Blogs

In terms of number of students, École Polytechnique (also known as l’X) has to admit its small size.

With about 2,000 students on campus, Southeast University in China). The small size means there is a limited quota of places, and the university is highly selective - which explains the difficulty in gaining admittance.

Recent research found that 71 per cent of 2,460 students currently experience or have experienced some form of mental illness including depression, anxiety and eating disorders.

Another statistic from this research, which universities should sit up and take notice of, is that 40 per cent of these students would much rather conceal their condition than discuss it with a mental health professional, stating that they would feel “too ashamed” or “too worried” to speak up. This piece of research was conducted by the Student Housing Company. 

When choosing a university, students often think about which city they are going to live in for the next few years. They may be most concerned about the country, the rental price or the quality of public transportation. They may want to go to sunny Los Angeles or experience London's night life.

However, living in Paris as a student, a young man and a foreigner has taught me that there is another important factor to consider: love.

Elise Thrale is a second year French and Italian student at the University of Bristol

I began my degree completely unacquainted with Italian. After arriving late to my first ever seminar, my tutor asked me in Italian what my name was. I just stared at her until she spoke to me again in English. 

Across the UK, students and staff at colleges and universities are celebrating the impact of social action in their communities.

When I was 17 and putting together my UCAS application, I only applied to London universities.  I could not be swayed by well-meaning teachers or sensible family members who encouraged me to keep an open mind and explore the whole of the UK. London was the only place I wanted to be a student. A few years on and now London has just been named one of the best cities in the world to be a student, I would say I made the right decision.

In graduate school, the emphasis on the current mission can be so constant and so blinding that students forget the tasks without deadlines. In the spirit of the new year, I've created a list of twelve monthly resolutions for graduate students.

These resolutions round out the graduate experience and prepare students for the long term.

1. Map out the year

The relentless focus on the next deadline causes grad students to ignore longer-term planning. Map out what the next 12 months will look like.

We are living in an age where information is, quite literally, at the fingertips of students looking for careers advice. As well as the more traditional careers advisers and jobs fairs, this wealth of resources now extends to smartphones via email, the internet and an ever-growing array of social media networks.

But it seems that university students still see parents, friends and family as the most useful for counsel on their future careers.

BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, gave University College London $10 million in 2011 to establish an Institute of Sustainable Resources: a situation as ironic as a tobacco company funding cancer research.

British universities are undoubtedly among the most expensive in Europe. The same goes for the costs of living as a student in the UK. The situation in Germany, on the other hand, could not be more different. Freed of exorbitant university fees, German students enjoy higher education of a comparably high standard that usually does not see them graduate with a huge pile of debt that then has to be paid off.