Why did the UK government have to stop PSW! It is truly not fair. After all the money international students are pouring into their system. They must and will suffer the consequences of this.

Food preferences and means vary form person to person. I am surprised some students are talking about Coffees, Lattes, Mochas etc. They are expensive in comparison to what you would buying real food(for a naija palate)and the figures add up quickly. Making and drinking your coffee or cappuccino at home is definitely cheaper than paying to have it in some Cafe everyday!

maryini: Why did the UK government have to stop PSW! It is truly not fair. After all the money international students are pouring into their system. They must and will suffer the consequences of this.

hmmm

Uhmm, please I seriously need advise on how to plan my stay in UK, i was just given admission for a postgraduate course in Information security in Royal Holloway. What are the things i need to plan ahead for? also i am good in hairdo, of what benefit will this be, also i can do some wire works: making of earings, bracelets etc. Is it better for me to get campus accomodation? can i cook my own food ,i plan my family visiting me at least once before leaving(my kids and hubby). What sort of voluntary works are there to do? thanks

shemy: Uhmm, please I seriously need advise on how to plan my stay in UK, i was just given admission for a postgraduate course in Information security in Royal Holloway. What are the things i need to plan ahead for? also i am good in hairdo, of what benefit will this be, also i can do some wire works: making of earings, bracelets etc. Is it better for me to get campus accomodation? can i cook my own food ,i plan my family visiting me at least once before leaving(my kids and hubby). What sort of voluntary works are there to do? thanks

If you have the maintenance money which has gone up now to about £8,000 then financially you will be ok if you spent reasonably, stay away from university accommodations, they are pretty expensive and not good for families.

Your university student union will have list of voluntary work available, whatever handwork you are good at will help but you are not allowed to start any business with it, no matter how big or small

justwise:

If you have the maintenance money which has gone up now to about £8,000 then financially you will be ok if you spent reasonably, stay away from university accommodations, they are pretty expensive and not good for families.

Your university student union will have list of voluntary work available, whatever handwork you are good at will help but you are not allowed to start any business with it, no matter how big or small

Please can you give the definition of high. A university accommodation of 77pounds per week. Is it high?
It is defined as a standard room(not ensuite) with internet and other basic utilities.
please kindly enlighten me.

Olupraise:

Please can you give the definition of high. A university accommodation of 77pounds per week. Is it high?
It is defined as a standard room(not ensuite) with internet and other basic utilities.
please kindly enlighten me.

The standard University accommodation going for £77 a week is what is called single bedroom, while with the same £77 or less you will get double bedroom outside the University including all the bills.. . Internet connection, gas, water, electricity, and completely furnished. You can use the washing machine without paying while in some Universities you pay a £1 or so for using washing machine.

shemy: Uhmm, please I seriously need advise on how to plan my stay in UK, i was just given admission for a postgraduate course in Information security in Royal Holloway. What are the things i need to plan ahead for? also i am good in hairdo, of what benefit will this be, also i can do some wire works: making of earings, bracelets etc. Is it better for me to get campus accomodation? can i cook my own food ,i plan my family visiting me at least once before leaving(my kids and hubby). What sort of voluntary works are there to do? thanks

if you are going for postgraduate, which is only about a year, your best option is to come in as prepared as possible on the course you are going for, as it would be intensive; getting used to their mode of teaching and the environment alone will take time hence you might not have the luxury of time to look for side business or work, but voluntary works are readily available either through unversity clubs or local council/charity organisations you canalso register to some website where you choose the type of voluntary work you are interested in (hopefully something related to your course so you get some experience)

ok

How easy is it to get acccomodation,is it better to get through online agents or to search for apartment on getting there? Which apartment is better becos my hubby and kids will surely visit while there?

shemy: How easy is it to get acccomodation,is it better to get through online agents or to search for apartment on getting there? Which apartment is better becos my hubby and kids will surely visit while there?

Accommodationg is easy especially in university towns, as long as you book early and have firm agreements; remember you will be competing with thousands of other students too

if you are contacting online agents you should be contacting them to make enquiries only, and perhaps phone numbers of people you can speak to, dont pay any deposit, just to get information, get a rough idea of where it is how it looks (if there are pictures) and whats included

you first point of call should be your university accomdation officers, they usually have a list for agents or properties advertised through them, some are verified others are just general advert so whatever the case, speak to them on the phone and arrange viewing the apartment when you arrive

Can a friend view the property on my behalf? "Is there possibility of prices crashing down later.Most accomodation are to be shared and not ensuite, na wah o. to share property with people not known before get as e be. Also, i will love my kids to come over to see me at least once before finishing the program , will this affect the kind of accomodation to get?

shemy: Can a friend view the property on my behalf? "Is there possibility of prices crashing down later.Most accomodation are to be shared and not ensuite, na wah o. to share property with people not known before get as e be. Also, i will love my kids to come over to see me at least once before finishing the program , will this affect the kind of accomodation to get?

A friend can view property on your behalf or you can wait till you get here to view and choose accommodation as suits you. What you get largely depends on your budget and preferred area. You might be better off arranging temporary accommodation so that you can chose your long-term accommodation when you get here as your friend's taste might be different from yours. I say this because I have viewed properties I would never have stayed in if offered for free being put up for rent at ridiculous prices. I am talking of properties that can give you nightmares for weeks for just viewing it alone! You wouldn't even believe that kind of accommodation should be legal to let out in the UK.

shemy: Can a friend view the property on my behalf? "Is there possibility of prices crashing down later.Most accomodation are to be shared and not ensuite, na wah o. to share property with people not known before get as e be. Also, i will love my kids to come over to see me at least once before finishing the program , will this affect the kind of accomodation to get?

probability of price crash is NIL, except you are looking to buy, rent prices are going up or staying put
Most accommodation are different, students usually dont mind sharing accomodation with other students, part of being a student right?
If you want a three bedroom all ensuite, you can get them, you can get a semi-detached if you want

these questions are entirely upto you, these are things sqaurely in your hand and you pocket

Please, i want to go an study chemical engineering at university of surrey in England but my family friend in London told me to forget London and come an study in Scotland. Pls england an scotland, which is better because i am confuse now..

shemy: Can a friend view the property on my behalf? "Is there possibility of prices crashing down later.Most accomodation are to be shared and not ensuite, na wah o. to share property with people not known before get as e be. Also, i will love my kids to come over to see me at least once before finishing the program , will this affect the kind of accomodation to get?

Like[b] Dis Guy[/b] said it entirely depends on how deep your pocket is, you can get any type of accommodation you want, but of you want to have your family around once in a while then sharing is not a good idea, going for studio accommodation or renting 2bed room flat will suit you more, again it depends on your bank balance.

fados4sure: Please, i want to go an study chemical engineering at university of surrey in England but my family friend in London told me to forget London and come an study in Scotland. Pls england an scotland, which is better because i am confuse now..

Nobody can give you a definite answer on that, some people like England and some like Scotland but personally i don't like Scotland because of the accent and they 'seems' to be miserable all the time, though London is more expensive compared to Scotland.

@justwise? Thanks so much for the advise and i for one hate accent town. Secondly how about interms of Job opportunity which is prefer? England or Scotland?

FutureDon: @all

I have an offer to study MSc in one of the Biosciences at Nottingham Trent University, can you please comment freely on how good/bad the school is, I read a lot about the School on the internet already, just looking for 'first-hand' information.

*** My long term goal is a PhD***

Thank you!!

It will be difficult for anybody who did not study there or studying there at the moment to give you an honest assessment of the university hence the reason why i did not comment.

fados4sure: @justwise? Thanks so much for the advise and i for one hate accent town. Secondly how about interms of Job opportunity which is prefer? England or Scotland?

Job is a problem everywhere, come prepared financially and take your time to look for whatever is out there. Things may change by the time you graduate, not that there is no job but its harder to get one.

maryini: Why did the UK government have to stop PSW! It is truly not fair. After all the money international students are pouring into their system. They must and will suffer the consequences of this.

i heard PSW is back on

sue007: i heard PSW is back on

LOL - its off. As simple search online for UKBA will give full details of the new immigration rules


fados4sure

Truthfully dont think about job opportunites with PSW off - UK govt is determined to push compnaies to take uk citizens for jobs first before immgrants regardless of your degree qualitfications.
Maybe better to focus on opportunities across the border or with multinationals with ties to Nigeria

justwise:

It will be difficult for anybody who did not study there or studying there at the moment to give you an honest assessment of the university hence the reason why i did not comment.

Thank you for the honest comment. I have another offer at University of Dundee, and still waiting to hear back from some other Schools. Fingers crossed!

Is this thread dead already?

One thing i learned after a few months in the UK is, surviving here takes determination , planning and a stroke of luck.

A few tips:

1. If you have paid for school accomodation, try to find out-of-campus accomodation as quick as you can.You will usually pay double in school hostels.
2. Get a contract simcard. This is a simcard where you pay a fixed amount every month eg 10£ for certain number of minutes eg 100 minutes a month.A contract simcard helps check your spending on top up and at the same time helps build your credit history.With a good credit history of just a few months, you can get a good phone contract, credit card and better current accounts.This ofcourse is not a license for you to take up alot of debt in credit cards and overdrafts, but if you are responsible enough, then such things can help you in emergencies when you are really cash strapped,in between jobs or moving.

3. The temptation when you land here is start looking for jobs online.This, i realised, is like playing the National Lottery.Thousands of applicants, and yet very few jobs advertised.You will spend days and weeks wasting your time applying for jobs online and get no feedback.Out of the over 200 applications i made online, i got only 2 calls for an interview.The best way to find jobs is to physically approach Job agencies in your local area and beyond and register with them.They might not offer you a job immidiately, but atleast they will have your name and details on record if anything comes up.

talk to your friends,cousins etc ask them to introduce you to the job agencies that they used to get jobs.This is what worked for me.

If you are studying in London, always look for the cheapest way to travel.Weekly bus passes are the cheapest way to travel.Avoid train travel for short distances.

Always cook! Food should never take up more than 30% of your wages.Some things are cheaper in tescos,asda etc than your local corner shop.Buy Meat and vegetables from the local market and not from the supermarket.

you should expect to be paid only 6.5£ an hour for 20hrs a week.This is very little money, and you will be barely surviving if you do not have any other source of funds.It is possible that you can find an employer who will ignore the 20hr a week rule and give you more hours.But you have to think about your college as well.These days many colleges/universities report students who do not attend classes to the home office.

AlvinPlantinga: One thing i learned after a few months in the UK is, surviving here takes determination , planning and a stroke of luck.

A few tips:

1. If you have paid for school accomodation, try to find out-of-campus accomodation as quick as you can.You will usually pay double in school hostels.
2. Get a contract simcard. This is a simcard where you pay a fixed amount every month eg 10£ for certain number of minutes eg 100 minutes a month.A contract simcard helps check your spending on top up and at the same time helps build your credit history.With a good credit history of just a few months, you can get a good phone contract, credit card and better current accounts.This ofcourse is not a license for you to take up alot of debt in credit cards and overdrafts, but if you are responsible enough, then such things can help you in emergencies when you are really cash strapped,in between jobs or moving.

3. The temptation when you land here is start looking for jobs online.This, i realised, is like playing the National Lottery.Thousands of applicants, and yet very few jobs advertised.You will spend days and weeks wasting your time applying for jobs online and get no feedback.Out of the over 200 applications i made online, i got only 2 calls for an interview.The best way to find jobs is to physically approach Job agencies in your local area and beyond and register with them.They might not offer you a job immidiately, but atleast they will have your name and details on record if anything comes up.

talk to your friends,cousins etc ask them to introduce you to the job agencies that they used to get jobs.This is what worked for me.

If you are studying in London, always look for the cheapest way to travel.Weekly bus passes are the cheapest way to travel.Avoid train travel for short distances.

Always cook! Food should never take up more than 30% of your wages.Some things are cheaper in tescos,asda etc than your local corner shop.Buy Meat and vegetables from the local market and not from the supermarket.

you should expect to be paid only 6.5£ an hour for 20hrs a week.This is very little money, and you will be barely surviving if you do not have any other source of funds.It is possible that you can find an employer who will ignore the 20hr a week rule and give you more hours.But you have to think about your college as well.These days many colleges/universities report students who do not attend classes to the home office.

Thanks very helpful

Can't believe it's the same justwise just nice on this thread. Hmmmm

Very informative post. AlvinPlatinga and others have given very insightful advice here. I'd just like to add this: be absolutely clear on what you want to achieve with your studying in the UK. If it's just to get out of Nigeria, there are cheaper ways of emigrating instead of killing yourself to pay the exorbitant international student fees. Also, keep your eyes on the end goal: do you want to do the UK Msc in order to get a job. Have you done your research and are you sure the Msc will improve your chances in your professional field? These are some of the questions many people fail to ask which may lead to them being disillusioned at some point. There are many Nigerians here who are doing care jobs with MBA degrees. There are also Nigerians here who are working with JPMorgan Chase .

My Administrative review was uphead and am asked to bring my international passport and evidence dat my course is still in session.Am Nigeria applying for uk tier 4 student visa.My course is still on pls tell me all I need to know and long for me to get my visa