uk

Maria's picture

Brighton: The UK Actually Has a Beach!

If I could have named one thing about the UK that I was sure would definitely not in a million years impress me, it would have been its beaches. I was fortunate to grow up surrounded by beaches of warm deep blue Caribbean waters and the whitest, finest sand. After spending many summers in Varadero, Cuba's most famous beach, not even its Miami or Hawaii counterparts were able to fulfill me. I thus did not look forward to visiting UK beaches, and only did so because the International Students House Travel Club organized a day trip to Brighton, a beach resort area on the south coast of the country.

As it turns out, Brighton did impress me. Sure, the sand looked dark and rocky, and the water colder than one could bear. But the beautiful Brighton Pier seemed to smile under a radiant sun. Parents and their children came to the pier in colorful clothes, sampling the many restaurants, arcade and fairground attractions. Along the seafront row, thousands of the finest automobiles lined up for InCarNation 1000, a show that celebrates the UK's best 1000 modified and performance cars. The day smelled of happiness and spring, and blooming flowers adorned the many terrace cafes offering delicious meals at surprisingly low prices.

Maria's picture

Free-Falling on LSE

When I received the admissions letter in 2005, Harvard was already a familiar place. Even before I applied, I had visited the university, checked out the campus party scene, attended information sessions, met my admissions officer, and gotten involved in the Cuban student group events. I thus began my undergraduate career with a fairly accurate sense of what awaited me in the next four years.

 

Arriving at LSE

My introduction to LSE was contrastingly abrupt. Before I knew it, classes arrived and I saw myself in Houghton Street absorbing everything for the first time. Of course, I was unprepared for the rushed course selection process, and the unavailability of professor and course evaluations as a public guide for students did not make the task easier. I was surprised to find that there were virtually no British people in my classes, as the majority of my classmates came from other European countries and North America. The school calendar shocked me; my unthinkable number of holidays included two months to study for finals!

Foreign Students's picture

New Post-Study Visa Rules Explained

You have probably heard that new visa regulations were announced last week by the British Home Secretary, Theresa May. If you are already studying in the UK and hope to stay here to work after university then you may understandably be worried about these changes.

Post-Study Work Visas

To make it clear how the Post-Study Work visa regulations have changed, here are the basics:

  • The Post-Study Work Route that allows students free access to work in the UK for 2 years after they finish studying is being closed.
  • To stay and work, you must have a job offer from a sponsoring employer. This means that the firm has been registered with the government to accept overseas workers in the Tier-2 visa point system.
  • The job must be suitable for your skills and the starting salary must be a minimum of £20,000 a year.
  • This starts in April 2012, so students graduating this year will not be affected.

 

Working whilst you are studying

There are also tighter regulations on working whilst still a student:

Foreign Students's picture

New Visa Regulations Announced

The British Home Secretary Theresa May announced today that the number of non-EU students granted a visa to the UK is going to be cut by up to 80,000 a year.

The announcement is part of the government’s drive to scale down immigration to the UK to just tens of thousands by 2015, and is likely to reduce foreign student visas by as much as 25%. Of the proposal, May told MPs:

“It will protect our world-class institutions. It will stop the abuse that became all too common under Labour and it will restore some sanity to our student visa system."

“Fake Colleges”

However, away from these headline grabbing statistics, what do these new regulations actually mean to your standard student hoping to study in the UK?

Well, the proposals are basically aimed at stopping people from manipulating the system in order to simply get a UK visa. At the moment the government say there are thousands of non-EU inhabitants every year who get student visas with no intention of actually studying in the UK.

Guest's picture

Top 5 Financial Tips for Studying Abroad in the UK

If you're planning on studying abroad in the UK, there's a lot to be excited about. From seamless public transport to the unique cultural experiences you can find everywhere, there's a lot to love about traveling abroad and studying at the same time.

The best way to make the most of it, though, is to be financially prepared. With this in mind, let's talk about the top five financial tips for studying abroad in the UK.

1.     Take Your Student Card Everywhere

You may still be getting used to remembering to put your student card in your wallet when you go out, but having it on you when you're studying abroad in the UK is pretty essential.

You'd be surprised how many shops, museums, restaurants, and general activities you can find that will offer you a discount if you can show them your student card. This is an excellent way to save a bit while you're out there and having to navigate a relatively tight budget. It also means that you'll be able to make the most of doing more, for less.

2.     Refinance with a Low-Risk Loan

If you're part of the way through your UK study experience, and you're struggling to come up with the funds you'll need to make it the rest of the way, you may want to consider checking out a low-risk loan.

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