There are various ways to become a student at a British university
Option one: private boarding school
Mount School is located in an exceptionally attractive English city – York. The population of York and its suburbs is about 185,000. Thanks to its well-preserved historical monuments, the city is a world cultural and historical treasure. The old city is entirely encircled by a fortress wall originally laid by the Romans, inside which medieval houses stand alongside more recent buildings. Tourists are attracted here primarily by York Minster, rightfully considered one of the most beautiful European architectural monuments.
From the city center to Mount School it is about a 20-minute walk. This is a private girls' school that consistently demonstrates high academic performance. Founded in 1785, it acquired its modern form in 1831 with the support of Quaker families who needed to educate their daughters in a school independent of the state and its official religion.
Currently, 447 girls study at the school, of which 248 are senior students. Of these, 56 live in the school boarding house. Boarders are mostly children from other countries. This year, Mount School has students from Hong Kong, China, Brunei, Mexico, USA, Korea, Australia, Kuwait, India, and Russia.
Traditionally, girls' schools show higher performance than boys' schools or coeducational schools. The reason lies in several factors. First, it is universally acknowledged that girls are more diligent. Second, their physical and sexual maturation precedes that of boys. Third, in single-sex schools, there is no need to spend time winning the sympathy of the opposite sex. Fourth, in such schools, girls enjoy studying subjects traditionally considered male (for example, mathematics, physics, chemistry).
Incidentally, the girls who served as our guides during the school visit perfectly illustrate these data. They are intensively studying mathematics, physics, and foreign languages. One of them plans to apply to Cambridge for astrophysics, another to the London School of Economics for international relations.
However, knowledge alone is not enough to enter the most prestigious universities. It is necessary, as is often said, to "have an active life position" – to help society. Therefore, difficult as it may be, in their very busy academic schedule they find time to participate in volunteer activities – for example, helping educators and primary school teachers (a kindergarten and primary school operate on the same campus), collecting donations, caring for horses, or working in local hospitals. Some students take a so-called "gap year" to go on a volunteer trip to countries in Africa or Southeast Asia before applying.
Mount School ranked 160th out of 462 schools in The Sunday Times ranking. 77.5% of its pupils passed their final exams with grades A and B last year. They joined the student bodies of Cambridge, Warwick, Leeds, Edinburgh, Manchester, Sheffield, York, Newcastle, and Cardiff.
Nevertheless, the girls' school life, although strictly following the academic schedule, is not limited to lessons alone. The school provides excellent opportunities for sports, music, drama, painting, and design.
Foreign girls typically join Mount School at age 16, entering the senior classes for the A-Level program. Admission requirements are good grades from previous educational institutions, references, and sufficient English language proficiency to understand academic subjects. Those who do not have adequate English can attend additional language lessons or take a preparatory course. The school also conducts testing in English and a number of academic subjects, primarily checking knowledge of mathematics.
The cost of tuition and boarding at the school is 6.515 pounds per trimester.
Option two: Foundation programe
Last year, a new institution was added in York alongside the well-known University of York, named York St John University. The specialists of the newly formed university took a fairly creative approach to creating the foundation program. They incorporated it into the academic course, extending the duration of education for foreign students by one year. To obtain a bachelor's degree, foreign students will need to study for four years instead of three. The advantage here is that applicants do not need to change universities after completing the foundation program and consequently take additional exams upon its completion.
Due to the fact that York St John University is a former university college that previously specialized in teacher training, one cannot find disciplines related to engineering or sciences in the list of subjects. The university only offers humanities subjects such as business, tourism, art and design, pedagogy, English language and literature, film and television, history, mass media, music, psychology, physical education and sports, theater arts, and information technology.
The positive aspects of the university: its size, tuition and living costs. Only 6.000 students study here, of which 317 are foreigners. A year of education, starting with the foundation program, will cost 7.500 pounds. For students with good academic performance, the university reduces the fee by 1.000 pounds. All foreign students are provided with dormitory places. Paying for a room will cost from 2.700 to 3.500 pounds per year.
Negative aspects include the fact that the university is entirely new, so its name cannot yet be found in any national rankings.
To apply for the preparatory program, our applicants, in addition to their school certificate, must provide an IELTS test certificate with a score of at least 4.5.
Option Three: VI Form College
A Sixth Form College is a specialized educational institution that prepares students for the A-Level final examinations upon completion of full secondary school.
The institution we visited is called John Leggott College. It is a state-funded college that primarily teaches graduates of nearby secondary schools as well as adults who have worked for some time and decided to pursue higher education.
The college is located in the town of Scunthorpe, from which you can reach York by bus in an hour, and London by train in two hours. Scunthorpe is small, with a population of only 62,000, so international students feel quite comfortable here.
The college has 2,300 students. In their first year, from an impressive list of subjects, they choose 3-4, for which they take exams (AS) at the end of the year. In the second year, they can continue with the same subjects or choose new ones (A2). However, few change subjects because universities do not encourage this practice.
This year, the college has 107 international students, including seven from Russia. Anastasia Filatova, one of the Russian students, told us during our meeting that she chose this college because it is known for its strong academic preparation and matches her ideas of value for money. Nastya, like her fellow students, enrolled here after finishing secondary school. Although it is possible to do so after 10th grade, the girls believe this gives them a better chance of getting into top UK universities.
Last year, out of 35 international students at the college, six got into Oxbridge (14 in total across the college). Others became students at such renowned British universities as the London School of Economics, Imperial College, Royal Holloway, St. Martin's College, University College London, City, as well as universities in Edinburgh, Liverpool, Warwick, Hull, Aston, Birmingham, Manchester.
Anastasia's dream is the London School of Economics. And she has every chance of becoming a student there. She chose to study five subjects, which is not uncommon for students aiming for top universities, and last year she passed all of them with top marks, receiving an 'A'. In addition, to add a line about community service to her resume, she occasionally volunteers at a charitable organization.
In general, students are extremely busy. When asked if it's boring living in a small town after the capital, Nastya replied that there's no time to be bored, because good grades require enormous effort, and almost all free time is spent on homework and exam preparation. She also noted the support from the college's international student office. According to her, no matter what question you ask them, whether it's changing accommodation or choosing a university, they immediately start finding suitable options. It seems that the office deservedly received an award from the British Council for supporting international students.
It is worth noting that the college has a large number of sports, music, art clubs and interest groups, including the study of Eastern and European languages, including Russian.
Since the institution admits only 120 international students per year, it is very selective in its student recruitment. If an applicant's school certificate has even one 'C' grade, then the door to John Leggott College is closed. English must be at least IELTS 5.0. It is better to hurry with submitting documents. Due to the limited number of places, the college typically does not consider applications sent after April.
As for costs, tuition at the college is £5,100 per year, homestay including breakfast and dinner (the college does not have its own dormitories since most students are local) will cost £3,825. The minimum annual student expenses are £1,575. Thus, total costs amount to £10,490 per year.
Option Four: College of Higher and Future Education
In the last 20 years, British further education colleges have begun to actively play in the field of university preparation, competing with Sixth Form colleges. In addition to vocational education programs, they create departments that prepare for A-Levels, as well as one-year foundation programs designed for international students.
It should be noted that the British government invests significant funds in the development of national education. In all three colleges we visited, we were told that within 2-4 years they will move to completely new buildings, specially built for them. For this, sums amounting to millions of pounds sterling have been allocated from the state treasury. It seems that the immediate plans of Her Majesty's government are to form as many university colleges as possible from further education colleges, which would then be transformed into full-fledged universities.
The UK's economy, based on selling knowledge on the international market, generates the largest income in the world. According to The Economist, the United Kingdom earns $17.5 billion per year from teaching international students, $4.2 billion more than the United States.
The city of Wakefield, after which the college we visited is named, is located in Yorkshire. The city and its nearest towns and villages, forming a single administrative center, have a population of 315,000. Leeds, the nearest large city to Wakefield, is a 40-minute drive away.
Wakefield College offers all three types of programs provided by colleges. But since we looked at the option of admission after A-Level and a preparatory program using other examples, let us focus on the opportunities offered by vocational education.
Admission to vocational training programs is possible upon reaching the age of 16. Vocational training is usually two-level. In the first year, students are given basic vocational knowledge, and upon completion they are awarded a first vocational degree at the certificate level. In the second year, the knowledge and skills are deepened, and graduates who successfully pass the exams are issued vocational diplomas.
Wakefield College offers vocational training in the following areas: acting, dance, business and management, computer game design, graphic design, hospitality, music, physical education, tourism, construction.
The language level at the time of admission must be 5.0 on IELTS. The cost of a year of study is £4,800, and the total student expenses for accommodation and living costs according to the college's estimates are £6,075.
Theoretically, successful completion of a vocational college at the level of a National Vocational Diploma ensures admission to a university, sometimes directly to the third year. However, in practice, leading universities in the United Kingdom are very wary of vocational qualifications, preferring academic A-Level grades.
According to representatives of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service in the United Kingdom (UCAS), university admissions committees have a poor understanding of the relationship between qualifications awarded by vocational colleges and grades obtained by secondary school graduates. As a result, the percentage of those who completed A-Level programs and entered higher education institutions is 84, while the percentage admitted to university after college does not exceed 50. This is because 93% of universities recognize A-Level exam results, 81% recognize the Advanced Vocational Certificate of Education, 55% recognize BTEC diplomas, and only 21% of universities consider other vocational diplomas.
College representatives also confirm this information, stating that vocational qualifications are generally viewed favorably by admissions committees of engineering faculties, faculties of arts and design, and other creative professions, as well as faculties of hospitality and tourism.
Undoubtedly, obtaining a vocational education significantly saves money, but before deciding to enroll in a vocational college, it is necessary to find out which universities and which programs the college has partnerships with.
Option Five: Admission After the First Year
The most economical way is to enroll in the first year of a national university, and after passing the first exam session, send documents to a foreign university for the same specialty. However, it is necessary to understand that it is very difficult to get into top universities with this option, as they have earlier enrollment deadlines, and documents must reach them in September-October.
Based on materials from Parta.org