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7 ESSENTIAL Study Abroad Tips | UK International Student Guide #Spon


hello everyone and welcome back to
english with lucy I’ve got a slightly
different video for you today today I’m
going to give you my seven tips for
studying in the UK this video is for
students who are thinking about studying
in the UK or who are already studying
here but want some more advice about
fitting in and finding accommodation
I’ve made this video in collaboration
with chapter who provide incredible
student accommodation across zone 1 and
2 but more about that later
in this video we’re going to cover
making friends the language visas
accommodation choosing a uni getting in
the whole lot also I have lovingly
written subtitles for you so don’t worry
if you don’t understand everything
switch on the subtitles and we can also
talk about learning English a little bit
later on right let’s get started right
tip number one is do your first
assignment and your first assignment is
a research assignment you need to find a
good University and you need to research
both the University and the courses
incredibly carefully I was an
international student in Madrid and I
remember thinking I don’t care where I
go I just want to be in Madrid and that
was the wrong way to go about things I
had a great experience in Madrid I
should have looked at all of the
universities and courses to make sure
that I picked the right one because I
have a feeling I missed out on a couple
of really cool opportunities you need to
ask yourself a lot of different
questions you need to use a variety of
resources and find a variety of opinions
as well don’t trust the first person you
talk to ask as many people as you can
some questions you should be asking
yourself are how is the University
ranked use the league tables I’ll be
putting lots of links and information in
the description box
not only how is the University ranked
but how is your specific course ranked
just because one University might be the
best in England it doesn’t mean that
their version of your course is the
a good university might not have the
best ranked course but the experience
could be exactly what you’re looking for
make sure you look into what the course
is like and how its examined some
courses are completely exam based some
have way more essays and research
projects and presentations you need to
look and find what you think is right
for you another question what are the
entry requirements are you realistically
going to get into that university what
grades do you currently have do you need
to take an extra exam chances are you
might have to if you’re not a native
speaker of English what’s the location
like we’ll be talking more about
location in the next topic but I’m
obviously very biased towards London
because I think it’s perfect for an
international student and I was a
student there for two and a half years
yes two and a half years of my four-year
degree one last thing to think about
when you’re choosing University is which
University group you might not have
heard of this before but there are
groups of universities like the Russell
Group which is a group of universities
focused on research and academic
achievement or the University Alliance
which are way more business engaged
number two accommodation is key and this
is such a big topic for international
students because it’s not always easy to
find suitable accommodation in the UK
because often you will have to have a
guarantor that earns over a certain
amount in the UK and that is why student
accommodation directed towards
international students is such a godsend
for you I cannot reiterate enough how
important it is to choose the right
accommodation in the right location with
the right people if you get this right
you have the foundations for an amazing
experience in the UK I don’t want to
pressure you but if you do get this
wrong and I got this wrong before and I
had a really nasty time if you do get
this wrong it can make your life a bit
of a misery for the first year of my
degree I lived in zone 4 which was so
far from the centre in a really boring
residential the kind of nasty area there
were no there was no nightlife there
were no shops it was pretty awful and I
lived in a really badly run block
student flats they told us it was all
going to be amazing and it really really
wasn’t however in my last year of
university I lived near to my University
in a gorgeous room with lots of sunlight
a lovely view lots of friends nearby it
was wonderful and I had such a great
time the difference was mind blowing I
had the privilege of going to see the
chapter in Kings Cross to have a look at
what I can only describe as the most
incredible student accommodation I have
ever seen in my life it was just a few
minutes walk from Kings Cross station
and it was this amazing glass building
with loads of outside space which is
such a luxury in London there you can
sunbathe when it’s glorious and sunny
outside like it is at the moment and
have barbecues or chilled drinks have
coffee with friends inside there’s a
massive common room with football tables
table tennis TVs IMAX and downstairs
there’s a study area and an additional
quiet area which is silent you can make
your coffee in the little kitchen there
and then study with friends or when the
exam periods come around cram
intensively in the silent area this
would have been ideal for me in my first
year I had to take a 50-minute train
just to visit my library and it was the
only quiet space I had in London when
you finish studying you can head over to
the gym which was amazing it was amazing
it’s better than the gyms that you
actually have to pay monthly fees for
there were so many weights machines
treadmills could have exercise classes
livestream to you so you can follow
those and you can do your exercise with
an amazing view but for me the best part
of the entire trip to chapter King’s
Cross was the room I got to see bear in
mind this was one of the lower-priced
rooms so I can’t even imagine what the
more expensive ones are like when I
walked into the room the first thing I
noticed was this incredible view and the
video doesn’t do it justice it was
amazing you could see for miles you
could see all of the important monuments
like the London Eye and the chard
imagine waking up to that every morning
you’d feel like such a Londoner I
generously tested out the bed for you
guys I can confirm it
very comfy you also get a little kitchen
area with a hob microwave fridge
everything you need and you get a
bathroom with lots of storage some of
the other chapters across London you can
choose to live with a friend or a
partner which saves loads of money or in
a shared flat so you have a private room
a private bathroom but you share the
communal kitchen and living area finally
each chapter is unique and different so
there’s something for everyone there are
ten chapters in London there are two new
ones being built at the moment which
will open in September there is white
city in West London and also Highbury –
which is next to Holloway Road station
you’ve got chapter Portobello which is
next to a canal you’ve got the chapter
in South Bank which has a Sky Lounge
overlooking the London Eye the one in
Spitalfields which is spectacular it
overlooks the gherkin if you’re planning
on studying in the UK I highly recommend
you consider chapter the team will help
you find one that is perfect for you and
covers all of your needs whilst being
close to your University to see all the
options visit chapter – london comm or
if you’re already in london you can head
to your nearest chapter and have a chat
there’s also a live chat option on the
website where you can ask any questions
you have the link is in the description
box by the way did I mention there was a
cinema number three location is the
foundation choose where you are
carefully the UK is very small but we
have massive amounts of diversity what
you find in the north is very different
to what you find in the south and what
you find in London is very different –
absolutely everywhere else it’s on its
own do you want to be in a city do you
want to be in a town do you want to be
in a rural location there are
universities in all of those locations I
studied in the capital city my partner
well studied in the middle of the
countryside in an agricultural
university we both had fantastic
experiences but extremely different
experiences in my opinion and this is
completely subjective I would recommend
for the majority of international
students to go to
city and this is simply because there is
so much more to do I currently live in a
very very rural location and every now
and again I see like an au pair arrive
or an international student and they
have a much harder time meeting
like-minded people but that might not be
the case for everyone you might love
being in a river location now you’re
going to want to see the rest of the UK
when you’re here what I would recommend
is choosing a location with fantastic
transport links to the rest of the UK so
you can visit those towns you can visit
the countryside you can visit other
cities you can get the full experience
but you can still live in a busy buzzing
place now for this video I’m going to be
talking specifically about London
because that’s where I went and I’ve got
loads of insight to share with you and
I’m pretty sure most international
students are very very happy there there
are so many different places in London
that offer different experiences and
different feels about them
you’ve got Kings Cross which is the
center of the city I’m sure you heard of
it platform 9 and 3/4 in Harry Potter
where you’ve got some Pancras station
there so you’ve got easy access to
Amsterdam and Paris and the rest of the
city and also it’s a hub for travel to
the rest of the country
you’ve got Spitalfields which is like
the hipster area full of street art
markets quirky shops coffee shops it’s
really nice and then you’ve got places
like Islington which is like a small
town within London it’s got an amazing
high street with loads of shops
restaurants music venues it’s gorgeous
if I had to move back to London I think
I’d live there there are ten chapters in
London including a few in each of the
areas I’ve mentioned which means that
you can visit every part of the city
because this is what makes chapter
special when you’re a resident at one of
the student accommodations you are a
member of every single one so you can
visit all of them and spend time in all
of them this means you can visit every
location use their facilities attend
their parties and events they’ve got
things like book clubs movie nights
parties networking sessions karaoke
nights
honestly I visited one and I wanted to
be a student I wanted to relive my
student days but in a chapter because it
would have solved my biggest problem
which
was making friends right tip number four
familiarize yourself with the visa
system early at present international
students from outside the EU or UK must
apply for an international student visa
it is up to you to make sure that you
comply with everything however you’re
not in this alone if you have an offer
from a university they want you to come
to the University they will do
everything in their power to help you
get that visa remember you can also do a
short term study visa which is for
shorter courses like English courses for
example you’ll be applying for a Tier
four student visa again information in
the description box you can apply if you
have been offered a place on a course if
you can speak read write and understand
English and if you have enough money to
support yourself and pay for the course
the earliest you can apply is three
months before the course begins and
you’ll usually get a decision on your
visa three weeks
after application you can arrive in the
UK before your course starts and this is
highly recommended you want to have time
to settle if your course is six months
or under you can arrive up to a week
before and if it’s six months or over
you can arrive up to a month before the
great news is with most student visas
you can work and earn money so you can
work up to 20 hours a week although I
really think being a student in the UK
working twenty hours would be far too
much so that’s very generous there are
links to full guidance on visas below
but remember the university should be
there to help you get through it
tip number five this is a broad one but
it’s meet as many people as you can now
making friends in the UK can be hard
sometimes that’s why I really recommend
living in student accommodation because
everyone is there everyone one wants to
make friends I remember being in student
accommodation and thinking oh do I talk
to them do I not and when I finally met
that person later it turns out that they
also wanted to talk to me that day as
well
everyone’s there for the same reason to
study to experience new things to make
friends the advice I can give to you
about making friends in the UK
is number one sign up to clubs and
events I’ve met so many more people
doing classes and proper focused events
like dog training cooking classes
running clubs sports activities then I
have on a night out when you arrive in
the UK in September October depending on
when your course starts it’ll likely be
a week called freshers week every night
there’s a party you get to meet loads
and loads of people they’re not
necessarily going to be the people that
you spend the rest of your year with
universities in the UK have things
called societies and they’re basically
clubs where like-minded people can do
the things that they enjoy chess
societies sports societies cheerleading
societies religious societies it’s a
great way to meet people like you join
as many as you can you don’t have to
commit to all of them pick a couple that
you like go consistently make loads of
friends another one if you’re living in
a big city you will realize that
traveling to meet friends doesn’t often
happen so it’s good to live near fellow
students that’s why I think chapters so
great it’s likely that other people from
the surrounding universities will be
living in the chapter and you can go to
all of the parties in events and
sessions in all of the other chapters so
you suddenly could potentially meet so
many people thousands they’re all
students they have similar timetables to
you
probably similar interests as well it’s
a great opportunity number six
fit in with the culture this is a
difficult one it completely depends on
where you’re from and how different your
culture is to the British culture but
I’d really recommend that you
familiarize yourself with British
culture and how we tend to do things but
take everything or with a pinch of salt
trust me we don’t spend all day drinking
tea and then at five o’clock get
absolutely off our faces on beer well
some of us do my advice to you is make
learning about British culture one of
your hobbies if you can try and meet and
talk to as many British people as you
can there are so many Brits making
amazing videos on YouTube all you have
to do is type British culture and loads
of us will come up
but don’t be scared London and many
other cities are so so international
chances are that food you miss from home
you’ll find it in a London shop you’ll
probably even find it in our world foods
aisle in the supermarket the best way to
learn about British culture through
meeting at British people and if you’re
finding that difficult try offering your
services on a language exchange website
or Facebook group lastly let’s talk
about your English skills you will need
to be able to prove that you can speak
read write and understand English well
you will need to prove this for your
visa and you’ll also need to prove it to
the University it’s likely that the
university will request a higher
standard of English than the Border
Agency when you look on the university
websites you will see what the language
requirements are and different
universities will require different
levels so it’s worth looking around many
UK universities will offer you a
language course to help you prepare and
that will be ongoing throughout your
studies and there should be lots of
support as well
the universities want you to do well
they don’t want to just get you in and
what you suffer the exam grades needed
are there for a reason and you will have
support throughout your time common
exams are the IELTS the TOEFL the
Cambridge Advanced the PT academic
information on all of this down there in
the description box the different exams
have different parts to them they’re
done in different ways they also have
different costs so it’s worth looking at
which exam is right for you and which
exam is suggested or recommended by your
University right guys that’s all the
information I can give you today I
really hope you enjoyed this lesson
put any questions you have in the
comments and I’ll do my best to have
some sessions answering them don’t
forget to check out chapter the link is
in the description box chapter – London
comm they’ve got an amazing selection of
student accommodation locations and
options lots of different prices lots of
different lengths of stay it comes
highly recommended that’s it for today’s
lesson I hope you liked it I hope you
learned something don’t forget to
connect with
on all of my social media I’ve got my
Facebook I’ve got my Instagram and I’ve
got my Twitter and I will see you soon for another lesson yeah
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