Study in the UK Blog

Well it’s official.  I received my Acceptance Letter from the University of Aberdeen by email today!! 

“I am pleased to inform you that your application for admission as a postgraduate student to the University of Aberdeen was approved on behalf of the Senate today.”  *Jumping for joy*

I have to try not to get too excited though.  I still have a long way to go before it’s official official official ( :  My next step is to apply for US Federal Aid called the FAFSA.  My only chance (unless by some miracle I win the lottery) is to get student loans.  The FAFSA has never been my favorite process, but I am hoping to recieve enough aid since I do not have to file my parents financial information this year.  I am considered an independent since I will be starting a Master’s Degree program. 

The FAFSA is a US Federal Financial Aid program that helps give out student loans to those in need to fund their education.  If you are under 24 years old and applying for a degree such as an Associates or a Bachelors you have to include your parents income on the application.  For many people this is more of a hindrance, because for a lot of people, their parents are not able to support/fund their studies.  If the FAFSA shows you and your parents make “too much” money then it limits the amount of student loans you are eligible for.  Unfortunately this only looks at income and not outcome. This is what happened to me and why I had to stay local while going to school.  I’m not saying this was  a bad thing.  I was lucky to recieve my degree where I did and for as little as it cost me.  But I am ready to branch out and experience more of this world!  I really feel that this is going to happen for me. 

I’m remembering to take this one step at a time and to stay positive.  I’ll be very busy this weekend making sure I email back the documents accepting my offer and making sure I fill out the FAFSA right.  This is going to be a time consuming process.  Once I apply for the FAFSA I have to call them and have them mail my results to me so that I can mail them to Aberdeen.  Then of course, wait while Aberdeen reviews the documents and lets me know what I qualify for.  I get so impatient!  I love to plan and it makes it hard when I have no idea if I’ll be in a different country in seven months.

In other news, I have been trying to keep my mind off of school by keeping busy at work and hanging out with friends.  Just yesterday my friends and I went and competed in a karaoke contest.  I have apparently qualified for a chance to compete in a national karaoke contest with a prize of $5000.  I also didn’t read the rules, so I have to wait for an information packet to explain exactly what I have gotten myself into.  It would be awesome to have the chance to win that money though!  I certainly could use it for my studies.  Wish me luck and I’ll keep everyone posted!

Caitlin

I hope everyone is doing well!

I’ve been very busy the last few weeks with work and just life in general, but I wanted to get on here and say hello.   Did anyone else enjoy the Super Bowl?  It was a great game and I was very excited for the Packers, which is funny because I’m a Minnesota Vikings fan (and it almost felt like a sin to root for the rival Packers for the big game).  I love football!  

 I’m still waiting for news on my application.  I’m getting very anxious to get things moving along with filing taxes and applying for financial aid. 

For Christmas my best friend gave me a book called ‘Culture Shock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette:  Scotland’ by Jamie Grant.  I haven’t read all of it yet, but there were a couple sections which I thought were interesting.  I’m curious to know if this book is fairly acurate.   It’s a weird concept for me to think there can be a book regarding customs and a way of life for people in a specific country.  I’m sure there are books about the US, but in my mind there are so many different cultures and ethnicities in the US, I don’t know how you could make a general concensus on how the culture is in a country. 

Anyways, here’s what Grant had to say about flirting: “Flirting in some ways is a much subtler affair  in Scotland than in many other cultures.  Men in particular tend to be shy when it comes to approaching, or “chatting” up a woman…Alcohol loosens tongues and gives men and women an excuse to relax and flirt.  Scots are much more forward when they are drunk.”  I hope this isn’t always the case.  I guess that means I’ll have a tough time flirting, because I don’t tend to drink very much.  I don’t want it to be off putting, especially because I don’t like beer.  I know it’s shocking!  On a more positive note, Grants says, “There is a strong sense of monogamy within relationships”. 

On Manners, Grant states, “Being polite is very important in Scotland.  The Scots pride themselves on their hospitality and friendliness, and are generally cautious and respectful of their fellow human beings.  ‘Please’, ‘thanks pal’, and ‘sorry’ punctuate most coversations.  If you bump into someone, its likely that they will fire off an apology before you do”.  I can tell you I have never heard anyone say anything negative about Scotland in this regard at all.  In fact I’ve also been told how wonderful the Scottish people are.  I’m very excited to find out for myself and to meet some fantastic people.

Let me know what you think.  I think I will post more excerpts from Jamie Grant’s ’Culture Shock’ book as I read through it.   

Stay safe,

Caitlin

The worst part in applying for grad school is the waiting.  Which is made even worse, because I have to wait twice as long applying for a grad school overseas.  When I mailed my application to Scotland the US Postal Service stated it would take 6-10 days and it cost me $14!  If a few papers cost that much I’m afraid to even think of what shipping any of my belongings over there would cost ( I will definitely be looking into alternative shipping methods when the time comes).   I have to wait 6-10 days for my application to be recieved, another 21 days for them to process the application and make a decision, then another 6- 10 days to recieve those results.  So while I’m here patiently waiting I guess I will talk about the actual application process.

I was surprised how fairly simple it was applying for the University of Aberdeen.  I was required to fill out an application, have one academic reference, certified copies of my diploma certificates, certified transcripts, and a personal statement.  The application was general, most of the questions asked are exactly what you see when applying to US schools.  The biggest difference was format and vocabulary.  I wanted my application to be as perfect as it could be so my research went in to how exactly do I date my application.  The US uses mm/dd/yy on the other hand the UK uses dd/mm/yy.  You would think this would be simple but when you’ve been trained since kindergarten to date a specific way- it is hard to change that.  I didn’t want the date to hinder my application, but luckily that is just a little change. 

There were several other terms used on the application that the US does not use.  Such as instead of asking for First Middle and Last name, they asked for Surname and Forename.  I also believe it was the first time I’ve seen the term outwith instead of outside.  The last and most confusing part of the application was determing the UK undergraduate degree classification.  On the application I was asked what the result of my degree was.  In the example I was give: 1st class/2nd upper class.  I had no idea what that meant.  I still do not fully understand the grading scale, because from what I could find, it appears it is slightly different in Scotland than it is in England.  The US uses a grade point average (GPA)based on a letter grade (A-F) you recieve on a 4.0 scale.  For example if my grade point average for my college career was 3.8 that would be the result I was asked for on my application.  I was able to find a table that converted GPAs to the UK degree classification.  I’m still crossing my fingers I was right because some schools convert your results differently than others.  The whole grading system is very confusing and I really don’t think I know it enough to attempt to explain more than I have ( :  If any of you understand please let me know!

The biggest difference between grad school in the US and Scotland was it doesn’t appear that I have to take a standardized test.  In the US grad students have to take the GRE.  The GRE is a test that evaluates your readiness for post-graduate work.  I do not know what the requirements are for international students coming to the US and if they have to take this test or one similar.

I found the hardest part of the application process was the personal statement.  What exactly does a postgraduate school in Scotland want in a personal statement?  Granted they give you some questions to answer, but I kept doubting myself.  I know what US schools want, but I couldn’t be sure with UK schools.  I don’t know anyone else who has applied to study overseas to ask either.  There were so many questions; how long should it be, are there slang terms I use in the US that I wouldn’t even realize as slang overseas, etc.  I also wanted to find a balance in my statement to show that I’m not cocky but confident.   Overall the process of applying to school was as it always is-STRESSFUL!  I was so relieved to have it done and over with.  Now it’s time for me to go back to (patiently) waiting…

Caitlin

Hello All!

Happy Martin Luther King Day!  In remembrance I wanted to post some of my favorite quotes of this remarkable man. 

“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.

“Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.

 ”Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.

 “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.

 “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – Martin Luther King, Jr

Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated his life for justice of those who were oppressed in this unjust world.  In the end he sacrificed everything. This is a great reminder to continue the work he started and to never be silent about the injustices we witness.  Here is a video of Martin Luther King Jr’s  “I Have a Dream” speech.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk

I’ll be the first to admit that this is my first blog, so any suggestions would be appreciated! 

I suppose this first post should be an introductory into who I am.  I kept trying to think of ways to make this intro more interesting, but I believe a traditional and over used cheesy version will suffice.

Hello, My name is Caitlin Collom ( : 

I live in northern idaho and love the summers here.  Unfortunately,  it is winter,  and it has taken me about five hours to warm my feet up.  Also we have a winter storm warning for MORE snow that is to last until tomorrow.  I think winter wouldn’t be so bad if I participated in winter activities such as snowboarding.  Now don’t get me wrong I would love to be snowboarding, but it is so expensive and to be honest the last time I attempted a chair lift I was face planted in the snow and had a bruise on my back from the chair.  I haven’t gone since.  I’m not a very athletic person. 

Anyways… I graduated with my Bachelors in Justice Studies and currently am working with a law enforcement agency.  My life right now has seemed to slow down after getting my degree.  I spend most nights, if not with friends, then quietly reading fiction novels (guilty pleasures) or watching movies.   I keep up with the local and world news as best as I can.  The transition from being in school and working full time where I have no free time (because i’m writing a research paper) to just working full time has been interesting.  I have tried to fill it with new crafts such as crochet, scrapbooking, and next week I’ll try my hand at knitting.   I never have been much for domestic type activities so going back to school for my Masters and beginning a career is exactly what I need.

 After I graduated from high school I wanted to go away to school and study international relations, international law, justice, etc.  Unfortunately once you get out of high school you really see how difficult it can be to make your dreams come true, without proper funding.  I was accepted into a school back east and was so excited until the realization hit that, on my own, I would never be approved for enough loans to go to a private liberal arts school.  My parents wanted to help me, but with the economy they were not able to cosign on anything.  So, I did the best I could and went to a local school.  In the end I am grateful to have had the opportunity to attend my college and to have worked hard to get myself through it on my own. 

Now that I am older I am ready to again try and achieve my dreams of studying abroad.  I still have finances to worry about, which drives me crazy, but I feel that now is the time before a career is started and before I get married and have children.   There are several aspects of attending a UK school that are  very appealing.  1.)  The Master’s degree is just 1 year compared to 2 years in the US.  2.) It will cost the same as attending a US school, but in the end will be cheaper because it is only 1 year.  3.) International experience from attending a school overseas will give me an edge in the job market. 

I have applied to the University of Aberdeen and am awaiting to hear if I’ve been accepted.  *Fingers crossed*  I stumbed across International Student from Aberdeen’s website while I was considering if I’d even be able to afford to make this happen.  I am the type of person who has to weigh all my options and think of every possible issue there could be.  In my head I already have a plan as to what my timeline will be when I’m accepted into the University of Aberdeen.  It’s a huge decision to make!    I am very grateful to International Student for bringing me so much closer to making this happen.  I’ll keep you posted.  I found the application process very humorous.  The differences between the US and the UK just in vocabulary and dates was confusing at times, but fun to figure out. 

I’ll leave that topic for the next post!  I hope you enjoy and as I said before any feedback would be wonderful.   I am still learning how to use this program, but I inserted a photo of my brother and I at my graduation. 

Take Care!

Graduation Day

If you are a regular visitor to our website, you will recognize the name Caitlin Collom already. Caitlin won the 2010 Travel Video contest with her fantastic video “Watch Out Scotland”. Just in case you missed it, here is the video for you:

Caitlin is planning to study at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, and will be charting her adventures as she goes posting weekly blog updates on how she is doing, what obstacles she is having to overcome and much more! Hopefully we’ll get to see some great pictures and insight into her travels!

ok. sorry i’ve been absent for a few days. the crazyness of packing, leaving, flying, arriving was almost a bit too much for me. So, I’m finally here. Glasgow!. Well, its a lot how I imagined it to be. Except for the weather which has actually been nice (I even got a few sporadic periods of sunshine!). Things have gone relatively smooth. I arrived Friday morning with more luggage than I can possibly carry but I managed to throw everytthing onto a cart and drag accross Glasgow International Airport. Customs & Immigration went completely smooth, I was really pleased & happpy. No weird questions or hassles.

so far I have enjoyed the city very much. its a fairly handsome city with lots of shops & weird/interesting stores. one of the things that has striken me the most is that you dont see a lot of people in the streets. but it might just be that i’ve done that at odd time and/or the weekend.

These nights I’ve been staying at the Glasgow Hostel while I look for a flat. Great place really. Friendly staff & convenient facilities. This being said though, CANNOT wait until I find my own place. You cant really beat having you own room. I also learned that the single most important thing to bring to a hostel is: EARPLUGS!. Please if you dont know this, never forget. Because you can either get the super-loud snoring-person or the stay-up-late-and-make-lots-of-noise-person or the laugh-while-sleeping person (which is really, really freaky).

Ok, well, all in all, I just wanted to drop a few lines to say how things are going. Im slowly adapting to the change. Although I really miss my friends & my ladyfriend Amelie, I try to take things day by day.

Ok ok greetings from glasgow & I will write a bit more soon. until then,

juan

As many of you will have noticed, Stephen has already completed his year studying at the University of Leeds and has returned back home to Australia. I am sure you will agree it has been a fantastic insight into his year studying in the UK and judging from all the comments you have left you enjoyed it too!

The InternationalStudent.com team would like to thank Stephen for all his hard work blogging over the last year and wish him the very best of luck with his continuing studies. If you ever need anything, you can always drop us a line and we are happy to try and help you!

So, many of you will be wondering what is going to happen with the blog now – and it is with great anticipation that we can announce a brand new student blogger to the InternationalStudent.com community. Juan Ortiz-Apuy is our brand new study in the uk student blogger – coming from Costa Rica and pursuing his masters in fine art from the Glasgow School of Art.

I will let Juan introduce himself and give you some background about him when he blogs his first post, so Juan – over to you!

After an unbelievable 10 months away, I returned home at the beginning of July. Sorry for the delay in posting this, it’s been an incredibly hectic couple of weeks seeing family and friends, not to mention settling back in. Packed quite a bit of sightseeing into the final few weeks after semester ended before returning to London for the flight home to Brisbane, Australia. A wonderful way to top off such a great time away.

Looking back I can realise how lucky I really was. During the 10 months away, I’ve been able to take part in much of the international student experience. But unlike those there for their entire degree, I had the comfort of returning home to family and friends before a year was up. I can’t imagine the commitment it must take to make the decision to spend 3-4 years study in another country, and what it must be like to move your entire life there for that period. For me it felt more like my life in Australia was on hold for the time I was away, and it was always there to return to afterwards.

When I arrived in Leeds, I was a bit annoyed that there were two days that I had to find accommodation for before I could move into the student accommodation that we were provided with. I’ve since spoken to people from Leeds who have just arrived in Brisbane, and had to stay in hostels until they could find a flat to move into – with no guarantees regarding the proximity to the university or pricing. I was shocked at the contrast that choosing a different university can make.

That being said, studying in the UK is such a life-changing opportunity that I would recommend it to anyone. The independence, social insight and fun that can be gained whilst meeting study commitments is enormous, and offers the perfect opportunity to see another part of the world.

Tomorrow is the start of the next semester back home in Brisbane. It’s exciting to be back at this university, but there’s so much I’ll miss about Leeds – from the rich history of the UK to the excitement of student life so close to campus. It’s strange to think that I’ve studied in Leeds for only one semester less than in Brisbane, it feels like a home a way from home now. Before I know it, I’ll be stuck into the semester’s work – but there’s always the next adventure to look forward to.

I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions regarding my time in the UK, but until then good luck!