Study abroad

The Flatmate Factor

Casting calls, callbacks and rejections have all kept me busy over the past four months. Here I am referring not to my up-and-coming modelling career but rather to my search for accommodation in Berlin. , the most popular website for finding accommodation in Germany, served as my “agent” during this trying time. While you might not associate a flat hunt with an audition process, the enormous competition for a “WG” (flat-share) has allowed a casting culture to emerge in which Berliners can afford to play Simon Cowell in their search for a new flatmate.

Choosing where to study is no easy decision, especially when your options span the whole world.

But student satisfaction data from the International Student Barometer reveal the comparative advantages and disadvantages between studying in the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US.

Reports by the International Unit show that international postgraduate students on taught degrees in the UK, along with those in Canada and the US, are generally more satisfied with the learning experience than students on similar degrees in Australia or New Zealand.

The thought of studying in London can be overwhelming for some people when they first consider it and realise that they might become just one small ant among tens of thousands. It doesn’t help that Londoners are often labelled as “cold” or “unfriendly”, but don’t let the misconceptions about London and its inhabitants put you off.

It might seem like all the deadlines to apply to a top university in the United States are clustered at the beginning of February, but fortunately, it’s not too late to get in an application.

Many leading colleges you may not have heard of continue to accept applications on a rolling basis, and others set their deadlines between March and September 2016.

I was born in Sofia, Bulgaria to a loving Christian family. I grew up aspiring to become a medical doctor. Unlike many of the professionals in the sector, my passion for medicine came not from the security of great career prospects but from an earnest desire to help less privileged individuals across the globe. I was determined to emigrate to a nation in sub-Saharan Africa after completing my studies, open my own practice in a rural village, and offer free health services to people in need.

There are two fundamental questions every prospective international student needs to ask themselves: Where would I want to study? And what language do I want to study in?

If the answer to the latter question is “English”, then your quest to find the right location just got that much easier.

A new visualisation tool, compiled by StudyPortals, has mapped the location of every English taught degree at the top 1,000 universities in the world.

The answer is…not really. In terms of academics, you really don’t have to, as almost all courses offered at universities in Hong Kong are conducted in English. The university administrations also use English to communicate with you. If you come to study in Hong Kong knowing only English, you will be just fine. Yet picking up the basics of the local language may make your life easier in Hong Kong.

People go to university for a variety of reasons: it might be for a degree, or it is simply the next step in life, or your parents expect it of you, or you want to make the most out of life. Whatever the reason, the university experience is different for everyone.

I don’t quite remember when I first decided to study public policy. Over the past seven years I’ve been lucky to work with some really talented practitioners in both politics and the public service, and I loved the experience. At a certain point I realised that this meant a career in government – and that was that.

One of the most popular questions that secondary school students get asked is “what do you want to be?”. But the thing is, in a world where the types of jobs are endless, choosing is tough.