After 5 articles, we are finally at the end of the ‘UK Transfer Tips’ Series. Here, we will explore the student life experienced by the alumni at the University they studied in.
Personally, I believe that everyone’s student experience is unique. Many people have different priorities when they study abroad as some choose to work part-time, others focus on studies or maximising their experience abroad.
Without further ado, let us proceed with the final part of the interview.
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Q: What do you do in your free time when you’re not studying?
Wei Li:
When I’m not in class, I will pop by the library to borrow some books on socio-legal studies to enrich and enhance my legal thought process. During my free time, I also went to Queen’s Physical Education Centre (PEC) to swim and utilise their gym facilities. I also traveled with my friends to explore other beautiful counties in Northern Ireland such as Bangor.
Aradhna:
I personally just enjoyed walking around in town and going for picnics with my friends at different parks throughout the city. If you look close enough, there are actually many inexpensive and free things to enjoy in the city. This includes the Christmas markets that are open through December.
However, my friends and I were also able to book many cheap trips abroad to places including Brussels, Barcelona and Amsterdam by monitoring websites such as Skyscanner and booking off-peak travel.
Brandon:
I go to the gym very often, so that took up a large bulk of my time. I also met my friends almost every single day – whether it was just to have a house party, to watch a movie or to eat out at the newest cafe in town or among other things. I consider myself a very social person so I can’t ever stay put at home doing nothing. If there are no plans, I make them. Life is meant to be lived after all.
Clement:
I’m a simple guy. I usually meet with friends, attend any events by the University and Clubs, take a trip to London (it is 30 minutes by train so a day trip is feasible unlike other Universities further up North) or just work some part-time jobs.
Archie:
Finding a work-life balance was a luxury for me as I was constantly overwhelmed with coursework and studies. Nonetheless, I do find myself free time to keep myself entertained. I spent on things such as learning to cook from scratch and trying out new recipes.
Q: How was the Student Life at your University?
Wei Li:
I enjoyed living in the student accommodation where I got to know my flatmates from other nationalities. We spent time together in the kitchen and even celebrated our birthday. The BT2 accommodation also organized many fun and meaningful events (i.e. decorating Tang lung during CNY, carbon competitions, international cooking events, comedy or open mic nights) to connect us with each other.
Aradhna:
The student life at Liverpool was incredible because we had so many different types of societies and the Guild of Students were very active in organising activities. This included a big Welcome Party at the start of the year.
I would say the Freshers Fair is a great place to check out all the different clubs and attend mixers for the ones you are interested in as you will make some great friends even though you might end up not joining the club or society.
Brandon:
It was impeccable, I had an amazing student life at Cardiff University. For me, if there was something I wanted to do or achieve, I would go all out and do it. The only limit is your imagination.
You really build strong camaraderie with your fellow students and you feel very taken care of. I met many lifelong friends that I will always cherish in my short time there and it was amazing to have been able to walk that stretch of life with them. I’m sure many of my peers would agree with me that their time at Cardiff University was definitely one to remember and cherish.
Clement:
Considering that I was there for my final year, I spent most of my time studying. Generally, student life at Reading was pretty good.
If you are the studious type, Reading is a small and quiet town coupled with good facilities. It is a conducive study atmosphere.
If you are the type who likes to party, Reading University has the largest club in Reading and they do offer a lot of events to have plenty of fun. This includes events by the Malaysian Society who are pretty active as well.
Archie:
As Essex University is one of the most culturally vibrant Universities, it has one of the largest contingent of international students. These international students would join cultural societies representing each country and host events to introduce and promote its culture and ethnicity to students.
Besides that, students would gather around at Wivenhoe Park for barbeque sessions or sunbathing during spring or summer as Colchester gets gloomy pretty often.
Q: Did you participate in any activities hosted by the various Societies at your University? If yes, can you give some examples and tell us more about the experience?
Wei Li:
I participated in the Handy Helpers programme organised by my University where we did some voluntary work in Northern Ireland. I believe that happiness is found in helping others. Undoubtedly, working together with students from other faculties was actually a fun and fruitful experience.
Aradhna:
Yes, I was involved in several societies including the Malaysian Society, Sikh Society and Legal Society and attended activities such as Malaysian Night, ice skating and even participated in some competitions including the annual Legal Negotiation Competition.
I personally would recommend students to join whatever society that would give you a sense of community and a chance to relax because academic life can get very stressful. Simply joining cerebral/academic based clubs and societies may cause you to burn out.
You can also consider joining activities outside the University. This includes the infamous Bongo’s Bingo which I have never attended but it was highly recommended by other students.
Brandon:
If there was an event, I was there. Like I said earlier, I thrive in social environments and you are only limited by how much you want to do. There would be way too many events to list for this article as if there was a holiday, there was bound to be an event. Regardless of whether it was a Halloween, Christmas or Chinese New Year celebration, I would be there.
There were also many spontaneous potlucks, club nights, socials, mixers, the list goes on.
I can point out a few that especially stood out though:
- The Festival of Diversity is what we at Cardiff University affectionately call our Malaysian Night. It is the flagship event of the Malaysian Student Society of Cardiff University(MSSCF). The Malaysian Night consists of a 3 hour production in one of the grandest halls across the UK and is a musical comprising numerous acts and dances showcased to an audience of close to 1,000 people. I acted as one of the cast members during my time there and it was an unforgettable experience.
Festival of Diversity a.k.a Cardiff’s Malaysian Night. Can you spot Brandon? - We also have our own version of Prom at MSSCF, dubbed “Crown Night”. It was a very enjoyable event where you get to dress to impress and spend the night indulging in a good time with your friends.
Clement:
Like I mentioned, I spent most of my time studying so I did not partake in any student activities.
Archie:
Yes I did. I participated in a mooting competition organised by our law school and received praise from the judges for our team performance albeit we did not proceed to the next round.
Furthermore, I signed up for the kickboxing society to prevent myself from going rusty in martial arts. Through student societies, I was fortunate to meet friends from Colchester and around the globe.
The Malaysian Society in Essex also organised its annual event or Malaysia Night where I participated as a dancer to entertain the audience with an Indian dance.
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Looking back at my final year in Northern Ireland, I would say a bulk of the great memories that I have come from my student life at University. One of the highlights of my time abroad was being the Assistant Director in charge of simulating a trial of the International Court of Justice at the London International Model United Nations Conference.
The simulation was a success and I had the pleasure of working with such a passionate team. To our surprise, we managed to win a charing award for our performance. The award was only presented to the top 3 councils at the Conference (and there were a lot of great councils).
Aside from this, I was also serving as a barista at the local church I attended. All in all, these are memories I look and smile upon as I reminisce about my time in law school.
Author’s Note
With that, we have come to the end of the series. Firstly, I would like to thank all of you who have taken the time to read and support the series. This was a new initiative that I have taken the time to write and produce. I sincerely hope that prospective UKT students are able to benefit from this series.
In light of the ongoing pandemic, certain aspects of your life in the UK will be affected. Some Universities have adopted a dual learning approach where students will see a mix of online and physical classes. Some have even completely switched to online learning.
The pandemic will also limit your student experience in a sense as travel will be limited. Even if there are no restrictions, there is still a fear of flying and traveling to countries outside the UK.
At the end of the day, I wish you all the best in whatever decision you choose to make. Keep on fighting and I’ll see you soon in the next article!
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