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Undergraduate

How to deal with homesickness

Thu 3 September 2020 - 10:10

By UCAS in International students

Feeling homesick whilst attending university in the UK is an entirely normal feeling. You are probably moving out of your family home for the first time, living with new people and often living in a country you’ve never visited before. For some, homesickness is just missing your home and family in the first week, but for others it can affect their mental health.

Luckily, for many these feelings will pass and you will soon be too busy with new friends and classes to feel homesick, but here are some tips on how to deal with homesickness.

Find a restaurant that serves food from your country
It may take you some time to adjust to new foods and eating habits and everyone, no matter where they come from , misses their mother’s cooking. Fortunately, the UK is a multicultural country and you should have no trouble finding a restaurant that serves all your favourite dishes. If not, cook something you miss from home and share it with your new friends....

Five tips on breaking the ice with new housemates

Thu 3 September 2020 - 09:59

By UCAS in International students

If you have chosen to share a flat or house with new people when you start university, or are moving into student accommodation and are feeling a bit anxious about getting to know new people here are some tips to help you get started.

Introduce yourself 
When you move in make sure you introduce yourself. If you are moving into student dorms, then leave your room door ajar. This will signal your moving in and people can pop their head in and say hello! Equally you will see people and can make the first move by introducing yourself.

Remember everyone is nervous and some people are shy so be brave and make the first move!

Make a cup of tea
We have a saying in the UK that a cup of tea makes everything better, so offer to make everyone a nice “cuppa” with a side serving of biscuits and you’ll be well on your way to making new friends. This is a gentle way of sparking a conversation because you can ask how people...

Six things you should do during fresher’s week

Thu 3 September 2020 - 09:54

By UCAS in International students

Freshers Week is the ultimate introduction to student life in the UK. The first week is a great way to meet new people, trying new things and sign up for activities. 
 
Here are six things you should do during fresher’s week:
 
1. Attend the freshers fair
If you only go to one event during fresher’s weeks, it should be the freshers fair. This fair will have representatives from student societies, local businesses that offer jobs, companies that offer products, and services that you might be interested in as well as local voluntary groups that you can join. 
 
Have a look around and collect information on things that will be useful and of interest to you. It can be overwhelming, with lots of people asking you to sign up with them and lots of information thrown at you. Take the leaflets to read when you get home, they will all contain social...

Five reasons to study in the UK

Thu 3 September 2020 - 11:22

By UCAS in International students

If you are considering studying in the UK here are five reasons why you should.
 
1. High quality learning
 
The UK has a long history of providing world-class education and UK universities generally rank high in international university league tables and attract some of the world’s best academics.
British universities are globally known for helping students refine their critical and creative thinking skills and arming them with skills and experiences that will help them succeed in their chosen career.
 
Furthermore, UK universities offer specialised degrees, even at an undergraduate level. This is ideal if you don’t want to wait until postgraduate level before specialising in a field of study. 
 
2. Experience a unique culture
 
The UK is a...

Five tips to help you prepare for your first day at university

Fri 18 September 2020 - 15:40

By UCAS in International students

If you are an international student coming to study in the UK, your first day at university can be a little overwhelming so here are some tips for to get your through your first day. 

How do I enrol?

Before you can start at university, you will need to enrol for your course. Every university has a slightly different way of doing this, but you will get an email or letter informing you of what steps you should take. Generally, in August you will be emailed your username and passwords, alongside instructions on how to access the registration area of your university website. It is important to complete pre-registration before your first day at university. 

When you receive...

What’s on my bookshelf?

Wed 28 August 2019 - 10:55

By Coral Kim in International students

Spring is a good time to refill my bookshelves. Fall is great for cosying up with a book and a cup of tea. Winter should be spent reading inside with a warm blanket. Still, summer wins when it comes to being the best season for reading, not just because of the dizzying heat outside, but because it’s an excellent time and opportunity to catch up with some reading before heading off to uni.

So, what am I reading this summer? In this post, I want to give you a look at my bookshelf: what I’ve read, what I’m reading, and what I plan to read.

1. What I’ve read:

Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov). Hilarious. Tragic and creepy, but still hilarious. Along with Nabokov’s America, the mind of Humbert, Humbert was too fascinating; I’m afraid I completely forgot to engage in any academic or critical thinking, so this one is definitely re-read material, but I’ll gladly open it again!

Balancing Acts (Nicholas Hytner). This book...

Why, How, and Then What: Applying for English as an International Student

Thu 19 December 2019 - 09:46

By Coral Kim in International students

Before I begin, here’s a bit about me: I’m an incoming fresher with a confirmed place to study English at a British uni. I love Shakespeare, Thomas Hardy, and Kazuo Ishiguro. Oh — I’m also from Korea. South.

1. The Big Question: Why?!

It’s a question everyone seems to ask me—and one I’ve asked myself so many times. Yes, I’m American through dual citizenship. But let’s be honest: I’m not a native English speaker and probably never will be, no matter how much I try. Then why English? Why not Korean?

Let’s go back a few years, when I was a new kid in an international school in France. I didn’t speak a word of French, and for obvious reasons nobody knew Korean. But we all knew at least abit of English — and speaking in English helped me ease myself in. Make friends. Keep up in class.

So I clung to it—started loving the way its words sounded and its grammar worked. English classes, in which we read Michael Morpurgo and recited silly poems, were my time to...

Do’s and dont’s of applying to uni as an international student

Fri 18 September 2020 - 15:02

By UCAS in International students

Applying to university can be stressful at the best of times, but when you’re an international applicant, it can feel impossible to get that UCAS application right! As an applicant from the Netherlands, I know how tricky it can be, and I made plenty of mistakes along the way. Here are some of the things I wish I’d known before starting my Ucas application.

  1. DO communicate with your school.  Make an appointment with your careers advisor or head of year to discuss your application a couple of months before the deadline. Many schools that aren’t based in the UK are unfamiliar with how UCAS works, so be clear about what they are expected to provide, like references and predicted grades.
  2. DO your research.  Even if you can’t visit the universities, there is plenty of information online to help you make an informed decision. Make sure you know exactly what you’d be studying at each university, as the course will be very different depending on where...

University Interviews for English: My Experience

Tue 4 June 2019 - 09:16

By Coral Kim in International students

I had written and submitted my UCAS application. I had taken an admissions test (and still had no idea how it had gone). Now it was time for the next step – the thing I dreaded most – the interview.

Unlike many other international applicants, I flew to the UK for my two interviews, both at the university I’m headed to this October. I wasn’t very comfortable with skyping, I guess… and I really wanted to visit London. Yep, I wanted to go to London.

Since a month or two before the trip, I’d been doing some light prep. I re-read books I’d

mentioned in my personal statement, such as Thomas Hardy’s “Far from the Madding Crowd” and Charlotte Bronte’s “The Professor.” I’d read online that they would give me an unseen poem for me to analyse, so I worked on timed analysis with some poems I wasn’t very comfortable with, especially modern ones.

On my flight, I worked on my laptop, on which I had downloaded a bunch of PDF files of research papers and academic...

The Long Gap Before Uni

Fri 20 December 2019 - 10:04

By Coral Kim in International students

The following blog may or may not apply to you, depending on which country you’re from and what your school’s term dates are. But if you’re like me, and your last high school year has
already ended, you may be wondering what to do with all your free time during these long, unnamed months before University.

I’m from Korea, so that means my high school graduation was back in March. It also means that I’ve already achieved the grades I need for my uni offers (although this, of course, may not be the
case for every Korean). So what do I do with all my seven(!) months before I finally catch that Heathrow-bound plane?

I’ve had highs and lows. I’ve spent entire productive days studying a new language and mealprepping; I’ve stayed all day in my room, listening to Pet Shop Boys and cuddling with my dolls. Mostly, though, I’ve been trying to make the best of all the opportunities and resources that this sort-of-gap year (I still can’t think of a good name for...

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