What Students Say
Dislikes
- A few things that might have been better included - better guidance on career opportunities, in-house hiring, maybe more time on the research project, and more time dedicated to the course materials and corresponding exams. But overall, it was a great experience.
Required Exams for Admission
I got admits from around 6 top Universities across the UK, and it was a bit difficult for me to choose. I considered the following factors to compare and decide on the choice of university, these included - the course suitability and structure, the fee structure and scholarships, the location of the University, the Cost of living, the student facilities, reviews from the seniors, and many more. I chose the University of Liverpool (A Russell Group Uni), as Liverpool is considered a very student-friendly city, it has good transportation facilities, amazing beaches, a very affordable living structure (cheap cost of living compared to other big cities while having all the essentials to be called a big city), International football club, and of course since the course structure was very much as I wanted, and I had also received a scholarship of 4500 pounds (making it my first choice).
Course Curriculum
The Course Curriculum was well updated, the professors made sure to integrate recent advancements and publications in lecture slides wherever possible and they did give good examples of the current technologies. We had to complete a research project for the course, and we were given 3-4 complete months for it with proper Laboratory Experience and a project guide to work under.
Faculty
The Faculty-to-student ratio was comparably good to other departments. We were a cohort of 50 students and the teaching faculty was around 25 (sometimes 2-3 teachers for a particular subject). Most of the professors had experience of 5+ years making them well versed with the subject knowledge. Yes, they were easily approachable via direct meetings or emails. We could also coordinate with the program director (Fabia Allen), so easily. She was lovely and easy to talk with. Overall, they helped us on every step.
Campus Life
The University is well connected with WiFi (for students as well as the guests), has a large campus covering numerous buildings for different departments, 2 Huge Libraries (24-hour access except during the vacation period), and Sports facilities including a gym, football court, basketball court, swimming, and many more indoor and outdoor games. Had excellent research facilities with departmental laboratories. There were around 150 student societies to join from and events took place every week or two.
Placement
There was an On-Campus Placement as such, but yes the university was visited by big international companies from my field including AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Thermofisher, etc. However, the placement was really low, as there was no direct placement process. The median Salary Range the one could get was 28-32k Pounds/year.
Accommodation
I chose to live in an off-campus student accommodation because it was way cheaper than the On-Campus one. My accommodation name was Europa Student Apartments. They had ensuite rooms (meaning you have your washroom and bedroom), however, it was 6 sharing, so need to share the common room (Kitchen and Living Room) with other flatmates. It had great amenities for students. My rent was around 100 pounds per week, which came to be around 5100 pounds for the year, paid in 4 installments. The other feasible options included shared housing (4 sharing or more with shared washrooms) - average rental 450 pounds per month.
Exams
- Education in English Medium (10th and 12th Board) or IELTS. My IELTS Score - 7.5 (minimum required 6.5) - Rustomjee International School - 94.4% (10th); SVP College of Science and Commerce - 88.6% (12th) B.E. Biotechnology - Thadomal Shahani Engineering College (Mumbai University) - 9.53 (UG) MSc Biotechnology - University of Liverpool - Merit (69.4%) - Requirements: Yes, I had to submit an SOP, 3 LORs (2 Academic and 1 Industrial (Optional)), and my Updated CV alongside all the Qualifications and documents. There was no interview as such, just a virtual discussion session to understand my background and to ask about the university. For SOPs, I had to curate to make it attractive highlighting my interests, my strengths, why this particular university, and program. I chose to write it in a story format as suggested by my guide.
Fees
24,500 Pounds (one can get around 4500 scholarships as an International student if they meet certain criteria), Some students were also awarded fully funded scholarships.
