Education in UK

Geographical features of UK:

United Kingdom, the dreamland of many students lies in Western Europe just off the coast of France.  It comprises of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and numerous smaller islands which includes Isle of Wight, Anglesey, and the Scilly, Orkney, Shetland, and Hebridean archipelagos.  The total land area of the UK is approximately 94,600 sq mi and lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea.

Why study in UK?

The degrees and qualifications obtained from UK higher education institutions are of high standards and are recognised globally.  British Universities are subjected to meticulous quality assessment procedures in order to standardise the quality of education across all institutions in the UK.  The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) assesses the teaching standards in the universities whereas the Research standards are examined by the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).  The results of all these assessments are available on the internet. There are over 3000 educational institutions in UK offering Bachelors, Masters, Doctoral and Post-Doctoral degrees in fields as diverse as sound engineering to marine biology.  Many institutions offer flexible ways of learning namely, distance-learning which facilitates the students to gain a respected British degree from their home country.  Apart from obtaining a British degree, studying in UK will give you an opportunity to improve your English language skills.

In British Universities, undergraduate and post graduate degrees are taught for 3 years and 1 year respectively when compared to four and two years respectively in most other countries.  So one can save on both tuition fees and cost of living by studying in UK.

Student life in UK:

The first question that arises on your arrival to UK is regarding Accommodation.  Every university have an Accommodation office or Student housing officers to offer advice and guidance on finding a suitable accommodation. However the final decision in selecting the place lies in your hands.

Great Britain has a subsidized health service, which provides free health care and treatment for people who are resident in Britain.  The National Health Service (NHS), the UK’s public health systems provides this free medical treatment for millions of people every year.  International students whose course lasts for 6 months or more, or which, if it lasts less than 6 months is substantially funded by the UK government receive NHS hospital treatment for free. Also, students get considerable discounts on the public transportation.

Apart from all these, Great Britain is well known as a multicultural nation open to new traditions and cultures.  One can find students from all over the world and its a good place to learn about different traditions and cultures.  There are number of hangouts like pubs, restaurants, museums, castles, amusement and theme parks, cathedrals, churches and abbeys, zoos, gardens and so on as relaxations spots.

Part time jobs:

International students are allowed to work up to 20 hours a week during their term time and full time during their vacation. One should always check with the international advisor at the University before starting any work in order to know the visa rules regarding working in UK.  Since UK is an English speaking country, one can find ample number of opportunities to work but relying on work income to fund your education is not a good idea.

How to apply for admissions:

For undergraduate degrees one must apply through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service), which handles applications for full-time undergraduate courses except courses offered by the Open University.  The application must be submitted on a UCAS form and there is a fee for making an application.  The fee depends on how many courses, universities and colleges you apply to.  It costs 7 pounds for one course at one university or college and 17 pounds for more than one course, university of college and can be paid through debit or credit card.  They accept UK and international Visa, Visa Debit, Delta, MasterCard, Maestro, Solo and Electron credit or debit cards.  At the moment they do not accept American Express, Diners Club or JCB cards.

For postgraduate courses one must apply directly to the university.  Some educational institutions have postgraduate admissions offices that will handle the application, other institutions instruct the candidates to apply directly to the relevant department.  Most institutions charge a small fee for processing the application.  The application form must be completely filled with all the necessary details namely educational and vocational achievements, reasons for applying outlining the particular academic interests, if any, and the references to support your application.  A doctoral or research candidate should also include a detailed overview of the proposed research topic.

Expenses and Fees:

Undergraduate:

• For Science related courses, it costs around 14,730 pounds per year, which includes tuition fee of 8,130 pounds and living cost (per academic year, 9 months) of 6,600 pounds.
• For Medicine related courses, it costs around 22,660 pounds per year, which includes tuition fee of 15,660 pounds and living cost of 6,600 pounds.
• For other courses, the average total cost per year is 12,810 pounds, which includes tuition fee of 6,210 pounds and living cost of 6,600 pounds.

Postgraduate:

• For Science related courses, it costs around 14,800 pounds per year, which includes tuition fee of 8,200 pounds.
• For Medicine related courses, it costs around 22,050 pounds per year, which includes tuition fee of 15,450 pounds.
• For other courses, the average total cost per year is 12,903 pounds, which includes tuition fee of 6,303 pounds.

Funds and Scholarships:

There is a very little financial aid in the United Kingdom for international students.  Some universities waive off a part of the tuition fee for the outstanding students.  There are some scholarships especially for postgraduate and research studies; information about these scholarships are available on the respective university websites.

Some of the Scholarship programmes are:

• British Chevening Scholarship Programme:  This scheme provides an opportunity for an exceptional Indian candidate to undertake postgraduate study at leading universities in the UK.
• Charles Wallace India Trust Awards:  It is an arts, heritage conservation and humanities scholarship fund which supports talented Indians in the early or middle stage of their careers to spend focused time in the UK, helping to achieve their artistic, professional or academic ambitions.
• Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowships:  This is an annual scheme made available to all commonwealth countries by the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission.
• Dean’s Scholarship for Economics masters students:  All students holding an offer of a place on a postgraduate economics programme will be considered for this scholarship.

Visa Processing:

To study in the United Kingdom, one must make application using the Points Based System Tier 4 (General) student or Tier 4 (Child) student routes.

One need to:

• Submit the completed application form and points scoring appendix or if making an online application select the correct visa category and then complete the paper appendix
• Pay the visa fee
• Have a proof of adequate financial support as detailed in the Tier 4 Points Based System guidance
• Produce a Visa Letter from the education provider.

Top 10 Universities in the UK:

• University of Oxford
• University of Cambridge
• Imperial College of London
• London School of Economics
• University College London
• Loughborough University
• University of Bristol
• University of Warwick
• University of Bath
• University of Durham

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