The early UCAS deadline for Oxbridge applications is fast approaching. For those of you who are considering applying to these universities, work will now be well underway regarding your personal statements, academic portfolio and finding suitable references. Representing yourself through so few words is one of the biggest challenges you will have faced throughout your sixth form experience so far, hence it is natural to feel overwhelmed and a little stressed by it all. Fear not – whilst the deadline is approaching, there is still more than enough time for you to complete everything necessary. It’s all in your approach.
As far as your personal statement goes, make sure that you have a clear structure as you read over everything. If...
Going to University in my 50’s to study Drama was a big decision. Massive, huge, colossal…. you get my drift. Yet making that decision was curiously abstract, based on a love of performance art, boredom with my job and the desire to do something for fun rather than profit. Launching the idea with my friends and adult children was interesting to say the least. My children in particular tested it to destruction, in the belief that I was having a mid-life crisis. My friends were shocked but not altogether surprised. Happily, they are all hugely supportive now that I am here.
Starting University was a major event. A change of identity from NHS Director to undergraduate student, a change in lifestyle, a new environment, new technology (hello, virtual learning environment….) and more. After the first day, I felt shell shocked. What had I been thinking? How on earth was I going to relate to fellow students who are younger than my...
Top-up funding – plus everyday money saving – means a year abroad can be an affordable way to see the world and study while you’re at it.
1. Claim extra funding
There’s a bit of extra funding on offer for UK students who study part of a degree abroad. If you’re eligible for the Maintenance Loan, you could get a larger loan plus a travel grant while you’re away. Both are means tested – so how much you get depends on household earnings – but the grant doesn’t have to be repaid....
A personal statement is what sets up an accurate portrayal of your character to universities. It’s one of the most important things you need to do, and it’s one of the things that your application relies on, but it’s not too difficult to make it perfect.
You don’t need to pour every single thing that’s on your mind into those 4000 characters, but it’s a good way of discussing where you are in your knowledge of your subject, where you want to take that knowledge and any past experiences you have had. And believe me, when you’re...
I've been in Leeds for 12 days now and it's given me an incredible chance to get to know my new city. Leeds is lovely in the sense that it is a huge melting pot of different cultures. The people are interesting, the shops are interesting and the city is laid out in a way that makes it simultaneously difficult and incredibly easy to get yourself lost.
On my second day, I ventured to the train station a few minutes down the street from me and the Aldi (which was a considerably longer trek). I met up with a friend at a local Wetherspoons and tried to find my own way back, which...
I've successfully survived my first week at uni, and I'm absolutely exhausted from it. The first day was lovely and calm, when the people on my course and the tutors just sat in the main teaching room. We got free reign of the biscuits and the tea and coffee making facilities and we got to chat to everyone, figure out where we were all at and who specialised in what kind of photography. (Also we kind of figured out who our competitions were - which isn't a healthy business relationship). We got a long lunch, got lost a lot around the uni and found where we were meant to...
Hi! I’m Lowri, I am in my first year of University and have just moved into student halls. Now everyone has told you that when you first become a student and live in halls it’s going to be so much fun, and that you’ll meet loads of people and go out socialising all the time. BUT they never really tell you the things you’ll face and experiences you’ll have when you move in. So, I’ve made a small list of things you’ll come across while living in accommodation.
1. Noise
Obviously when you first move into your new accommodation you also come face to face with fresher’s week. This means lots of fresher’s events and parties. Now, if like me you have moved in right next to the student union, there WILL be noise....
Call it cliché, but the time spent between getting an unconditional offer and actually starting university has flown by. Suddenly, I’m back into the education system after four years away, getting up earlier than I’d like to, and trying to find my way around a campus in Treforest that looks deceptively small, yet is larger than you’d think!
My name is Jack. It’s a pleasure to meet you! I guess you could call me a fresher, although I was probably the most boring fresher you could ever meet. As a mature student, I found most of my time during fresher’s week taken...
Got a question about writing your personal statement? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. We’re often asked about this section of the application, and chances are your question will be one we’ve heard from other students. Check out the answers to five of the most frequently asked questions below – they're all from admissions staff at universities and colleges (the people who spend their time reading personal statements!)
1.When should I start?
"As soon as you can! Give yourself time to write it properly. Your first draft alone could take you a whole day to write." Amy Smith, Nottingham Trent University.
"Set yourself a schedule. It will take longer than you think to write your personal statement and it is important that you allow time to review your...
When deciding on my modules for study abroad, there was a lot more freedom in choosing a variety of different topics. This is largely due to a cultural difference, because in the UK where students do one set degree pathway here in the Netherlands there are a variety of modules. It's kind of like pick n' mix - you have to get approval for the ones you choose from your teachers back in your home university, but you also get the opportunity to pick out some of your old favourites which you might not have come across for awhile so long, of course, as they remain fairly relevant and you can back up your choice.
For me, this meant choosing a lot of historical modules. I studied history up to A level, and part of the reason I decided to study literature at university is because it encompasses so much of history (with the addition of many other topics, from music to art). Yet I've always been curious about what it would have been like to...