Singapore Kopitiam

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Hey all.

Just received a conditional offer from University of Manchester to read Accounting & Finance. The term is: IELTS 6.5 overall and no lower than 6 in any component.

I thought that students from Singapore need not take IELTS since our methods and standard of assessment are acceptable in the UK? They asked for my English qualifications twice before giving me a conditional offer, which on both occasions, I gladly email-ed them my A & O level grades for verification.

I got an A2 for English lang in O levels and a B for General Paper in A levels.

Please advise!!!

From what i know is very heng suay one! but i suspect is the quality of the personal essay written

i my army mate applied to Manchester with similar GPA with my friend. Yet one was required to take IELTS while other did not.
but that being said 6.5 is quite easier to achieve for singaporean but the hassle a bitch

P.S email them questioning the requirement for IELTS and mention your O/A level grades

Reply 2381

monchouchou

Original post by whyhedge

That is odd...I applied for english/literature courses and none of them required me to present TOEFL/IELTS results. I've heard from representatives that it usually isn't required of Singaporean students as well. I second the motion to shoot them a mail about it.

Reply 2382

volante

Any S'poreans headed to Bristol for law in 2012? (Or is that too early to ask heh)

Reply 2383

Isaacchan

sorry to digress. but any singaporeans in the UK have a £5 off £20 ASOS code I could use? thanks alot. :smile:

please PM me :smile:

Reply 2384

whattodo

Original post by volante

Any S'poreans headed to Bristol for law in 2012? (Or is that too early to ask heh)

IM HEADING TO SHEFFIELD IN 2012 after NS LOL

Reply 2385

volante

Original post by whattodo

IM HEADING TO SHEFFIELD IN 2012 after NS LOL

Haha same but to bristol/ maybe kcl!

What you planning to study?

Reply 2386

adamlaw

Would like to ask if anyones heading to KCL Law this year?! Because I am :smile:

Reply 2387

superkinetic

Original post by whattodo

IM HEADING TO SHEFFIELD IN 2012 after NS LOL

You're heading for law? Im still not sure if I should make Sheffield material sci and eng my insurance choice for now!

Reply 2388

whattodo

Original post by superkinetic

You're heading for law? Im still not sure if I should make Sheffield material sci and eng my insurance choice for now!

Yeah... I firm my unconditional a while back. What are your other choices?

Reply 2389

itomit

hey guys, just a quick one for seniors. has any of you;
1) tried applying tier4 visa in the month of august or even september(not advised i know)?
2) received CAS number as early as may?
3) successfully received visa approval in june???

well you see, i won't be returning to singapore from may till earliest august and i intend to schedule my appointment w/ VFS online. but not w/o the CAS number. i just need a rough gauge on these dates.

Thanks in advance :smile:

UOS K100 FTW! anyone?!

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 2390

lalalaxx

Original post by timorockstaryeo

haha. omg. lnats. don't remind me. lnats were a nightmare for me. make sure you try the practice questions.

i got an unconditional for bristol!

Reply 2391

volante

Original post by lalalaxx

i got an unconditional for bristol!

congrats!
for this year?

Reply 2392

Kammylove

hey guys! anyone going to uni of manchester for 2011??

anyone know what's life like there? :biggrin:

Reply 2393

gandhistoto

Original post by Kammylove

hey guys! anyone going to uni of manchester for 2011??

anyone know what's life like there? :biggrin:

maybe whyhedge is going there judging from his earlier post.

its my turn then, hi guys!
anybody going to Oxford this October? I heard lots of RJ n HC ppl rejected the Oxbridge offers to go to US instead haha

Reply 2394

BrilliantMinds

Original post by gandhistoto

hey i sent you a pm regarding physics at oxford, mind reading?

Reply 2395

lalalaxx

Original post by volante

congrats!
for this year?

yupp and notts too omg they rejected me at first, then they changed it!!! so unexpected! dunno how to decide s:

Reply 2396

volante

Original post by lalalaxx

yupp and notts too omg they rejected me at first, then they changed it!!! so unexpected! dunno how to decide s:

Haha notts took so long to reply to me that I withdrew my application after receiving an offer from Bristol!
But I'll only enter in 2012.

What do you intend to read?

Reply 2397

lalalaxx

Original post by volante

Haha notts took so long to reply to me that I withdrew my application after receiving an offer from Bristol!
But I'll only enter in 2012.

What do you intend to read?

lawww. gap year or ns or what?

Reply 2398

volante

Original post by lalalaxx

lawww. gap year or ns or what?

ns man :/

Hey I'm going to do law too!

Reply 2399

Chad Storm

This is a follow-up to my previous post which dealt with the procedures pertaining to student UK Visa application in Singapore.

anyways, greetings to all. I've been in UK for sometime now have encountered a few problems thus far.

Allow me to share them with you.

1) Flight

Don't pack liquids, shavers, razors, batteries into your hand-luggage. they will be thrown away. Juz put your laptop in your hand-luggage and everything else should go into the other bags that will be deposited into the plane.

Be early for your flight. Don't be complacent. I nearly missed mine but was told by the flight security officer that because I had a Portuguese sounding name, they waited for 5 minutes. It was a good joke cos he really calmed my nerves. Im a heavy smoker but i sprinted from the check-in area to the air-bridge section which leads to the plane.

When you get onto the plane, put your backpack in the compartments above and relax. Familiarise yourself with the entertainment system. You can watch movies, listen to music, etc. The food is great so don't worry; your stomach will be in for a treat.

If you take Emirates, its a 7 hours flight to Dubai, a 3 hour transit there and then 7hours to London Heathrow Airport. The 3 hours in Dubai passed by pretty fast. I went to DFS, bought like 3 cartons of cigarettes and walked for a bit. I wanted to smoke so when I asked the reception where I could smoke, the Filipino girl told me that I had to exit the Dubai airport. I was stunned. Thankfully, I do noe abit of Tagalog.

after a short conversation, she told me that there was a hotel just above the reception and that I could smoke there if I bought a drink from the bar. Things got better. The guy at the bar was so kind that I manage to freshen myself up in the spacious restroom, took several smokes and all this without even buying a drink. amazing!

Keep a pen with you cos upon arrival at Heathrow, you have to fill up a white card and this has to be produced at the immigration counters. In fact, the card will be given to you by the air-crew, prior to the landing at Heathrow. The pens available at the counters are malfunctioned.

Also, keep your CAS statement ready for submission. The Certificate of Acceptance of Studies will be the defining piece of documentation that will either make or break you entry into UK. This CAS is given to you when you make payment of half the amount of your tuition fees to the university. The reason for this is cos too many clowns have been coming here on the pretext of studying only to disappear and work illegally. So they devised this ruiling so in the event that a clown chooses to default and runaway, the deposit is forfeited. Understood?

I know some people have said that you have to do medical checks in Singapore cos the immigration will ascertain your health before they let you enter UK. I did not do such tests and was instead directed to a small room to wait. 15 minutes later, my name was called up, they asked me a few questions and then was told that I could leave and that my documentations were in accordance with their regulations.

Let's review what happened. firstly, I did not have a pen, I had to borrow from someone else, I was redirected to the medical room and when I came out of there, the queues were gone and it was empty. So i guessed it worked out in the end. Well, at least for this part of the journey!!

2) Transport to Accommodation

Normally, before you leave SG, the uni will let you in on a special service that involves a coach/van/car/taxi to ferry you from the airport to the accommodation. You will have to apply for it so make sure you do and print out the form for safekeeping. The unis and the drivers are fully aware that delays are pretty normal and bound to happen so have some coins ready. There are public phones everywhere in the airport so head to one, and make a call to the driver. The driver will check your form against his and will pick your things up and bring you to the vehicle. You do not need to pay any money to him as this free service is paid for by the uni. but in actual fact, its included in your fees. LOL!

Prior to my arrival here, I was told that I did not have to pay any money upfront to either the university or the accommodation officers until at a later time where I would be informed to do so. A few days before I left my home residence, I exchanged a sum of money into Sterling Pounds in a form of a bank draft and into some loose notes. When I arrived at the accommodation, I was told to pay 200 or 250 pounds which would form as deposit and internet connection fee. I was also asked to pay 20 or 30 pounds for the bed-pack set. Two days later, I was told to pay 1513 pounds for the first rent payment which would cover a duration of 17 weeks. I was left with 150 pounds and some shillings.

So don't bother listening to what people from here tell you. Have at least 2000 pounds or more on standby. **** will happen!

3) Bank application

When I made my way to the bank to open a bank account, I was instructed to obtain a letter from the university to proof my status as a student of the institution and also evidence my residential address in the United Kingdom. The following week, after the weekend, I went to reception and filled up the necessary form. I received the form on the Friday of that week and made my way to the bank. I was told that I could not apply for a bank account immediately as I had to schedule an appointment first. After choosing the nearest empty date in the bank's online calendar, I finally completed the application of the bank account but my joy was short-lived as I was told that it would take two weeks to receive the card and the pin number via mail.

It was nearly the end of the two weeks and I went down to the bank to enquire on the status of the application for a bank account. I was told to wait and that the essential details would be sent to me soonest. I finally received the card but the PIN number was not attached. I waited for a few days before going to the bank again to find out why there was a delay in the postage of PIN number. I was then told that I had to activate my card first before the bank would send out the PIN number via mail as this was part of their security protocol. I went back to the bank the next day with the bank card and got the card activated. I was then told to wait for a few days to receive the PIN number.

Do not mistake me, but in Singapore, everything from the application, to the eventual issuance of bank card and PIN number is done over the counter, in no more than half an hour. Perhaps I was naive to take what was told to me as the right procedure. I had to constantly go to the money changer to change money and it was pretty annoying. Simply because I had already budgetted my expenses and this is reflected in the sum of money stated on the bank draft. Changing money here amounts to losses. go figure!

4) Defects in flat

When I first arrived, both the shower and room heater were faulty. Initially, I assumed that it was probably due to the extreme cold weather which caused both machines to work below par and took things in my stride. I fell ill because it was terribly cold at night and the quality of the comforter pack, leaves much to be desired. It was only recently that I managed to seek assistance from a kind gentleman who was part of the accommodation staff. He repaired the defects and everything has been fine till now.

In short, when you move into your accommodation for the first time, perform a check on all aspects of the room. Take a shower, check the room heater, flush, etc. Check for possible blockages in the shower cos this can be super annoyin. Check that the shower heater is working cos you don't wanna be freezing in cold water in the middle of your shower. Accommodations have maintenance people on standby most of the time, so the sooner you spot the defects, the quicker they will be rectified.

5) Medical Treatment

Medical treatment here is free and you do not need to fork out a cent. The system here is pretty much similar to that of the one in France. the expenses are borned by taxpayers. for the purposes of this post, i shall not attempt to give you a lecture on UK socio-politics. We have the G.E back home for now, so yeah! haha.

Prior to the repair of the defects, I was terribly ill with fever, flu and sore-throat. I went to a clinic which was located just a stone's throw away from my accommodation, to seek medical treatment. I was politely turned away and was given a form to input my details as part of the registration process with the NHS. I was told to come back the next day with the form instead as it was already noon. I reiterated to the clinic staff that I was already registered with NHS during the induction programme which the university had organised.

Their reply was that I had to produce a card which would state my name and other important information on it. Unfortunately for me, I had not received such a card.

I then found the card in the middle of a stack of letters that had been left in the kitchen. So when you get here, make sure you tell your flatmates that all mails addressed to you, should be directed to you and not chucked in some silly corner of the flat.

I6) University Identity Card Malfunction

When I first collected the card from the reception, I was really pleased as I knew that this would be a passport to almost all available resources such as borrowing library books, printing out data and gaining access to certain areas within the university's premises. Instead, the exact opposite took place. I could not enter the library and I was and am still grateful to the kind librarian who allowed me in after filling up a 'visitor's form'. I had to go back to reception twice, to rectify the errors as and when they surfaced.

I could not print out data and had to ask other students to scan their card so that I could make photocopies of material and in exchange, I paid them to reimburse the charges incurred against their card.

Therefore it would be wise to check the authorisation rights of the card for youself instead of believing what someone of a higher authority tells the masses. You'll be suprised, funny things do happen!

7) Racism

It clearly exists here and truth be told, I pity the people who are often picked on by the majority. I suppose what comes around, goes around. When i was growing up, primary school was the best. Perhaps, our minds were undeveloped and we did not draw distinctions, or rather attempt to differentiate people according to the colour of the skin.

In secondary sch, name calling and things along that nature was rampant. we were the minority back home, and when we fought, we got caned and punished. If we keep quiet, the antagonists will view the silence as a form of weakness and continue to do what they have been doin all along.

But life is such that what really comes around, goes around. These people who back home used to be the Kings, get screwed here all the damn time. From verbal abuse to finger-pointing.

Later!