Advice

Moving to Canada as an international student is both exciting and daunting. There is a unique culture here, so we have written about some of the things that we had to get used to when we first moved over. 

1. Food

While Canada does not have a lot of traditional dishes, poutine and maple syrup are popular and are often associated with Canada. Canadians pour maple syrup on pancakes, waffles and other foods as an act of patriotism. Poutine is French fries, smothered in gravy and cheese curds.

For many students who are considering studying abroad, one of the first hurdles to overcome is the application process, which varies between countries.

While some countries have a central system that enables you to apply to a limited number of universities in one go (such as Ucas in the UK) other countries, such as Switzerland, allow you to apply to as many universities as you want to but these must be applied to individually.

As application deadlines for universities around the world approach these are the grammatical rules that international applications should double check to ensure that their personal statements are up to standard.

Many students used the wrong prepositions (for example, “for”, “on”, “at”) and many do not consistently use the correct verb conjugation for the sentence subject. 

Applying to a British university can be a struggle, especially if you are not from the UK. The process, which is handled through a central admissions body called Ucas, requires you to submit, among other things, a personal statement and a reference letter.

The process may confuse not only you but also your parents. Yet rest assured that with some patience and care you can get through it all successfully, which will leave you feeling like you really can climb any mountains in your way.

“You have written an excellent paper, and I think that the second section could be a published paper. We should discuss this. Grade: A+.”

I felt so happy when I received this feedback from my professor for my midterm paper. This remark was more than just a compliment on my paper; it also helped me to recognise my strengths. It was the first time I had received feedback that motivated me to write future class papers. This experience shifted my mindset about academic writing for several reasons.

On 12 December, the UK public will once again head to polling stations, voting for the future of the country and determining how Brexit will play out, among many other important election issues.

One of these such issues is education, a key concern for university students. So I’ve gone through all the main party manifestos, picking out their key promises for higher education and education that may affect you while at university and post-graduation. 

Once you have your undergraduate degree in hand, stored away the graduation photos and your blood caffeine levels are safely below 90 per cent, you might wonder whether or not to stay in academia and pursue postgraduate study. 

Those who do will be joining an illustrious list of postgraduates that includes Kermit the Frog (honorary doctorate in amphibious letters), Queen guitarist Brian May, and Dexter Holland from The Offspring, who both dropped out of PhD courses to become rock stars before finishing their studies decades later.

The typical Bachelor of Medicine or Bachelor of Surgery degree takes five years to complete, three of these years are focussed specifically on practical work. A medical degree, post-graduate study and specialist training means it could take up to 16 years before you achieve your dream medical job.

Although medicine is one of the most difficult degrees you can commit to, a career in medicine brings many opportunities and experiences. Medicine is a future-proof profession – despite budget cuts, there will never be a time when doctors are not in high demand.

Executive MBA (EMBA) enrolment is growing. The Executive MBA Council’s 2019 Membership Programme Survey found that there has been a 31.6 per cent increase in people applying for EMBA programmes since 2015, the highest yet.

Additionally, the number of female students enrolled has reached its highest percentage (31.2 per cent), showing progress in female representation.

Starting at university as a first-year is always a bit daunting but ultimately very rewarding if you manage your time, social life, and money well; here are a few things I wish I knew before starting my first year of college.