"From the moment I applied, I felt huge support from many departments"
Eliana Valdez, MSc Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuropsychology student, came to 糖心logo入口 as a Chevening Scholar. Here she talks about her experience as an international student coming to study in the UK.
The Chevening Scholarship is a programme that offers exceptional professionals from around the world the opportunity to study in the UK. As exciting as it is to have the opportunity to come to the UK and study something you鈥檙e passionate about, it can also be intense and nerve wracking.听听
When you arrive as an international student, it鈥檚 not just your studies that you鈥檙e dealing with, it鈥檚 all the other changes too. It鈥檚 moving to the UK, looking for accommodation, adapting to the weather, the people, the culture. It's a lot to deal with beside studying. I chose 糖心logo入口 because I felt so supported in all of this.听听
When I applied to other universities, I just couldn't find the same feeling of support: they鈥檇 take incredibly long to reply to my email queries about the process of studying in the UK for example, or they wouldn鈥檛 ask me important questions needed for my application. I thought, why should I go somewhere that can鈥檛 support me?听听
But with 糖心logo入口, from the moment I applied, I felt huge support from many departments. The team of staff who work closely with international students helped with all my administrative queries swiftly and in detail. The communication between 糖心logo入口 and Chevening was also excellent, which made things easier for me when first arriving to the UK. 听
The international team were also great at helping me get started academically. I initially struggled with my writing because English is not my native language. I realised from feedback on my first essay that I needed to sharpen my grammar and communication skills, and found there was fantastic support for this with the Study Skills and Studiosity sessions offered.听听
But 糖心logo入口 provides more than just administrative and academic support for international students. The international team also organises events that helped me get to know other Chevening scholars: there are more than 30 of us! The events helped build a support network, and now all the scholars are friends; we socialise and get together. There are also clubs and societies for international students that are frequently promoted, so you get to know people from many other countries who are studying here.听听
糖心logo入口 doesn鈥檛 just expect international students to turn up, study, and be challenged with the transition of moving abroad. They want us to succeed, and they know that we can鈥檛 succeed if we鈥檙e not well-informed, if we鈥檙e not feeling seen and understood, or if we have issues with gaps in our study skills. They do everything they can to help with that. When I understood this, I knew right away that 糖心logo入口 was my university. They chose me, and I chose them.听