They might ask you about the discrepency in your transcript dates when you submit your transcript with your application. Plus, you can't stop whoever is writing your reference letters from telling them (though I hope nobody would do something dickish like that) (and this assumes that a prof (or multiple profs, as the case may be, depending on how many references the uni you are applying to require) would be willing to put their names on the line for a student who had failed multiple undergraduate exams). If your failure was due to extenuating personal circumstances, you should explain these in your SoP and to your profs at your current uni, too.

Even if we leave aside the question of admission, especially considering the favourable policy of your university, there's still the question of actually doing the master's. Would personally advise against it in your case. If you are struggling academically at undergrad itself, you are likely to struggle even more at the postgraduate level, too. Common sense. Advanced modules, tougher academic load etc. And failing in the UK can have some real shit consequences for your life. They are not at all forgiving in their transcript issuing policies, so if you fail a module there, it will follow you around forever. Their unis tend to have a policy where they will allow you to resit a failed exam, but they will cap the marks in the module to the minimum pass mark of the university regulations - 50% in some places, perhaps 40% in some others. I have been to a UK uni myself, so I know this from reading their regulations. What that means is that even if you do well in the resit assessment, they will input your marks on your transcript as 50% (assuming, for the sake of argument, that that's the minimum pass mark of whichever uni you get into). Something like that will destroy your life forever, even if you do get admitted - have seen the consequences of such a thing in the case of a friend of mine.

Obviously, they won't react so harshly if you have extenuating circumstances (something like illness, death in the family etc). In such a case, they will make you take the exam at the next available opportunity and count it as a 'first sit' (i.e., they won't cap your marks to the minimum pass). But that could still make things hard for you because of visa time limits.

Hi,
I am a student at a mid-tier NLU and I wish to apply for a Master’s degree abroad, specifically in the UK. The only concern I have is that I’ve had three backlogs — two in the 4th semester and one in the 6th semester.

That said, I have a fairly strong profile overall: I’ve participated in and won various competitions and moots, interned at Tier-1 law firms as well as reputed chambers, completed a policy internship abroad, and published multiple blogs and papers.

My main concern is whether these backlogs will significantly affect my chances of getting into a good master’s program. As far as I know, my university transcript does not explicitly mention reappears or retests. Instead, it just updates the date of passing. For example, if I failed a 6th semester paper in 2024 but cleared it in 2025, then the entire 6th semester would be shown as passed in 2025 on my transcript — alongside the 8th semester, which I would also pass in 2025.

Could you please advise me on how this might impact my application? I am very tensed.