Big preparations for the New Year's Eve party have just started. I have little time, but I need to sum the outgoing year. First and foremost, it was the most significant year in my life, as I decided to apply for M$M course in the UK. During my winter vacation I thought: "Studying abroad must be a wonderful experience... It is such a pity that I don't attend bilingual high school and cannot take IB."
However, I decided to read some blogs about studying abroad (not only in the UK) and I found out that the Polish do not have to take IB to study abroad. To my surprise, process of application turned out to be completely different from the Polish one. In my humble opinions, polish universities are a complete disaster (sorry, it is my subjective opinion!). On the whole, professors treat their students like lifeless objects. They are not interested in their opinions, because the "do not have enough time" or they "have to follow university syllabus". Lord, what if I don't want to learn this module now and want to put it off? What if I want to deepen my knowledge in the module which is not a part of any syllabus? Have I any options? I may predict the answer: "I just teach here":(
Yes, Having come to that realisation, I decided to do my best to be accepted by a good British university. It was a brilliant year-I focused entirely on my interests. As a result, History is not my Matura subject. To be frank, I have never liked learning History. Obviously, I am not indifferent to our history, and I even love reading about people who changed the world. Thanks to my grandmother, I become curious about II World War. However, I hate the way this subject is taught at my school. It a nightmare-once I almost died of boredom! Everything must be learned by heart. I mean, no interesting examples and no curiosities. Aweful:( Well, my baccalaureate subjects are: Geography, English, Civic Education, Maths (basic level), Polish (basic level). I am happy with my choice. At least, I do not have to learn things that are so tedious (to me) that I want to go to sleep:) Unfortunately, taking 3 subjects at advanced level equals lack of time. But, I decided to combine pleasant with the useful. I learn new vocabulary by reading extremely interesting English magazines and, of course, by writing my blog;p;p;p
Oh, I have almost forgot that I am already mature-officially. It was a year full of birthday parties-very hectic. As far as I am concerned, my birthday party was the best of all, but it is not objective, of course:)
I am convinced that 2011 completely changed my life. In many aspects. Obviously, decision about my studies was the most important one. I hope that the forthcoming year will be wonderful-I hope that all my wishes will come true.
To sum up, I do not regret anything, because "it is better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all":)
Płaciłem kartą walutową MasterCard WBK Bank Zachodni. Nie było problemy, można też płacić zwykłą kartą w złotówkach-pieniądze się przewalutują. Wzięło mi równe 22 funty-nie pobrali żadnej prowizji za przelew internetowy. Wpisałem dane w z karty: imię, nazwisko, numer karty i 3-cyfrowy numer z tyłu na karcie. Stronka dotycząca kart walutowych: BZWBK
Referencje napisała mi moja nauczycielka z ang. Wpisałem jej dane i maila w polu referencji. UCAS wysłał jej maila z hasłem i loginem i link ze stroną na której miała się zalogować. Jak wkleiła referencje to okienko zmieniło się na czerwone.
W education są niektóre polskie licea, więc po prostu wpisałem High School I LO in Tarnow i dalem OK. Coś chyba wyskoczyło, ale zignorowałem to. Potem wyświetliło się wszystko bez problemu.
Predicted grades: Wpisalem srednia, bo inaczej sie nie dalo...Na stronie pisali, ze mozna opuscic, ale wpisalem.
Pay and Send: Dopiero po wypełnieniu wszystkich pól, będzie można wejść w tę zakładkę:)
Have you ever been in awe while reading an article or a great book. I am certain you have. What do I do in my spare time? Hmmm... Let me thing... thousands of things. I never let myself waste my precious time. Yeah, I am convinced that life is a gift which should be fully used. Maybe I am too immodest, but I consider myself to be a very open-minded young man. I have dozens of passions and I always suffer from a lack of time:( But I love the way I am and I wouldn't like to be anyone else. To be frank, I tried once and I failed. I cannot pretend that I am a daredevil or a strongman:) I am just a normal boy with merits and flaws...
I mentioned that I love broadening my mind. I reckon that we shouldn't be concentrated only on one thing. Guys, the world is so diverse-full of colours. I know, I know... everybody wants to be a master in their own field. However, a good lawyer can be a wonderful cook, right?
I want to be creative and develop various skills: mathematical skills, writing skills, logical reasoning skills... I want to be curious about the world:) Because I am a human being and we have been nosy for 4 millions years:)
Here I want to present a list of blocks which inspired me to start writing my own blog.
BBC It is the best news provider in the world! Radio broadcasts, best articles, generally speaking-everything!
emito Here you may find everything about living in the UK-great news, marvelous forum, fantastic articles.
Great magazines
English Matters Indisputably, it my favourite magazine. You can find it in language libraries. Thanks to the Internet, you have an access to MP3 articles. All you need to do is to enter the code from the magazine.
Personal Statement...thousands ideas and only 4000 characters (words+spaces+punctuation marks). When I heard about Personal Statement, I thought: "WOW, it is fabulous. You have a marvelous opportunity to present yourself in the best way:)"
Yes... However, it was actually the most tough "essay" I have ever written. You are to stand out from the crowd-present yourself as the best candidate for the course you are applying for.
First of all, try to be ORIGINAL. On the other hand, do not exaggerate! I swear, mentioning dozes of extracurricular activities or competitions, in which you participated, will not help you. You will waste 1000 characters and make an admission tutor die of boredom:) You had better focus on a few distinctive or even remarkable activities/projects/competitions related to your course.
Introduction: It is said to be the most important part of PS. Unfortunately, I disregarded my beginning and "screw it up". I hope you will do your best to perfect this section:) If I were given a chance to improve it, I would write something extremely unusual about the subject I wanted to study. In this paragraph you must make a tutor interested. You have to convince him or her that chosen course is immensely important to you. You can point out why you became fascinated by this subject.
Explication: It is a place where you can present yourself. Everything depends on you-you choose a style, form and key points. I recommend creating at least 3 separate sections
1. Something about your biggest attainment or very important project which inspired you to apply for a course...
2. Something about your Matura /Baccalaureate subjects. Best advice: write what you have learned in your school and how your subjects are related to your course.
3. Something about your interest and free time. I doesn't have to be connected with your course.
Ending: It is also important part of your PS. In this paragraph you shouldn't add any new information. Just highlight that you really long to study or research all aspects of your course:)
Final hint: take care about your Grammar, style and punctuation!
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=134 If you would like your personal statement reviewed in confidence by a team of advisers, post in this forum. Only a team of advisers, yourself and the TSR moderators will be able to view it.
While exploring universities' websites, some international students may be confused with some words. Here I would like to thoroughly explain some abbreviations or phrases which may be found on unis' websites.
application deadline-ostateczny termin.
Na większość kierunków aplikację składa się do 15 stycznia.
Są jednak wyjątki-dotyczy to na przykład Oxford University i Cambridge University (związane jest to z rozmowami kwalifikacyjnymi na te uczelnie). This does not apply to applications for the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, courses in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or veterinary science. For all of these, you must apply by 15 October.
24 March - application deadline for the receipt at UCAS of applications for art and design courses except those listed with a 15 January deadline.
Podobno istnieje możliwość aplikowania w późniejszym terminie-do 30 czerwca. Nie polecam!Applications received at UCAS after the deadlines, up until 30 June, will only be considered by the universities and colleges if they still have vacancies for the course(s) you have selected.
clearing-coś w rodzaju naszej II/III rekrutacji, czyli zapełnianie wolnych miejsc.
interview-wywiad/rozmowa kwalifikacyjna-jest wymagany na niektórych kierunkach, np. na Social Work i kierunkach artystycznych. Niektóre uczelnie mogą wymagać prac (architektura) albo esejów (np. Cambridge). Na pewno jest to podane w sekcjach "requirements"/"application process" na stronach uniwersytetów.
deferred entry-aplikowanie o miejsce na rok następny-dla osób, które chcą wziąć sobie gap year. For instance, w 2011 roku aplikujecie na kursy rozpoczynające się we wrześniu 2012 roku, ale możecie wybrać deffered entry i aplikować w 2011 roku na kurs rozpoczynający się w roku 2013. It is up to you!
prospectus-coś w rodzaju katalogu/broszury, w której opisane są wszystkie kierunki. Zawiera informacje na temat university facilities/accommodation etc. Możecie o niego poprosić w mailu lub wypełnić podanie na stronie uniwersytetów. Przesyłka jest free. Ja otrzymałem prospectus-y od około 50 uniwersytetów:)
Foundation degrees-zwykle roczne przygotowanie do studiów.
undergraduate course-studia licencjackie; Undergraduate courses usually last for 3 years in England and 4 years in Scotland. Once you graduate, you get a Bachelor's degree (licencjat).
W UK, stopien Bachelor Degree (BA/BEng/BSci/BArch i te pe) jest dyplomem ukonczenia wyzszej edukacji (stad jest sie po takim stopniu 'graduate' i stad jest 'graduation ceremony') i jest na rowni z polsikim stopniem Magistra. Stopien Masters (czyli Msc, MA, Meng i te de) jest tylko dodatkowa specjalizacja, najczesciej uzyteczny np. kiedy chcemy sie doktoryzowac (PhD) w zupelnie innej dziedzinie niz ukonczony Bachelor Degree.
Dobrze tez pamietac, ze tzw. acient universities (Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Dundee, Oxford i Cambridge) historycznie wydaja stopnie Masters mimo iz odbywa sie 4 letni kurs na poziomie Bachelora. Te stopnie, mimo przedroska M nadal sa rownowazne tylko z kwalifikacjami na poziomie Bachelora.
BA-a Bachelor of Arts
B.Sc-A Bachelor of Science
BA/B.Sc(Hons)-możliwość otrzymania tytułu z wyróżnieniem
W UK stopien "Bachelor with Honors" upowaznia do podjecia studiow doktoranckich (PhD).
Rownanie w gore jest prostrze oraz bardziej intuicyjne, poziom Doktora (PhD) to stopien naukowy ktorego wymagania na calym swiecie sa identyczne - czyli publikacje naukowe. W Polsce dopiero stopien Magistra jest przepustka do studiow Doktoranckich.
postgraduate course-studia podyplomowe; Postgraduate courses usually last for at least 1 year in the UK. Once you graduate, you get either a Master's degree (magister) or a Ph.D (doktor). For instance, you can study postgraduate course in Social Work after graduating from Sociology. But you cannot study a postgraduate course without a Bachelor's degree.
Mode of Attendance: Full-time (odpowiednik dziennych), part-time (odpowiednik wieczorowych)
area of study-dziedzina nauki
faculty/department-school-wydział; For example: Administration Department, Business School, Faculty of Health and Social Care.
placement/year in industry-coś w rodzaju płatnych praktyk/praca na pełen etat w ramach studiów. To sum up, it is the opportunity to undertake a one-year salaried placement.
UCAS-instytucja, przez którą aplikuje się na studia w UK
http://www.ucas.com/students/apply/
Entry requirement:
A Levels-odpowiednik polskiej matury
SQA Higher-odpowiednik szkockiej matury
IB Diploma-matura międzynarodowa
I must highlight that you do not have to take IB to study in the UK, as British universities accept alternative qualifications/equivalent overseas qualifications, for example: Polish New Matura is approved even by Cambridge and Oxford.
I recommend sending formal letters (via emails) to universities. In these mails you can ask about New Matura/IB requirements and language requirements!
Most of universities require 3 subjects taken at extended/advanced (rozszerzony) level. But, it is not a principle!
IELTS-egzamin językowy wymagany przez większość brytyjskich uczelni. Zwykle wymagają wyniku 6.0-7.0 (podobno więcej niż FCE, ale mniej niż CAE). Większość uczelni akceptuje również amerykańską (podobno łatwiejszą) wersję-TOEFL. Egzaminy można zdawać w większych miastach-odbywają się co 2 tygodnie. Na wyniki czeka się ok. 1 miesiąca.
course fees-czesne; IMPORTANT: Koszty studiów licencjackich wzrosły w tym roku do 9 tyś funtów/rok. Czesne w Szkocji pozostało na dawnym poziomie-ok 2 tyś funtów/rok
SAAS-Szkocka agencja finansująca studia Szkotom i mieszkańcom UE.
If you are a Scottish resident or EU national you are not liable to pay fees and should apply to SAAS for funding.
http://www.saas.gov.uk/index.htm student loan-pożyczka na opłacenie czesnego. Jest ona bardzo korzystnie oprocentowana i spłaca się ją, gdy osiąga się dochody w wysokości 25 tyś funtów rocznie.
England - http://www.studentfinanceengland.co.uk/
Wales -http://www.studentfinancewales.co.uk/
Northern Ireland - http://www.studentfinanceni.co.uk/ Scholarships-stypendia. Niestety mogą je otrzymać jedynie osoby, które mieszkają w Wielkiej Brytanii min. 3 lata:( Są wyjątki:)
Some universities offer scholarships for UE students, for example Lancaster University. However, the conditions of receiving such scholarships are extremely strict. For instance, I would have to pass the Polish Marura with an overall score of 90% (including three subjects at advanced level)! to receive the scholarship worth 1,000 pounds.
OFFERS
Conditional offer- jeżeli zostaniecie zaakceptowani przez uniwersytety, otrzymacie wymagania jakie będziecie musieli spełnić (np. zdać maturę ze średnią 75% lub 3 rozszerzenia na min 80%).
Unconditional offer-gdy aplikujesz i masz zdaną maturę i certyfikat (na poziomie wymaganym przez uniwersytet), możesz otrzymać taką ofertę!
Unsuccessful: you have not been accepted by the university or college concerned.
It is hard to choose a proper course to study, especially if you are 17 and have thousands of interests. In the beginning, I wanted to apply for Social Work. It is a high-powered profession, which can be extremely rewarding but also very dangerous. Social workers are responsible for their wards who they have to visit regularly. They have a lot of tough cases associated with sexual/alcohol/drug abuse etc. When I started reading about this occupation, my interest was growing immensely. I got to know that I would need an experience in volunteering to be eligible to apply for this course. During my holiday I thought through my decision and came to a conclusion that I am not mature enough to study such a responsible course. Finally, I drew a list of my merits and flaws which made me understand who I really was.
I thought about my interests and extra curricular activities. As a result, I realized that I would be a wonderful manager:) Yes, I love working with individuals and I have thousand of ideas... During my "educational career", I took part in roughly 30 contest. I even managed to achieve second place in The National Theatre Knowledge Competition. But, It was 3 years ago when I was fascinated by literature. Besides, I have always been into Geography, but I regard that being a Geography teacher is not the best job in the 21 century-low salaries and few job positions. Moreover, I was looking for a versatile job-full of perspectives and challenges. I would like to cooperate with people from different backgrounds... I would like to travel a lot and be completely independent... I know-everybody does:)
In may,2011, I won "Do Business in Tarnow" Competition. I had a privilege to present my project during The Tarnow Entrepreneurship Forum:) and I won a new laptop. Yeah, this contest completely influenced my decision. I decided to apply for a business course-Marketing with Management. It was probably the most important decision in my life.
When you know what you want to study, you can start searching for the most suitable university. Consciously did not I use expression-"the best". In the UK there are many "worse" universities which have brilliant departments of Business, for example. There are also great unis which have low employment rates. So, it is crucial to read university league tables carefully!
If you are an EU student, you should also bear in mind how expensive higher education in England is (even though you do not need to pay well in advance). It is worth considering Scotland when undergraduate courses are generally funded by SAAS.
Because of that, I chose three Scottish institutions and only two English universities. As far as I am concerned, I may recommend some rankings:
And remember: your career is up to you-university can only help you expand your knowledge and acquire essential skills.
Oh, I have almost forgot: here you have my choices: Lancaster University, Nottingham Trent University, Strathclyde University Glasgow, RGU Aberdeen and Napier University in Edinburgh:) They have great business departments, employment rates and ...offer placement-a year in industry:):)
Hello world, I am David from Poland and my aim is to help all foreign students applying for undergraduate courses in the UK.
To be honest, English has always been the biggest love of mine. Everything started in 2009, when I enrolled on an English course organized by Krakow Empik Language School. To sum up, It was the most beautiful time in my life. Not only did I meet numerous outstanding people, but I also fell in love with the British culture. Who inspired me? Who changed my attitude to life? It was a short, middle-aged, black woman... Sophia-my teacher, native speaker of English, but also the most cheerful person I have ever met in my life. Thanks to her, I realised that learning English can be a real fun. She told us: forget about the Grammar-it doesn't really matter-I want to know who you are, who you love and who loves you... Oh maybe I am too much inquisitive but you have to speak-so do not be scared and keep talking:).
I set up my blog to help those who want to change their lives and make their dreams come true:) So if you are thinking about studying in Great Britain, my blog might be very useful to you.
I know how stressful a UCAS process of application may be. That is why I decided to explain everything thoroughly. I have a lot of practical hints which may make you stand out from the crowd...
I have recently read an inspiring cliché: "It is better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all..." I had to mention it... I hope it will support you through the UCAS application process :)
