simply94 Posted April 8, 2014 Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 So as summer draws near, so does summer holiday plans.... Heard and read from various places that IB1 summer should be spent productively. Completely agree. With EE, IAs and IB2 right up our necks we should treasure each and every moment of summer. As I am an international student and have only visited the UK in the summer of 8th grade, of which i only retain vague memories, I am considering the option of going for a university tour in the UK to check out universities and hopefully to talk to admissions officers. It is quite pricey for our family and does take up time, so I am not so certain about going. If any one can provide insights of the benefits of going to a university tour, or the drawbacks, or even reasons why I shouldn't fly all the way to the UK to check out universities, that would be amazing. Many thanks in advance. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynxarin Posted April 8, 2014 Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 Of course it's a long way and it will be an expensive trip. But you will most likely get a better picture of which of the universities you visited seems to be the best for you and what the admission requirements are and other facts that will perhaps be good to know and stuff like that. I think you should go there to see what it all looks like and get more information about the universities. So if you have the time and money to go there, do it Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdculturekid Posted April 8, 2014 Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 I was in exactly the same situation. Last summer I went up to the UK for 10 days and visited about 7 universities, and it was a HUGE advantage. If you plan it out so that you can attend as many open days as possible that's even better, because you get a better feel of the universities. One of the unis that used to be my top choice actually ended up not being what I thought it was like at all; I didn't even end up applying there because it just didn't appeal to me in person as it did online. A university I had never really considered before, Durham, actually ended up being my first choice for a while; I've made it my insurance now! If I hadn't gone on my uni tour I would never have fallen in love with the university in the first place, and may have ended up in a place that wouldn't have really worked for me. Of course, the cost of travelling all the way to the UK can be a big deterrent to the trip, but in the end you have to decide on how important it is for you to be in a place that you really fit in and enjoy living in. If you're mainly worried about the finances, just talk to your parents about it and try to get an accurate estimate of what the trip would cost. Good luck! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted April 8, 2014 Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 It's a nice thing to do, but if you can't do it, it's not the end of the world. Would be my advice People tend to be happy wherever they end up... they never know any different! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flinquinnster Posted April 9, 2014 Report Share Posted April 9, 2014 Well, I'm planning on going to a UK uni and I have actually never been to England - at all. So, it is totally possible for you to apply without having done a university tour - it just requires more research and I guess it is a slightly bigger risk in the sense that you might not end up liking the 'vibe' of the university/college that you end up at. However, pretty much everything is online nowadays and you can get really detailed information about admissions and student life, and even contact those with first-hand knowledge of a university. It really does depend on whether you think the practical cost of doing a university tour outweighs the small benefit of experiencing a university first-hand. For me, at this stage, I don't think I'll be heading to the UK to check out my uni before I get there, so I am just hoping to be pleasantly surprised I guess. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted April 9, 2014 Report Share Posted April 9, 2014 Well, I'm planning on going to a UK uni and I have actually never been to England - at all. So, it is totally possible for you to apply without having done a university tour - it just requires more research and I guess it is a slightly bigger risk in the sense that you might not end up liking the 'vibe' of the university/college that you end up at. However, pretty much everything is online nowadays and you can get really detailed information about admissions and student life, and even contact those with first-hand knowledge of a university. It really does depend on whether you think the practical cost of doing a university tour outweighs the small benefit of experiencing a university first-hand. For me, at this stage, I don't think I'll be heading to the UK to check out my uni before I get there, so I am just hoping to be pleasantly surprised I guess. If you're going to Cambridge then I promise it's lovely and you will be pleasantly surprised If you trust biased anecdotes! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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