Top pieces of advice to make studying in the UK comfortable for you
Guest post by Jeff Blaylock
Moving to a new country to study is one of the most exciting things students can do. It broadens horizons and can improve so many areas of your academic life. It is also a brilliant opportunity to practice English and get comfortable with the language. Of course, it can be super daunting, too. It’s scary packing up your things and getting organised. There is usually so much to do and not enough time to do it. But you’ll get there. Here’s a couple of tips I wish I knew when I was studying as an international student in the UK school system. I hope they help.
Have all your documents in order
Speaking from personal experience managing your documents is one of the key parts of keeping calm during the moving process (I didn’t have them in any way organised and believe me the stress is not worth it). Have some sort of folder with everything including student visa details, funding details, health insurance, and student accommodation confirmation. Basically, anything relevant to your university move. Keeping everything together adds a certain level of calm to the whole process and doesn’t make it feel as scary. There are some great tips on the more detailed elements of the documents you might need here.
Finding student accommodation
When moving to London, one of your top priorities should be to arrange your accommodation on time. However, it is natural to feel overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of transitioning into your new life; moreover, it can make finding a suitable place to stay quite challenging! But don’t worry. For that purpose, you can trust amber: a one-click platform to search for the best student home. So if you are looking for student housing in London then amber will assist you in finding an ideal home at your preferred location.
Join societies
If you want to meet like-minded people from all around the world and the UK then join a society that is related to your interests. It can be super easy to just join the international society and form a friendship group based on this. But getting to meet people that share the same hobbies and passions as you will help you connect to people and form meaningful friendships. Societies are also really useful for having activities to do when you are starting a semester. You might get some insider tips from the local UK students on where to go and what’s cool to do, too.
Pack accordingly
If you’re flying over from sunny Australia or somewhere exotic (lucky you!) then be prepared, it rains a lot and can get pretty chilly. Pack clothes that are suitable or invest in some as soon as you land. Depending on where you are coming from it might be cheaper to buy in the UK or your own country, so look into this.
Join a study group
Joining a study group is an excellent way to work on speaking English and can get you into a good study routine. Study groups helped me meet interesting people on my course and look at things in a different way. Using essay services can also help you get to grips with how essays are structured. https://samedaypapers.com/write-my-essay is a service that works with students to create unique essays that help students gain an understanding of the British school system. They were really helpful to get me set up. Understanding how university papers were formatted was a big plus as well.
Pic taken from Unsplash
Budget, budget, budget!
Lastly, your budget is so important. London and the UK, in general, can be expensive. Work out how much money you will need to live off for your time there. Factor in if you will be working, your student loan, that extra pint you might have in the student union. Become a budgeting guru and money won’t be a stress point. Mint is a great free online tool that lets you control everything and you can keep track of when bills will be coming out and pretty much everything money related.
Bye Bye Stress
So, there you have it. It’s not rocket science but these are just some of the tricks I found really useful when learning how to maneuver my way around education in the UK. No matter what grade levels you’re studying, being organised and having a bit of foresight can really help eliminate stress. It’s so easy to get bogged down in all the paperwork and difficult parts of university and forget about all the great stuff you’re going to experience. Hopefully, these tips helped to ease your mind a little bit and help you prepare. Good luck on your future university journey!
