application once it is submitted.

Step 3: plan the three semesters

Programme preferences use the trajectory wizard. Sofia picks her home university, where she will spend semesters 1 and 2, and the wizard shows the two domains that university covers in semester 2. Next she picks a different university for semester 3. The list only offers universities that add a domain she has not covered yet. Last, she chooses her semester 3 domain.

The four domains are brain systems, clinical, technology and computation, and a trajectory has to cover at least three of them. The summary at the bottom of the wizard shows which ones Sofia’s plan covers, so she can see it adds up before she submits. The mobility page explains the combinations.

Step 4: submit

When every required field is complete, Sofia clicks Save and Submit. Her status changes from Draft to Submitted, she gets a confirmation email, and the admission officers at her home university are told a new application has arrived. From then on she cannot edit it.

If an officer finds something missing, they can return the application to draft. Sofia would get an email, fix what was flagged and submit again.

Step 5: the eligibility check

Before 15 April, the officers at her home university check her application against the admission requirements. Sofia follows this on her dashboard. The status badge shows where the application is, and the activity log lists each step with its date. Her application is marked eligible.

Step 6: the interview

Next comes an online interview with a panel from her preferred starting university. The portal emails her the date and time, the meeting link and any notes from the officer. The panel asks about her academic background, her motivation and how she fits an interdisciplinary programme.

Step 7: ranking and the decision

The Joint Admission and Selection Committee ranks eligible applicants on the published selection criteria, including the CV, the GPA and the interview. Before 30 April, Sofia receives an email offering her a place. It names the university assigned for her third semester, which also appears on her dashboard. Every admitted student is guaranteed a mobility placement, though not always at their first choice.

Had the answer been no, Sofia could have filed an appeal from her application page. The portal accepts an appeal for five working days after the decision, so do not leave it late.

After the offer

Sofia now enrols at her home university and starts on the before you arrive steps: Campus+, visa, housing and insurance.

Who can help?

  • For questions about your application, contact the EMN contact at your preferred home university, listed under university contacts.
  • The user manual for students goes through each screen of the portal, including the trajectory wizard.