Should I accept this "Conditional Offer" from Journalism school?

[peachtart]

Hello guys, 

I was recently accepted by a journalism school in England which I am very excited about. It is a very good school in my field and there is little reason for me to pass by, but I was given a Conditional Offer - I need to reach 7.0 in IELTS test  with 7.0 in writing since English isn't my first language. I have no problem taking the test but I feel a little "being put down" because my undergrad studies were done in Canada and I also majored in Communications. For those who are not familiar with the area of studies, we did nothing but writing essays on various cultural subjects which means I had to be above competent to be able to graduate. 

I did take an IELTS test before i started undergrad. Why should I take it again now...

What is your thought on this? 

Should I accept the conditional offer and take the test, or should I negotiate? 

Thank you!!!  

[fuzzylogician]

You could ask about the possibility of waiving the requirement, given that your undergraduate degree is from an English-speaking university. That might be an option which you could (politely!) ask about. That said, I don't think you need to feel "put down" because of this requirement. It's probably an official requirement that comes from the university; clearly, it's nothing personal. Given your background, it shouldn't be any problem for you to take the test and get a 7.0 or higher, right? So why not just do it and not give it any more thought? This sounds like a school you are interested in. I don't think getting offended will do you any good.*

*And more generally in life, getting offended is often a choice, even if you don't usually think of it that way. What do you have to gain from being offended here? No one is trying to hurt you. It's more productive to take action to get the outcome you want (negotiate to get the requirement lifted, or just take the exam) than to waste emotional energy on it. 

[peachtart]

Hello @fuzzylogician, 

Thank you for your wise advice! It is very true that I shouldn't feel uncomfortable at all. The best way is to take action towards a positive outcome. I'm going to write them a letter asking for a waiver on the language test, and yes I will be polite. : P