Student life

On a typical Wednesday morning I emerged from my dorm, after a long night of studying. I was jarred out of my sleepiness by a chorus of shouts sounding across the yard: “It’s Bernie Sanders!”

“Your year abroad will be amazing!”, “you’re going to love it!” and “I’m so jealous”, everyone says when wishing you well on your year abroad.

This was no different for me, yet everyone skims over the reality of starting at a foreign university, and the challenges that this entails.

The student’s view

After reading a number of worrying reports online about phishing attacks on students, I want to make sure that I don't fall victim to them while registering for my degree course and organising my student loan and university accommodation. 

The US, UK, Canada and Australia are four of the most popular countries for students to go to university. They are home to some of the highest-ranked universities in the world and the countries themselves are attractive destinations for students in terms of quality of life and employment prospects. 

To mark the launch of new research to find out why young people want to go to university, research specialist Alterline spoke to a six-year-old, a nine-year-old and a 17-year-old about their reasons for planning to enter higher education. 

The three ultimately gave quite similar answers, mostly revolving around expanding learning and increasing job prospects. 

 The full answers can be seen in the video below. 

It’s that time of year when sixth-formers and their parents visit university campuses, and every dining-room table across the land is strewn with copies of Freakonomics or Why History Matters as university applicants put the finishing touches to their personal statements, striving to stand out from the crowd, as the 15 January application deadline draws nearer.

The apparent elitist nature of Oxbridge and other top universities has again come under scrutiny following the release of new research showing that numbers of black and minority ethnic (BME) and lower socio-economic students at the University of Cambridge remain depressingly low.

Imagine the process of becoming a lawyer drawn out as a map. At one end, the mystical land of fully qualified legal professionals; at the other end, you, standing outside your college or university door.

It’s a common misconception that designers should be employed in design companies – a misconception that the Design Council is determined to challenge; designers are needed in every organisation and in every industry.

As a design advocate for Google, Mustafa Kurtuldu is charged with championing design to the technology industry and everyone internally at Google.

“Design used to be seen as a bunch of creative people wasting their time,” he says. “But that is not the case any more as some of the most successful businesses are discovering.”

Since beginning a part-time master’s in arts and cultural management at King’s College London last September, I have often been asked what my schedule looks like and if I would recommend it. Although balancing commitments can be challenging, I would definitely advise considering studying part time. Here are some of the benefits:

1. Time to gain professional experience alongside studying