What Students Say
Likes
- Infrastructure of the University is amazing , beautiful environment, filled with greeneries,
- Resources provided like the study material , presentation, libraries , security making students feel safe and secure
- Well versed faculties - can interact with the teachers freely without any hesitation, the doubts were clarified through mail , the teaching materials were provided the app for further reference.
Dislikes
- Some students find it hard to communicate with the teachers because of the huge number of students in one classroom.
- Teachings are more focused on PPT , more on self learning
- No regular classes which is very different from the Indian education system , loosing the continuity of chapters
Course Curriculum
- The course was not that difficult.It was a mix of both theory and practical. We had online exams which was more of an open book exam .
- Online exams made us comfortable with less stress and tension which is one of the positive aspects of the course although we had offline classes.
- Negative aspects included large number of students in the class ranging around 150-200students depending on the class .
Admission Experience
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I had applied to three universities. University of Belfast, University of Greenwich and University of Leeds.
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All the universities gave me admitted status.
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I got confirmed admission to all the three universities because of my good profile with impressive marks to secure a place in the universities .I decided to get admitted to University of Leeds because the department of food science is impressive and laboratories are well equipped for more hands-on experiences . Fortunately I didn't get any rejection from the universities I applied.
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University of Leeds was top on the list because of infrastructure and technology. The department of food science has good faculties, syllabus for my course was great , and the laboratories are well equipped, promoting innovation and technology. The factors influenced were facilities provided by the University, the location, weather conditions, and accommodation. The admission process were bit challenging ,firstly complete the application form , later we will receive an email with conditional offer letter mentioning the eligibility criteria and IELTS exam with minimum 6 score each to be completed. Once completed you will receive an unconditional offer letter . Then the tuition fee and accommodation fee payments. Later we will receive an confirmation email and CAS . The CAS letter is important for the visa procedure.
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The overall admission process were bit complicated because anything can go wrong making it stressful . The tution fee payments is a huge process .
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I chose fall intake majorly because there were only one intake available for my course . September intake is the best because of the weather conditions and accommodation availability. The admission process took about one month . From the application to confirmation will take about two weeks . From confirmation to acceptance will take another two weeks. 4 weeks in general is a long time but it's necessary to arrange the funds for tuition and accommodation fees .
Class Schedule
- Online exams made us comfortable with less stress and tension which is one of the positive aspects of the course although we had offline classes.
- As the classes are irregular some days we don't have any classes .
- On an average there can 4 to 6 classes if scheduled.The timings is from morning 9 to evening 5 .
- The average number of students in my class is 35 .Around 15 Indian students enrolled for my course.
Faculty
- There were around 11 teachers for my course. Some classes had 150 students and some classes were just for my course .So the student-faculty ratio varies depending on the class and course.
- Teaching was more focus on self learning. Teachers would teach us based on the presentation.This teaching approach is not sufficient to prepare is for securing a job .
- No the faculty won't help us in finding a part - time or full time jobs and will provide any networks or references.I don't admire any faculty and nothing makes them stand out . They were more focused to just finish the lecture somehow.
Campus Life
- My university has one huge campus which is located in the heart of the Leeds City center.
- The university provides a library, sport facilities, gym , first aid center for emergencies. The highlight is that the university has 3 big library buildings . University has different campus festivals .
- There are different societies and clubs .Events are conducted and organised by the clubs .The Indian Society organises cultural events and celebrates every Indian festival . The campus is always live and energetic.
- My favorite season is the Christmas were the campus will serve free food and hot beverages , Christmas carols , lights and cheers everywhere.
Part Time Jobs
- It depends mainly on the departments. My department didn't have any vacancies for TA ,RA or DA positions. The pay range for RA depends on the work and time and per day maximum pay will be 50 pounds.The pay for TA per class will be 30 pounds.
- The pay for DA will be around 50 pounds per day. The other on campus jobs are bar tender, crew member , store manager , store keeper , Library assistants etc The average pay for all these jobs are 10-11 pounds per hour.
- The maximum hours of work allowed for a student per week is 20hours. It's not easy to secure on campus part time jobs as it's very tight and composed because the need is high .
- The students earn up to 13 pounds per hour in the part time jobs depending on the position they are holding. The manager level job will get 13 pounds per hour .It is difficult to secure a part time job while studying as for a student the working hours per week according to the law is limited to 20 hours per week .
- The employers prefer people who have unlimited hours to work .The usual process for students to apply for jobs is to check for the availability of job vacancies in the official website . Submit the application and resumes and then you receive an confirmation email mentioning the interview date . The interview will further decide as it's very competitive to get a job in the UK even though it's a part-time.
Placement
- The full time job opportunities are the most competitive field I have ever seen in my life. The percentage of graduating batch securing employment within 6 months of graduation is 5percent.
- After graduation usually we apply jobs through the advertisement of job openings and official website of the particular companies.The placement experience is competitive and disappointing .
- Sometimes the graduates receive interview email and later the mail that they have chosen someone with more experience. Its disheartening to receive 100s of rejection emails after all the hardships students have gone through.
- All the major companies hire their nationalities rather than Indian or International graduates who have more experience and qualifications.
Accommodation
- The accommodation was provided by the University as I applied for it early . No I didn't use any other means. The monthly rent was 500 pounds including water and electricity. It was full furnished bedroom with common toilets .
- Housekeeping was provided one a week .I didn't have to face any challenges as the university took good care of the accommodation.I would recommend students to always choose University accommodation as it provides the best property, house keeping, security and keeping the area clean .
- My accommodation was within the university campus perimeter.Most of Indian students prefer University accommodation as it feels safe and secure especially when you are new to the country.
Exams
- The major criteria was to complete the IELTS exam . I prepared for the IELTS exam prior to application as it was one of the requirements for the admission process to be completed.
- The documents necessary to complete the admission process included a statement of purpose, LOR , CV , payment receipts and CAS. The interview part of the application varies from department to department.
- My department didn't have any interviews, it was majorly focused on merit .
Fees
- The tuition fee is quite expensive.There were two semesters. The total fee were about 26 lakhs . 26 lakhs for an one year course is cumbersome . Plus the accommodation fee were about 6 lakhs for one year .
- I had to pay the fees prior to the release of admission letter. I chose to pay the admission and accommodation fee altogether.
- The monthly expenses ranges from 300-500 pounds excluding the accommodation. The expenses varies according to your spending habits .
Scholarship
- I didn't receive any scholarship. I would suggest in order to receive any scholarship one must have to apply to the university one year prior to the admission.
- There are common wealth and other major scholarship available for the students.
- There are full funded scholarships available and availability of the scholarships depends on the departments .For my department just major scholarships were available.
