In this regular series we will be answering many of the questions often asked by students who are considering studying abroad. Here, Neil Maynard, International Officer at the University of Sunderland answers the questions of a group of students from China who are considering studying in the United Kingdom.
My friend tells me that it is very difficult to get a visa to study in Britain.
My friend tells me that I can work in Britain and earn enough money to pay my fees
My friend tells me that when I travel to Britain I can only fly into Heathrow
My friend tells me that I can take an MBA without having any work experience.
My friend tells me that it is difficult to get a scholarship from a British university
My friend tells me that it is not safe to live in British cities
My friend also tells me that I should take my money in US Dollars and not Sterling
My friend tells me that I must have an English name if I am going to study at a British university
My friend tells me that it is very difficult to get a visa to study in Britain.
Your friend is making you worry unnecessarily. It is not that difficult to get a visa if you are a genuine student. The British Government is very keen to encourage more international students to study in Britain and to facilitate this has simplified visa procedures and also changed the regulations to allow international students to work.
The procedures for obtaining your visa still require you to go for an interview – either at the British Embassy in Beijing, or at the British Consulates General in Guangzhou or Shanghai. The staff who interview you are called Entry Clearance Offices, and recently they have received training to familiarise themselves with the needs and requirements of Chinese students.
The important thing to remember when you are being interviewed is that you must be able to tell a good clear story. You need to be able to say very clearly why you want to study in Britain and what you plan to do when you return to China. For example, if you are going to study for a master’s degree you should be able to say that it will add to your qualifications and skills, and this will make you more employable in the future. And then you can add that on return you intend to look for a job with a joint venture company.
What I’m saying
simply is that you should show the interviewer that you have done lots
of thinking and planning.
The interviewer will also want to see some evidence that you have enough
money to study and live in Britain. This can be in the form of a bank
statement, a letter of guarantee from a sponsor (in China or outside),
a confirmation of a scholarship from a university or college, or confirmation
of employment in Britain.
As well as being able to cover the fees, you must also be able to show that you have enough money to cover living expenses – this needs to be about £5,000 a year minimum.
Once you have had the visa interview you should get your visa within a few days if you are going to study for less than one year, or after about four weeks if your study is for more than a year.
My
friend tells me that I can work in Britain and earn enough money to pay
my fees
I am afraid that your friend is giving you false hope. Yes, it is possible for you now to work without permission. You can work for up to twenty hours a week during semester time, and full time during the vacations.
But when you have
your visa interview you cannot say that you hope to get a job to pay your
fees – you must have evidence that you have already been offered
a job. And this is very difficult to get. No employer is going to offer
a job to somebody he or she knows nothing about.
Let’s imagine that once you get to Britain you are lucky enough to
get a job that pays you say £4 an hour. If you work twenty hours
a week this will give you £80. This is hardly going to contribute
a great deal towards your fees. The purpose of letting you work is to
allow you to earn some pocket money to make life a little more comfortable.
Also, think about this. Degree programmes (both undergraduate and postgraduate) in Britain are shorter than in other countries. This is because they are much more intensive and being a student is a full time occupation in itself. There will be very little time left for you to work and certainly not enough time to earn enough to pay all of your fees. If you tried to do this you would become very tired, possibly even ill, and your academic studies would certainly suffer.
My
friend tells me that when I travel to Britain I can only fly into Heathrow
Your friend has got it wrong. There are many British airports where you can arrive – Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Birmingham and others.
It is true that the majority of students arrive through Heathrow, and often the cheapest and most frequent flights are into Heathrow. But it is a good idea to familiarise yourself with the geography of Britain, and if your destination is quite a way from London then it is worth investigating whether one of the other airports would be easier. You may have to pay a little more, but you may well save in the end by not having to travel a long distance from London.
There are also two other advantages of not going through Heathrow. First of all the immigration queues at the local airports are invariably much shorter and friendlier. Secondly, Heathrow has four terminals, and almost certainly you’ll have to go from one terminal to another if you are flying on to another British airport.
My
friend tells me that I can take an MBA without having any work experience.
In theory your friend is right. But if you do find an MBA programme that will take you without any work experience it means that it is not a very good MBA.
The purpose of an MBA is to give students training in business and management techniques by drawing on their work experience, and making them interact with others managers who have similar experiences. Look upon it as like-minded managers feeding off each other's experience.
A student in an MBA class who has no work experience cannot really make a contribution to the class - yes OK, he/she might be able to come up with lots of ideas - but they will not be ideas backed up by real experience. Contributing to the learning of the MBA group is a very important aspect of an MBA.
You will see that most MBAs are more expensive than other postgraduate programmes. One reason for this is that you are buying much more than the lectures and seminars - you are also buying real life experiences - and these are to be highly valued.
A good MBA programme will require you to have a minimum of two years experience, usually in a supervisory capacity at least. If you haven't got this but you still want to get a management qualification there are still plenty of other good masters' degrees available. These have been specifically designed for students without work experience. These could include Master in Business Studies (MBS), MSc Management of Information Technology, or MA International Marketing.
But even if you do have work experience you should still think very carefully. It may be more appropriate for you to take a different programme, especially if you want to specialise in a particular sector of management for your career. For example, if you are set on becoming a Personnel Manager it might be a better idea to take an MA in Human Resources Management.
Be very careful of MBAs that are available by distance learning - and by this I mean ones that are taught through correspondence material, or perhaps via the Internet. Check whether they provide tutor or group support in some form. If they don't, then again you will be missing out on a very important aspect of an MBA - interaction with fellow managers.
Look also at the way the programme is assessed. If it is only by examination, be very wary of it. A good MBA will use assignments to allow you to develop your managerial ideas. At management level, examinations are for parrots.
And if it is taught by distance learning, and doesn't require work experience, and doesn't have assignments - avoid it at all costs.
My
friend tells me that it is difficult to get a scholarship from a British
university
Yes, your friend is right, but the situation is not impossible. Some British universities do give scholarships, but they are not commonly available. It is almost impossible to get a scholarship for an undergraduate programme.
It is possible to find them for postgraduate programmes, but it very much depends on what you are looking for. You can consider yourself very lucky if you find a full scholarship that pays both your fees and living costs. Possibly you may find one that covers your fees, or more likely part of your fees.
How do you get a scholarship? I'm afraid it is a case of looking around, and asking the individual universities if anything is available. There might well be information in the prospectus or on the website.
Some universities may tell you to ask at the British Council. The British Council may know of some scholarships, but it is unlikely to have full details of what is available, and it does not award scholarships. It does manage the Chevening Scholarship Scheme - these are scholarships awarded by the British Government - but nomination for these scholarships is made by the Chinese Ministry of Education - not the British Council.
My
friend tells me that it is not safe to live in British cities
No, this is not true. You are in no more danger in a British city than you are in China, or any other large city anywhere in the world.
Personal safety is very much a matter of common sense wherever you are in the world - don't flash money about - don't go into dark places at night - don't get into cars if you don't know the driver or any of the occupants.
All British Universities will hold induction sessions for international students - and health and safety will be part of this induction - listen carefully and act on any advice that you are given.
My friend tells me that it doesn't really matter which course I apply for, as it is easy to change course when I arrive at the University
If this is the way you are thinking you are not really a very serious student. It means that you haven't been thinking properly about your career and what is the best course for you.
Yes, it is possible once you arrive at a British university to change to another course, but you should have a very good reason for doing so. The university will ask you to show that you have the right qualifications to take the new course, and it may take a little time to sort out the change, and this means that you may well miss the vital first few days or even weeks of the course.
So don't let your friend persuade you to apply for just any course. Your planning should be done before you get to Britain - not when you get there. There's too much to do and think about when you arrive, and you don't want to waste those important first few weeks trying to get onto a new course.
My friend tells me that I can save Chinese bank transfer charges by taking my money to Britain in cash
This is very foolish advice. Do not listen to your friend.
If you carry cash and it is lost or stolen you will have no way whatsoever of getting it back.
I know Chinese banks make a charge to transfer money to Britain, but this is a much safer way to have your money sent. Many universities will have an account to which you can send your money. Other ways you might take your money is in the form of a banker's draft or in travellers' cheques. If these are lost or stolen, you can at least get the money back.
You should remember, however, that you will need some cash for immediate spending when you arrive in Britain. You may need to pay for buses, trains or taxis, and you will need to buy food and telephone home. I would suggest that you take about £200 in cash for your immediate needs. And guard it well when you are travelling.
My friend also
tells me that I should take my money in US Dollars and not Sterling
It does seem that Chinese banks prefer to work in US Dollars and not Sterling. But remember, if you have all your money in dollars you are going to incur two commission charges - once from Renminbi into Dollars and then another from Dollars into Sterling.
So it is worth trying get your money in Sterling if you can.
My friend tells me that when fill in my application I should translate all Chinese names and addresses into English
It is often difficult to know what to do. Here's some general advice.
Do not try and translate Chinese addresses into English. Obviously, a British person is unlikely to be able to read characters, though many British universities do now employ Chinese staff in their international offices. The best thing to do is to write the address in pinyin. The address you provide is going to be used to send important documents to you - if it is in pinyin, the Chinese post office should be able to deal with it. If it has been translated into English, the sorters at the post office might have problems.
Let me give you a simple example. Something like He Ping Lu will be understood - but a postal sorter will not understand Peace Street.
The name of your Chinese university or college should be translated into English. A British person would not understand Ren Min Da Xue, but would understand People's University. Your university or college will have an official English version of its name, which may not be a direct translation of the Chinese. Make sure you use this, and don't make up your own translation.
My friend tells me that I must have an English name if I am going to study at a British university
Not true. There is no rule that says you have to have an English name.
But you may find it easier to use one. British people have trouble pronouncing some Chinese names, and also most do not realise that the Chinese family name comes first. Let's look at an example.
Let's say your name is Chen Ming Er. A British person will assume your family name is either Ming Er or just Er. If you tell them your family name is Chen, then your name will become Ming Er Chen, which from your point of view doesn't sound very good.
When a British person sees the name Chen Ming Er, s/he has no way to tell if it is male or female.
So for all these reasons, Chen Ming Er would be better to call herself Julia Chen. But be very careful when choosing an English name. Ask the advice of a British friend. English names are usually chosen for the sound of the name - not the meaning. You may decide on a name that has a good meaning, but sounds very funny, strange or old-fashioned in English.
If you do have an English name, you should not use it on official documents such as application forms. Always use you Chinese name.
Do You Have A Question?
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Neil Maynard
