Written by Across the Pond - 01/07/2017
Updated 23 July 2024 by Advisor Brittany.
Now that you’ve sorted your accommodation and successfully applied for your student visa, the hardest parts of preparing for your studies overseas are behind you, right? Maybe not.
While the visa and student accommodation processes can be stressful, when it comes to other pre-departure preparations student may start to draw a blank. If you’re worried about forgetting something during your summer prep, ask one of our Across the Pond advisors about our Predeparture Guide to make sure you’ve covered all your bases.
First thing’s first, be sure you pack a copy of your acceptance letter or email as well as official copies of your transcript, diploma, CAS and any other supporting documents you had on hand during your visa application process. You’ll want to pack these in your carry-on so that they are easily accessible when passing through Immigration Control at the airport. It’s also a good idea to travel with and keep photocopies of your passport and travel documents while you are in the UK. The best way to keep these items safe and secure? Grab an inexpensive folder from the store to keep everything in one place. This will make travelling through customs (and registration when you get to your university) a breeze! Once you've settled, you can store the whole folder in a drawer or somewhere safe in your flat without worrying about the documents inside getting bent or lost.
Top Tip: Pack a day or two’s worth of clothes in your carry-on just in case your baggage gets lost or delayed on the trip over.
One pre-departure mistake that students often make is to underestimate how difficult it can be to pack for a year studying overseas. The best thing to do to ensure you have everything you want to bring but only what you need is to keep a running packing list before your departure. Start with your essential clothing and school items and then add onto that as you see fit. You’d also do well to keep the British weather in mind when writing and revising your packing list. Layers go a long way in the UK!
Check with your student advisor to receive a copy of our "Tried and True Packing List" as well!
Top Tip: Invest in a luggage scale to help keep your packing under the required airline limit! This will help ensure you avoid embarrassing airport luggage shuffling the day of your departure!
Especially if this is your first time travelling to the UK, try to make good use of your internet resources to plan your arrival and travel from the airport to your accommodation. Make use of your university’s assistance and recommendations for arranging your travel and arrival. Remember, many flights from North America to the UK travel overnight and there’s a good chance you’re going to spend your first few hours on British turf jet-lagged. Try to make all the arrangements beforehand to make things easier on your knackered* future self (*British colloquialism for being exhausted)!
Top Tip: You’re likely to be arriving to a room devoid of kitchen utensils, linens and most importantly food! Try using mapping apps to get an idea of the layout of your UK university or town that way it’s easier to navigate on your own during your first few days.
Now that you’ve covered your basic preparations, go ahead and get excited! Watch all your favorite movies that are set in London or introduce yourself to some classic British favorites (the Monty Python film and TV shows such as The Office are a good place to start)! Do a Pinterest search to find some travel blogs with must-see British destinations (don't forget to check our own Across the Pond Pinterest page!) Check out the faculty page for your university department and make a summer reading list out of the articles and books of some of your future professors.
Top Tip: Check out Across the Pond’s Predeparture Guide for further practical advice on preparing yourself for your studies overseas. If you already have an Across the Pond Advisor, you can ask them about the guide, if not sign up here.
Written by admin - 01/07/2017
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As a drama student, you are expected to feel reasonably comfortable presenting in front of a crowd of people, and for the most part that is true. However, it’s the creation of the presentations where the stress can seem overwhelming. Through trial and error, I figured out some important points on how to make my presentations stand out and get noticed in all the best ways. 1. Make it entertaining, and I don’t mean by acting. Make it entertaining, and I don’t mean by acting. Simply incorporate personal details that are relevant to the topic. By sharing a few personal anecdotes, I was able to keep people interested and entertained. 2. Incorporate first, second and third person. Like much of the narrative in Erin Morgenstern’s popular and wonderfully engaging book ‘The Night Circus’ (which I highly recommend you read before writing papers and presentations), I also drew readers into my subject by incorporating first, second and third person in the narrative. Especially by using ‘you’, the second person, in the presentation, the audience becomes part of the elaborate world you are creating. I tried to set the scene by writing introductory paragraphs such as, “You are on a blustery, snow covered subway platform in January and running late for an important meeting…” and thus influencing the audience to feel a part of the scene. I received a 1st in both the written and the presentation formats of my assignment. 3. Show passion!
Be passionate about your subject and express it in both your written and presentation formats. The more I was excited and believed in my ideas the more the professors were able to see the merit in my arguments. I tried wherever possible to choose topics that I was interested in, consequently I didn’t have to manufacture an emotional connection it naturally came out from a genuine enthusiasm for the subject. I recommend reading articles such as ‘Writing with Passion and Purpose’ and in-depth online searches for great writing tips. 4. Keep to the point. Be clear and concise and whenever possible have great graphic accompaniment. My grades weren’t as high as I would have liked when I tried to be too creative with my language or word counts were pushed by adding superfluous words. Be clear and concise with your language and relevant graphics, and professors will be more interested in your chosen subject. 5. The little things can make a big difference. Make it beautiful! We all underestimate the importance of making it look great. Consider the font, the boarders and the layout in your presentation. Look at many different formats online and find textures, colors and designs that represent your ideas professionally and in creative ways. Packaging is as important as the words, the meaning and the images. 6. Be yourself. And lastly don’t try to be someone you’re not; let your best self-come through in your text and presentations. As I complete my final assignment, my dissertation, I continually remind myself of these points. Eager to experience studying away from home a little stuck on how to go about it? Contact one of the Across The Pond Advisors if you think studying in the UK may be the place for you!
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Written by Kelsey - 29/04/2017
So, I began looking for a part-time job. My university offers free resume workshops - I highly recommend taking advantage of on-campus student services like this. I felt much more confident submitting my resume after someone had looked at it from a UK perspective - the format is a bit different over here.
Across the Pond has provided expert advice and guidance to Canadian students looking to study in the UK since 2004. Our focus on individual attention and our unique approach to student recruitment is inspired by the first-hand experiences that our founders and advising team have had while pursuing their own international studies.
Written by admin - 01/03/2017
One of the most common concerns Canadian students have about studying in the UK is the grading scheme, which varies considerably from the Canadian system. Indeed, navigating university grading in the UK can be challenging. But don't despair! Once you understand the basics, entry requirements and the grades you receive while a student make much more sense.
Canadian universities do not have consistent grading schemes, which makes a comparison to the university grading systems in the UK even more difficult. In Canada, universities use percentages (for instance, 65% or 78%), as well as letter grades (such as C or B+) and GPAs. These GPAs can be on scales anywhere between 4.0 and 13.0. So, even within your own country, it can sometimes be difficult to transfer and translate academic results.
If you are applying for an undergraduate program in the UK right out of high school, you will need to understand how UK students are assessed in high school; if you are applying for a graduate level program, you need to understand how undergraduate degrees are classified in the UK.
Students applying to LLB programs in the UK will need to provide both high school and university transcripts (if they already hold a Canadian undergraduate degree), and therefore may need to understand both systems.
When applying to a UK university, you might see entry requirements described as "ABB" or "Upper Second". These terms -- or similar ones -- describe the level of results a student receives for A-Levels, which are a series of qualifying tests in specific subject areas at the secondary (high school) level. In the UK, students typically take A Levels in three major areas, hence the three letter sequence.
For Canadian students, the subject areas under consideration will vary depending on the program, but the grades that will be reviewed are those from the last year of secondary school (typically Grade 12 U or M courses).
When you graduate from a UK undergraduate program, your degree will be given a "class" based on your results. Typically, these classes are:
How your grades convert into the UK system will depend on the grading scheme from which they arise. If, for instance, you are in a school with a 4.0 grade scale, an Upper Second degree would encompass GPAs between 3.00 and 3.33. If you were on a 12.0 grade scale, then you would fall into the 8.0-9.0 range for this degree class.
Many of the graduate programs in Britain use a sliding scale based on 85 points rather than 100 for percentages, with 70 being the cut-off point for distinction (with the distinction being akin to an honours or "A" in Canada). So, remember: if you get a 68, don't panic! That's actually a solid grade. If you get a 72, even better! It might feel odd at first to see numbers we associate with lower grades, but you'll get used to it.
The best thing you can do to be sure of how your grades convert and how they fit within the requirements for your application is to consult with an Across the Pond Personal Advisor; our team is fully trained in working with these conversions and do so on a daily basis!
Written by admin - 29/01/2017
When first arriving in England, you might be expecting your new friend group to be filled with posh accents and tea-sipping, but in reality that’s not the case. In fact, after I moved across the pond, about 80% of my friends were other international students from around the globe. While making friends born under Her Majesty is important, here are some reasons why welcoming other international students is even better... They’re just as lost as you Traveling to university can be stressful: new house, new city, new teachers and new friends. You may feel like the world is against you, but rest easy in the thought that everyone else feels the same way. Hurdle over the language barrier Most people will immediately point to learning a new tongue as a great reason to make new friends. However, while learning how to curse in 5 different languages is an entertaining party trick, having international friends teaches you more on speaking English than any other language. Depending on where your friends are from, you might have to cater your speech so that everyone can understand each other. Honing your circumlocution skills is not only important for movie nights, but an important talent for any profession. Who doesn’t love food? In the event you make an acquaintance who is familiar with different cuisines from your own, food is often the first step in becoming fast friends. Invite some people over for some “TexMex,” cheesesteaks or perhaps your Italian grandmother’s best recipes. Have fun with experimenting in making your own meals - it’ll improve your own cooking skills and others can try great dishes in the process! Not only will you learn how to make your own food, you can try out food from another culture! A perfect example is when my Japanese friend prepared a home cooked meal for our friend group. As silly as it sounds, some of us learned that Japanese food isn’t only sushi and miso soup. You’ll muster the courage to eat whatever they put in front of you, and experiment with ingredients you’ve never heard of. Brush up on “Fishbowl Philosophy” Learning about different cultures helps break down stereotypes you may have of nations and other ethnicities. You’ll grasp the‘dos’ and ‘dont’s’ of other cultures, from hand gestures to table etiquette! In university, there’s always a reason to celebrate, and what better excuse than to brush up on some international traditions! I held a Chanukah party for my friends, as some of them had never heard of the Jewish Chanukah celebration. Finally, all of this knowledge gives you a multicultural perspective; you’ll have learned how to navigate the world with an eye for understanding and empathizing with a variety of environments. Learn to develop a better sense of self. When I moved from a small town in New Jersey to a big city in England, I came in with the expectation that my life would be similar to those across the pond. I thought my experiences would be the same as what the world sees on TV, and convinced I lived the drab life of a family sit-com; I could never compete with my flatmates from Zimbabwe and Malaysia. However, after befriending people from all over the world, I learned there’s more to my identity than being ‘from New Jersey,’ and that people want to befriend “all of you“, not just your hometown. Remember that it’s all about give-and-take, not just putting yourself out there! So go out and attend some cultural clubs, visit international events, or try a new sport. Making friends from across the globe improves your understand of the world and its different cultures! If you want to learn more about studying in the UK contact one of the Across The Pond Advisors!
Written by admin - 01/11/2016
Updated 23 July 2024 by Advisor Brittany.
One of the hardest parts of first arriving in the UK is missing family and friends. Luckily, technology is constantly evolving to bring new ways to stay connected anywhere in the world. It's now easier than ever to speak to anyone whenever we want (just don't forget about the timezone differences)! Utilizing these tools will help you battle early stages of homesickness and remain present with your friends and family back home. When our Across the Pond Advisors studied abroad, the majority found the easiest communication tool was Facebook, followed by WhatsApp- both will be discussed in more detail below, but before that here is some information on getting your phone set up.
If you have an unlocked phone at home already, all you need to do is get a British SIM card. Some low-cost, no contract phone providers in the UK even offer their SIM cards for free. Plans typically range from £10-£20 a month ($20-$30 CAD) and include all the features you might need. Each month you can decide which ‘goodybag’ you want for your specific needs, and change it whenever you need to. If you don’t have an unlocked phone, you can buy one in the UK from a number of providers.
Consider waiting until you attend your university's "Fresher's Week" before deciding on your phone provider as many providers will have booths at the university and offer some great student discounts.
With a working phone with a data plan, you can use things like Facebook and Facebook Messenger to send a quick message to family and friends. It’s a great way to say hi or tell them something cool that happened that day, not to mention sharing all of your photos from your adventures!
You also have the option of using WhatsApp. It is an app which essentially works like texting but is free (on WiFi or within your data allowance), so instead of opening your messages you can text from WhatsApp. If you have an iPhone and want to talk to another iPhone user, this is also an option without any fees. You can iMessage regularly without any international fees as long as you’re on data or Wifi.
Sometimes messaging your loved ones is not enough, and you’ll want to hear their voices and see their faces whilst studying overseas in the UK. Pets’ faces, too! Video calling like FaceTime (via Apple devices) or Skype are both options that don’t cost anything!
Want to make the most out of your "tourist" stage in your new home? Grab some postcards and utilize snail-mail for a personal touch to your communications back home! The UK has no shortage of beautiful postcards and these are readily available at museums, giftshops, and other tourist attractions that you're likely already going to be visiting (especially if it's your first time in the UK!). Even if you use these in addition to some other forms of communication, postcards can be a cost-effective and thoughtful way to highlight different landmarks, museums or areas that you visit throughout the year. Plus, who doesn't love receiving mail?
There are many different ways to stay in touch with everyone at home. If one option doesn’t work for one person, there will always be another way! Speaking to everyone and staying up to date with each other helps to adjust to living in a different country without them. If it ever feels like it’s too difficult, or your homesickness is particularly strong one day, an instant message can be a great pick me up.
And remember, if you would like to find out more details about any aspect of studying in the UK, please contact one of our Advisors!
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