#a-message-from-Manchester

Hi, Logos people! Hopefully, some of you still remember your ex-president, Jiren Wang... ME! Or maybe you know me as Lord Wang ;). ANYWAYS, so a certain someone (Jenny) has been bugging me non-stop about writing an article on applying to the University of Manchester and how life is like here. So here you go! (please leave me alone now Jenny)

> Applying to UK universities

> Academics in the UK

> Life in the UK (Manchester) + safety

> Advantages compared to the states

APPLYING

Ok, so you want to attend UK universities. The bad news is you can only apply to 5 universities in a given year. The good news is it's dirt cheap (25 pounds for all five schools at once), and there are very little essay writing required. The entire process takes place on a website called UCAS. Think of UCAS as the British version of Common-apps. You log onto UCAS/create an account, select the five schools you would like to apply to, answer an essay question and submit your GPA, SAT, or AP scores. It's that simple. Although different universities will have different GPA, SAT, or AP requirements so make sure you meet those before you apply. If you don't meet their requirements, you will be rejected for sure. If you do, then it is highly likely that you will get accepted if you applied early. If your application was late (like mine, I applied in July of 2018), there is a good chance that the University will have run out of spaces for that course and be forced to reject you.

For Manchester, the requirement to get into my course, Economics and Politics, was two fives and one four on my APs. Now if you are like me, you might not have all the grades to your APs by the time you graduate. Since AP scores are released in July, you might be applying without the proper qualifications. If this is the case, then DON'T WORRY! Your college will still consider your application. If they decide that they would like to accept you, they will give you a "conditional offer". This means that as long as you can achieve the proper grade on your last AP, then you will be accepted. I was given a conditional offer for Manchester. My offer was to get a five on my AP Macroeconomics exam. I achieved that score, sent it to Manchester, and they replied within a day with an unconditional offer.

ACADEMICS

First off, an undergraduate degree in the UK usually only takes three years! And Masters only take one year!!! You can graduate with a masters degree in just four years!!

Academics in the UK are very different from that of the US (what we are used to). There are no GPA's and rarely any graded course work. In Manchester for the first year, your grades literally don't count. All you need to get is a pass (40%). The grades of your first year don't contribute to the level of degree that you will get and it will not be reflected on your future qualifications.

Now you may be wondering, if GPA is not a thing, then how are you graded? The UK uses a "first", "second" and "third" class grading system. A first is achieving 70% or higher. Seconds are divided into two halves, upper and lower seconds. An upper second is 69-60%. A lower second is 59-50%. A third is 49-40%. Anything lower than a 40 is a fail.

In your first year, there will be very little course work. What this means is that you will rarely have any homework. Even if you do, they will be only worth around 10% of your final grade in that class. What you will have instead are heavily graded midterms and finals. For my classes, my midterms were worth around 30-40% while my finals took up the remaining 70-60%. Your grades for the entire semester are dependant on these two performances. (although somethings, you might have an essay in place of a midterm or final). In your second and third year, the grading does become a bit more reliant of course work as they take up a more significant percentage of your final grade.

Ok, let me address why UK universities usually only take three years. In the British school system, most students are prompt to specialise their classes in high school. This means that when they arrive at university, they have already been taking courses related to their degree and are ready to specialise further into them. What this means for us is that you have to know what degree you want before going to university. All your classes are going to be specialised to your degree meaning that you won't have the opportunity to explore other subjects that you might also be interested in. For me, all my classes for this year has been directly related to either economics or politics, with only one "ethics" class that is loosely related. You can transfer your degree if you want, but most of the time, they will only allow you to move to a degree under the same subject. Ex: politics is under the subject of social science. If you want to transfer, you only can transfer to other social sciences like economics or philosophy. And even if you are successful in your transfer, you might be prompt to restart your first year.

LIFE

While I can't speak for life in other cities, I can talk about Manchester. Manchester is considered to be UK's second city, after London. It is the first city in the world to be industrialized, making it the first ever modern city! This means that there are loads of super cool industrial looking buildings everywhere. There are loads of things to do in Manchester, from football, concerts, to pubs and clubs. Personally, I don't care much for football but if you are into it, you probably know a lot more about it than I do, heh.

In the city centre, there are pubs and clubs literally EVERYWHERE. One thing I was shocked with when I first came here is just how much everyone drinks. Our first economics social (an official "party" organized by our school) was in a pub .-. (legal drinking age is 18 btw). Students will sometimes go clubbing with their professors. Even the churches I've met here have had small group meetings in pubs. Drinking and clubbing are not at all considered to be something taboo; it is just a part of life here. Although this is not to say that you are FORCED to drink, you can get by if you do choose to stay sober. It'll just be a lot easier to fit in with locals if you do let loose once in a while. The way I see it, as long as you know your limit and don't get wasted, you should be fine :). Drink Responsibly!

Manchester being a massive cultural centre is almost always a stopping point for any artists on an international tour. This combined with a great selection of local artists means that you will always have a concert/music festival to attend! There are also great theatre shows all year round. This past December, we had "Wicked" come to town, followed immediately in this coming February by "Les Miserables"! There is no shortage of things to do in this city!

SAFETY

Bringing up the topic of concerts, most people will inevitably be reminded of the terrorist attack in Manchester Arena during Ariana Grande's concert in 2017. A lot of your parents may be genuinely concerned, my parents definitely were. However what I've discovered since coming here is nothing short of absolute security. Near the city centre and anywhere there might be a large crowd, there will always be a substantial amount of security and police presence. As long as you don't walk by some random back alley at 3 in the morning far away from the university or city, you should have no reason to worry.

ADVANTAGES

So, if you are not already convinced about Manchester, let me quickly list off a few advantages to studying here versus the States (probably the most popular college destination for Logos Students).

- Your college will reply within the week you apply - no need to wait till April or May like most US universities.

- The workload is a lot less than American Universities. I mean, one essay and one final per semester during the first year. I MEAN C'MON. That's like a week's workload at US universities.

- Your course will probably only take three years. YUP. Let me help you visualise this - three years for undergrad, one year for masters, and three years for PhD. You can start your PhD at 22 and get your doctorate at 25! In the states, you graduate masters at 24!

- Since you are spending less time at school, it could be cheaper. All UK universities cost 20,000 pounds for International students (excluding accommodations. Most university accommodations are around 100 pounds per week). Depending on the scholarship you get, an education in the UK could be a lot cheaper than the US.

- People with lovely British accents. Pretty self-explanatory.

If you have any more questions, feel free to contact me at

jiren.wang@student.manchester.ac.uk

+44 07956217732