Posted on 1st July 2013 by New College Group
The Top Online Resources Recommended by Students
Embarking on an English language course and becoming a fully fledged student is undeniably a wholly exciting experience. From coming to the UK and meeting new people from all over the world to starting your very first lesson at NCM, it’s a time our former students always seem to look back on with fond memories.
But while it’s exciting, it also takes a lot of planning and preparation and any hints, tips and insider information are always appreciated when navigating accommodation, funding and general life in the UK. With this in mind we’ve highlighted some of the most useful sites that have helped scores of students and graduates find their feet as they start their studies and plan out their careers.
The Best Sites For International Students
UKCISA offers detailed information for international students in the UK and if visas, fees or any other aspect of immigration or UK study are worrying you, then this is a fantastic resource for exploring all of your options before you head to the UK. If you’re a Twitter user then it’s well worth following UKCISA too for useful information and advice.
The International Student Calculator
Financing your studies and working out a realistic budget to cover your essential outgoings (such as accommodation and fees) should be one of the first things you consider before applying to study in the UK. Of cours,e it’s also important to set funds aside for your social life as well as your essential costs; making friends and enjoying your time with us is important too and you should try to factor in the costs of trips and social events in your overall budget. If you’re unsure about the living costs in Manchester then we have a helpful accommodation section as well as a post to guide you on the prices of everyday goods and social activities.
The International Student Calculator is a really useful resource for planning out your budget as it allows you to input exactly what you have coming in and determines how much you can spend. There are also real student profiles, with international students divulging their income and means of funding their study. You can even choose how much you can potentially put into savings too!
Career Advice and Job Seekers
Milkround is a particularly popular graduate careers site for current students and recent graduates, with useful information on graduate jobs, internships and advice on everything from travel to exam worries. Like many of the graduate careers sites out there, Milkround is especially useful if you’re applying to top jobs and need a little advice, or if you’ve secured an interview (either over the phone or face-to-face) and feel a little out of your depth! Keep a look out for all the latest student competitions and job vacancies from the big employers too.
Prospects is the UK’s official graduates career website but it’s also a fantastic resource for overseas students thinking about coming to study in the UK. Prospects expertly covers a wide range of career and study options from self-employment to MBAs and has a great careers section for multi-lingual students. If you’re studying an English language course and you need some career guidance then the multi-lingual section is perfect for helping you utilise your skills to the full.
The Best Student Deals
There’s a great choice of online budget bookshops out there with Amazon obviously being a popular choice, but if the prices on the major bookseller’s sites aren’t as low as you were hoping, then AbeBooks has great deals on second hand books in a range of conditions. It may be worth checking which books will be useful for your course with New College Manchester before starting, this way you will have these resources at hand for building on what you’ve learnt in lessons.
STA travel have been around for a while and the great thing about these student travel experts is they have branches located close to universities and colleges. Of course, they’re online too, but the branches are great if you’re looking to book flights home or jet off on a dream trip and want to speak to a travel agent face-to-face when booking (they offer good deals on ‘around the world’ flights).
If you follow our blog then you’ll know that we like to mention the best places for student savings from time to time and it’s fair to say that Student Beans are one of best websites for generous savings and student competitions. There are also some great news stories, some of which are serious (i.e. great ways to save money), some of which are a little more fun (i.e. where your favourite celebrities went to university).
These are some of our favourite student sites that we think are well worth exploring before you come over to the UK and whilst you’re studying. Of course, if we’ve missed your favourite site off the list then please feel free to offer your suggestions on Facebook, we always like to hear what you think! Before you go check out our brand new courses too, we’ve just added some foundation programs perfect for those wishing to go on to study at a UK university.