[nuclea...]

Hey boben, what kind of a media course are you interested in? Production, communication, etc?

Not sure about the other schools beyond London (as far as I know their curriculum is quite conservative) but there're a couple of established art schools with some new media courses within London- central saint martins, university of the arts, goldsmiths, royal college of art.

[boben]

I'm gonna go to the UK for my degree next year, do you guys have any recommendation Media schools?

[adam357]

Any one from Newcastle ?

[M&Ms]

moi! or if anyone is remotely interested in classical music, you can always drop by the free concerts in RAM - will be in one this Wed, for example! no prizes for guessing who, once you see the name list of performers!

[ecity]

nuclearbunny, on Oct 18 2011, 05:11 AM, said:

yay! so we're in the UK now.

Banking with DBS from here is such a pain.

Anyone interested in meeting up for drinks?

Good luck!

I am now working in Singapore for a few weeks. Hello from Orchard Road

[nuclea...]

yay! so we're in the UK now.

Banking with DBS from here is such a pain.

Anyone interested in meeting up for drinks?

[chocol...]

Hey M&Ms, I've been trying to reply your messages, but it was mentioned that your username could not be found.

pm me your UK number, will you?

M&Ms, on Jul 30 2011, 04:31 AM, said:

Hi ecity, what kind of account should I be opening? Just any ordinary savings account? Do you know if it's possible at all to open an account in Singapore with cash/bank drafts in pounds? (most of my money has been converted already)

This post has been edited by chocolatechest: 20 September 2011 - 03:34 AM

[ecity]

M&Ms, on Jul 30 2011, 04:31 AM, said:

Hi ecity, what kind of account should I be opening? Just any ordinary savings account? Do you know if it's possible at all to open an account in Singapore with cash/bank drafts in pounds? (most of my money has been converted already)

Well, most banks would offer students a 'undergraduate account' - that's a simple current account that comes with a debit and credit card facility and you can choose whatever other services you wish to add on top of that (eg. you can open a cash ISA if you wish or invest in other forms of ISAs).

So it's not like you have a choice - you're an undergraduate, you take that package, it's fairly standard and will fulfill all your needs.

You should be able to get your UK undergrad bank account set up in Singapore if you do already have a HSBC account. But really, I don't work for HSBC, why are you asking me all these questions when you should really just walk into your local HSBC branch and speak to a manager there who would be able to answer all your questions.

As much as I want to be helpful, all these questions should be addressed directly to HSBC, not me. And if you haven't spoken to HSBC yet, damnit what the hell are you waiting for? Call 1800-HSBC NOW (4722 669) in Singapore

This post has been edited by ecity: 30 July 2011 - 07:22 AM

[M&Ms]

Hi ecity, what kind of account should I be opening? Just any ordinary savings account? Do you know if it's possible at all to open an account in Singapore with cash/bank drafts in pounds? (most of my money has been converted already)

[ecity]

M&Ms, on Jul 28 2011, 12:44 PM, said:

Thanks ecity for your reply. I'm hoping to get in touch with some former university mates who might be able to get me freelance jobs in the schools that they are teaching now. On a side note, I've recently read that we're not allowed to perform for profit, so that's a really sticky issue, since Academy students are engaged pretty frequently for various functions.

I gather from your posts that it is a lot easier open a bank account in the UK if you have an account with a Singapore branch (say, at HSBC)? So what exactly are the differences in procedures? Would you advise me to open a HSBC account here before I head for the UK in a month's time?

Just went to apply for a visa, S$536 is so bloody expensive... if only Singapore had such complex immigration rules, half the foreigners in this country wouldn't be here (and those who do gain admission would be fully qualified...).

Hi. A few points in reply to you.

1. Since performing is not an option (what a silly rule), teaching is your best bet I'm afraid.

2. It is a lot easier to open a bank account in the UK indeed, if you have an existing account with HSBC in Singapore - then all you have to do is walk into your branch in S'pore and they will set everything up for you.

Otherwise, you will face the daunting task of queuing up when you get here with a bunch of IDs and documents, filling in many forms and then waiting for ages before you get an approval. It's just such hassle. Spare yourself that hassle. Honestly. Every year around October I see the loooooong queue of foreign students trying to apply for bank accounts - no, you do NOT want to be in that queue.

I'm sure banks like HSBC would rather you bank with them than someone else and they're pretty efficient, so what I would do is to get in touch with them ASAP and speak to them today about it. I have been with them for over 15 years and they're okay.

3. Woah. S$536 for a visa? I hate to rub it in, but in my days it was completely free for a student visa. I had to pay for my subsequent visas when I was a working adult of course, but student visas were free back in the 90s. But our government is broke and is desperately trying to make money now to deal with our deficit so tough luck mate.

[M&Ms]

Thanks ecity for your reply. I'm hoping to get in touch with some former university mates who might be able to get me freelance jobs in the schools that they are teaching now. On a side note, I've recently read that we're not allowed to perform for profit, so that's a really sticky issue, since Academy students are engaged pretty frequently for various functions.

I gather from your posts that it is a lot easier open a bank account in the UK if you have an account with a Singapore branch (say, at HSBC)? So what exactly are the differences in procedures? Would you advise me to open a HSBC account here before I head for the UK in a month's time?

Just went to apply for a visa, S$536 is so bloody expensive... if only Singapore had such complex immigration rules, half the foreigners in this country wouldn't be here (and those who do gain admission would be fully qualified...).

[ecity]

M&Ms, on May 26 2011, 02:56 AM, said:

Hi, I'm going to the RAM this Sept for music postgrad and was a former educator, so does that put me in a good position for part-time work, assuming that there's any time left from the madness of practicing and performing? Heard that they've just tightened the rules for non-EU students working there now so is it still max 20 hours per week like during my undergrad days?

Hi there, a few points for you since I am in a position to help.

1. Welcome back to the UK. Yes you are in a good position for part-time work given your skills in music. I imagine that you would be in a good position to teach in private schools for a few hours a week and weekends, given your specific expertise relating to music. Many British schools have some kind of ECA/CCA relating to music and these take place in the afternoons after school is over and often they engage external specialists, particularly if they have students performing at a rather high standard and they lack the expertise to nurture that kind of talent within their staff. Plenty of rich private schools in London for that kind of work, you'll be kept busy enough and these schools have money to pay for people like you.

You can also perform at corporate events if you have an instrument that's easy portable (eg. a violin as opposed to a piano) - and that could be anything from £150 - £300 an evening, depending on the event.

2. On a practical note, you have to plan how many hours you wanna work and work out if that would get in the way of your studies - your studies should and always come first.

20 hours a week is quite a lot, that works out to 4 hrs per afternoon if you work Monday to Friday - now surely you cannot afford to dedicate that much time to working if you're doing your postgrad, seriously.

3. Yes the law is still 20 hrs a week during TERM time, but you may still work FULL time during your holidays. http://www.ukba.home...ntvisa/#header7

4. To be blunt, there are a lot of students who resort to doing jobs on minimum wage to try to make ends meet (eg. catering trade) - and these are the ones who try to break the rules of 20 hours a week in order to make a bit more money - that's the end of the spectrum the government are quite strict on. For someone like yourself, if you're teaching rich kids with money (but no talent) after school music lessons in their school for rich kids at like £30 an hour for example, 20 hrs a week = £600 a week and during the holidays, if you worked 40 hrs, that's £1200 a week. You're in a pretty darn good position. Think of the poor waiter who is paid £6 an hour but then has to pay for his uniform, pay for his training, pay for his travel to the restaurant, pay for every plate he breaks etc - the poor guy is probably working for next to nothing by the time you factor in all the deductions and that's why they are forced to try to work over 20 hrs a week to try to make a bit more money.

The government does crack down pretty hard on these people on the lower end of the scale - I think that's wrong because I don't see it as a serious crime if some poor foreign student works 22 hrs a week instead of 20 - but there you go. Don't break the rules - you'll be fine.

This post has been edited by ecity: 26 May 2011 - 03:26 AM

[M&Ms]

Hi, I'm going to the RAM this Sept for music postgrad and was a former educator, so does that put me in a good position for part-time work, assuming that there's any time left from the madness of practicing and performing? Heard that they've just tightened the rules for non-EU students working there now so is it still max 20 hours per week like during my undergrad days?

[ecity]

zeer, on May 18 2011, 04:24 PM, said:

hi! I'll be heading to ucl soon.

anyone else? stay in contact?

Good luck with UCL - that's my alumni (w00t)

[zeer]

hi! I'll be heading to ucl soon.

anyone else? stay in contact?

This post has been edited by zeer: 18 May 2011 - 04:31 PM

[a_roma...]

nuclearbunny, on Feb 16 2011, 08:18 PM, said:

I'll be heading to London for my studies this coming September. Would be great if I can meet similar-bound people in the same boat. Just to share travel notes, essential info to (more important) stuff like rooming, fuck buddies (HAHA) or plain simple company! Anyone here?

Hey nuclearbunny,

I'll be going to the UK too KCL, specifically, but it's not too far off from UCL!

[ecity]

OK back from my fashion show - bloody thing was delayed by 80 mins and there was a lot of waiting around ...

1. Typical day in my student life

Well, you would start by waking up at about half 7 or 8, get some breakfast and head on to college for a 9 am start. Sometimes you have a later start but the first lecture/tutorial is usually for 9 am. You'll have a couple of lectures throughout the day and some free time in between. Some courses are very lecture/lesson/lab/practicals/tutorials intensive, others allow you more free time to do your own research/writing/studies etc. Your course would probably require you to do a lot of research on your own, so you won't have too many lectures/tutorials, but in between them, you'll probably spend a lot of time in the libraries or computer rooms between lessons.

Lunch would probably be a simple affair - most of the time I went for the salad bar in the lower refectory: I just adore salad bars. But many people would bring their own lunches or go to the MacDonald's on Warren Street. There's also a Sushi place called Wasabi near Warren St tube station and two supermarkets there. You could also walk down to the Brunswick Centre near Russell Sq tube (5 mins walk) - there are a few more lagi atas places there. http://www.brunswick.co.uk/

You'll probably be done with college stuff by 3 or 4 pm, sometimes earlier, sometimes later. You can then decide what you wanna do with the rest of your day - usually you'll have some kinda assignment or essay which will require you to head on to the library and study, otherwise you can choose to have some relaxation: do some sports, have some culture by visiting a museum or just hang out with friends. I did a lot of sports as I was heavily involved with the University of London Gymnastics Club (and still am today though the alumni) - so if I wasn't training at the gym, I was hanging out with the gymnasts.

Being gay, I also had my gay friends: so yeah, sometimes we'll go to Soho and hang out at the gay bars or go to a gay club - but being gay doesn't mean being stuck on the gay scene. We do normal stuff as well like go have a meal or organize dinner together. My gay friends were very nice to me - they knew that in my first year, I was living in halls of residence, hence they would invite me over for dinner so I could enjoy a cosy evening in a real home rather than a poxy little room in a hostel.

Weekends were more relaxed - more sports, more leisure and more fun with my friends. And of course, some studying ...

1a. One thing to avoid though is that many students end up only socializing with other students as well - that kinda limits their social circles whereas as a gay man, you get to socialize with other gay men who are working. Now, no disrespect to UCL students (for I was one myself) - but I like meeting people who do things which are vastly different from what I do. I enjoy finding out about their work, which could be fascinating and so different from anything I'm familiar with - whereas with other UCL students, they're going to be rather similar to you.

Meeting other working adults is particularly useful as you need to enter the working world after you graduate in 3 short years - so it's good to find out a bit more about what they're going through whilst you're a student, for it will help shape your vision of your career path. So yes, do hang out with other gay adults as well who are already working.

2. Halls of residence

I only lasted 1 term in the halls - Ifor Evans back then was so bad that I found myself somewhere to rent after 1 term. It wasn't so much the facilities being bad, but it was the fact that in a hostel you're living in such close proximity, so if you're trying to sleep and there are people talking in the corridor, you can pretty much hear every single word they say. Or if someone decides to play music at 7 am in the morning next door, you can hear it. I thought I was okay after army, after all, army life was tougher than this - staying in the barracks, but somehow the amount of inconsiderate behaviour made me move out. The noise was unbearable. I went from there to a landlord who liked waking up at 6 am every morning so I had to tiptoe around the house after 10 pm - perfect I need my sleep. So be warned - the facilities are pretty good these days, but there's little they can do about the noise levels.

As for the selection system, things may have changed since the 90s (yes that's how old I am mate) - so it's best if you double checked with the university directly rather than ask me!!

3. You need not necessarily share with other students - you can share with other working adults as well. And again, how it compares to halls of residences depends on the location.

For prices: http://www.ucl.ac.uk...residences/fees

Don't forget UCL halls tend to be within a reasonably near distance from the actual campus which is in zone 1 Bloomsbury, a rather pricey part of town. So anything in the Russell Sq / Bloomsbury / Euston / Kings Cross area is not going to be cheap anyway given you're in zone 1 and there are some halls in the Camden area which are slightly cheaper - but you can apply, see what they offer you and then say no if you don't like it.

So if you were to get a flat say out in zone 4, the rent is definitely going to be a lot cheaper than what these halls are quoting you. Of course, there are so many factors that determine the cost of your room:

- is it a single or a double? (singles are tiny!)
- what is the room : toilet/bathroom ratio? (vital in the mornings!)
- are there other facilities you have access to? (garden? washing machine?)
- are you near a tube station or bus stop?

You get the idea - you get what you pay for and that's for your 2nd year really. Because as a new arrival, it's a lot easier just to go into a hall they offer and at least stay there for a term and take it from there lah. Remember if you don't like it, you can always just leave.

4. Part time work

Well it all depends on what kind of skills and qualifications you have!

Firstly, the notion of 'tuition teacher' is alien here in the UK, it's something associated with kiasu Asian parents and whilst you might find some kiasu Asian parents here, you can pretty much forget trying to give tuition here in the UK - there just isn't the demand for it here. Yeah, that means parents would rather let their kids get crap grades than to give them extra help - crazy, but there you go.

The minimum wage is £5.93/hr but that's really for people who clean toilets and sweep the drains. However, a lot of students end up hovering around the £6-£8/hr range because they accept shit jobs like working behind the bar at the pub.

I have helped many university students find part time sports related work for around £20-£30/hr. So for example, if someone is a really experienced sportsman, then they can take a assistant coach qualification (a 5 day course) then that would enable them to work as a PE teacher's assistant, which in private schools, can be fairly lucrative. One lesson at £30 at a private school means 5 hour slogging behind the bar.

Of course, sometimes it means setting up PE lessons for rich kids with zero talent, zero skill, zero brains, zero hand-eye co-ordination (but have very rich parents) - but hey, the money is good.

It is also possible to do the same in areas like music for example, or art or languages (how good is your Mandarin? That's the latest craze.) These private schools do employ a lot of specialist part timers to come in and help out and they use a lot of university students from UCL because UCL students have a good reputation for being brainy, respectable and smart! You could be dealing with anyone from pre-school, to primary school and even secondary school kids.

Obviously depending on your area of expertise, I am sure there is the possibility of some kind of part time work with the rich private schools (forget the state government funded schools, they have no budget). You would also need some kind of teaching qualification in that field, so if you can get that in Singapore before you come to the UK - they will usually recognize any Singaporean qualification.

It does make sense to work with children - because if you get a part time job in an office full of 40 and 50 year old adults, they're going to look at you like you're a naughty child who can't be trusted with a stapler. But if you work with 10 year olds, they're going to look at you like you're really, really smart and old ... Which would you rather have?

But of course to do anything like that you need to be a specialist in that field - you can't try to say, teach kids volleyball if you don't know anything about the sport. So let me know if you are an EXPERT in any of the following fields:

- sports (indicate which sport and how good you are)
- dance / performance arts
- fine arts / music
- languages

I hope this helps :bye:

[ecity]

Hiya nuclear bunny. I have to dash out to a fashion show this evening (yes a dear friend of mine is strutting down the catwalk tonight at London Fashion Week and has put me on her guest list) - so I can't write a long reply now as I've got to go get myself ready.

But yeah when I compare myself to my sister (who went to NUS), my parents were holding her hand through her degree - my mum was literally her personal assistant helping her with everything from proof-reading her essays to doing photocopying for her to driving her to her lectures and nursing her to health when she was sick. My dad was equally caring and did so much for my sister when she was at NUS - but hey, that's my parents for you, they're so nice.

But when I came to London, I was on my own man, even when I was deathly ill with the flu, I still crawled out of bed to go to my lectures on public transport and there were times when I wish my parents were there to take care of me, but there you go. It's not me being cheeky or sarcastic, but it is a real concern for those of you who are quite used to relying on your parents. After all, I had a neighbour who got into a top British university and she dropped out before completing her first year because she cried every day, missed her mom - she was this rich spoilt brat who never washed a plate in her life before (she had like 3 maids, a driver etc) - and her mum's attitude was "you just focus on studying, don't waste your time doing things like housework". So when she arrived here, she just totally crumbled without her maids and within a few months, she returned to Singapore and reapplied to NUS.

So there you go. I will talk more about the other points later! Ciao! :bye:

[nuclea...]

Hi there ecity. Thanks for the list! Some of it look sliiiiightly sarcastic (how to deal with the fact that your parents aren't there) although I'm aware that it's a real problem for some at some point. I'm not even going to pose that to you although wildly curious to see what response you have!

Actually, since you were from UCL, how did a typical day in your student life go? I'm kind of curious to know what the academic culture (or non-academic, as far as it goes) is like e.g. your major, any clubs that you happened to be involved in etc

I took a look at the accommodation form too and it seems I'm only allowed to indicate my preference for the student houses but not the halls, which are the ones that are catered for UCL students. I might have seen it wrongly but was this the case for you?

On the same topic still, I have friends who live in flats that are shared with other students and I was wondering if that comes out to a cheaper rate. I shan't disregard your very potent formula of distance + transport fee so I'm assuming a flat within a couple of zones of campus- comparable rent?

Lastly!-for now- what kind of part-time work opportunities do you offer students? (or how they go about sourcing for them) I'm tossing up possibilities of part-time job opportunities you offer and I've come up with nothing yet hahaha

This post has been edited by nuclearbunny: 21 February 2011 - 10:43 PM

[ecity]

OK I am going to list a shortlist of topics that may be of interest to you - so rather than offer generic advice, you can choose something from the shortlist below for us to talk about (or if I failed to list your area of concern, please just let me know what it is).

Pre-departure preparations
List of things to do in the first 72 hrs upon arrival
Renting a place to live
Food & drink (do I need to buy a rice cooker, microwave etc)
Health (ie. dentists, doctors, pharmacy, medicines)
Safety (crime, police etc)
Entertainment & leisure (eg. do I need to buy a TV, laptop etc)
Sports
Part time work / work experience
Telephone (which network for mobiles etc)
Dealing with pressures at university
Dealing with the fact that your parents are not there to help you out
Friends and social life
The weather (winter clothing, snow etc)
Clothes, fashion (where to shop, what to buy, how much you should bring from S'pore)
Transport / Travelling
More about money & finance, banking etc.
Love, sex, gay scene etc.
:bye:

This post has been edited by ecity: 21 February 2011 - 08:21 AM