Student life

Considering applying for a job as a student assistant at my university, I was desperately seeking for an article or any kind of information about the duties, tasks and challenges in that position.

Despite an only vague idea and limited understanding of what could await me, I applied and got the job. Now, with an eight month working experience I would like to unveil the more or less hidden secret of student assistants and to provide an insight into the everyday life of a “professor’s brownie”.

It’s that time of year when university departments all over the country open up their doors in a bid to recruit students and graduates onto one of their Masters courses. But, with so many institutions, and even more courses, there’s a vast amount of choice out there, which can often make thinking about postgraduate study a very overwhelming and difficult experience.  

When you apply to medical school there is the unspoken idea that the London medical schools are best. With three of them consistently in the top ten for medicine in university league tables it’s unsurprising ‒ they boast high levels of research, wide catchment areas for placements and some of the brightest and best lecturers and clinicians to learn from.

When I imagined what life would be like on my year abroad, I pictured myself drinking beer with my new best friends (Günther and Julia) whilst watching Goodbye Lenin. When the film ended, we would devour a black forest gateaux and go on a hike (probably in the black forest) so as to utilise the sensible footwear and rucksacks that Günther and Julia would have inevitably brought with.

So you’re thinking about attending university. You’ve been to the open days, written your personal statement and taken a stiff drink to numb the pain of those impending student debts. However, the one thing no-one has told you about is what your day-to-day life may be like. Allow me to rectify that as I share a day in the life of a UK university student.

Wer die Wahl hat, hat die Qual - The bigger the choice, the harder it is to choose

My philological studies have satisfied me that a gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French in thirty days, and German in thirty years.

International students in the United States tend to concentrate in three states: New York, California and Texas.

So the results of the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors 2015 report, revealing the 25 US universities with the most international students, are not particularly surprising.

New York, California and Texas each claim three universities in the top 25, as does Pennsylvania.

What makes one university better than another?

More often than not, the answer from students, academics and other higher education professionals has been some quality test of university teaching or research.

But the Social Mobility Index aims to shift the focus to access and outcomes for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

In-depth knowledge is the most important quality of a university teacher, according to research into student perspectives on teaching quality.

For one in five students, the qualifications of university lecturers would affect their decision about where to study.

The research, by The Student Room, indicates what students value about teaching quality ahead of the UK government’s plans for a teaching excellence framework, which will use student opinions to create metrics on which to evaluate university teaching.

Students are getting serious about climate change issues and have added their voices to an open letter delivered last night to a French diplomat ahead of the United Nations climate change conference.

The letter, signed by major higher education and student networks, urges ministers, negotiators and governments to support research and education that will play a role in finding climate change solutions.

It was handed to Pierre-Henri Guignard – the general secretary for the UN’s COP21 conference, which will take place in Paris in December.