MY POV : University of Birmingham

9.0
Verified Review (Out of 10)
Write a Review and Get 20 USD*
Academic
8.0
Accommodation
8.0
Faculty
8.0
Infrastructure
10.0
Social Life
10.0
Placement
10.0

Course Curriculum

8

  • Very difficult curriculum, very important to keep up with the pace. usually have 15 hours a week between 9-7pm but on wednesdays no class after 1pm to engage in other stuff.
  • I am the only indian student in my course, but there are other indian origin british people in the course. the assessments are very varied from essays, exams, ppts, group work, storytelling etc.

Admission Experience

  • University of Birmingham (accepted), Warwick (admitted), Kings College London (admitted), LSE (rejected), Oxford (rejected). Highly competitive applications, less exposure to industry and was international student. LSE needed further math to make a strong application to bsc economics, but I didn't do that subject since my school had limitations on who could do it. 
  • Uni of birmingham gave me the best link between good ranked university, good social life and cheap prices, compared to london. The process was to submit a UCAS application - including personal statement, reference letter and predicted grades. Non-english speaking students required IELTS/TOFEL. the process was nice and easy, very structured. the most difficult part was to write the personal statement. Must include a lot of super-curriculars and show that you are really interested in the course. 
  • 2022 intake. i applied in october, around 15-20th 2021. I got my offer within a few days by the end of october. it was a conditional offer, based on my grades. My offer was AAB. Once my grades were released in may 2022, i had to submit proof for that and english language and then received my final offer. Soon after received visa related documents like CAS statement. 

Faculty

8

  • The ratio is big. we have lectures and seminars. lectures are usually around 300-500 students but seminars are only 10-12 students so the ratio is not bad. very easy to interact with professors, all available through email anytime and have minimum 2 office hours every week.
  • Very open to arranging other meetings outside these times. mostly they use a ppt to explain everything, sometimes have interactive discussions and other stuff.

Campus Life

10

  • 1 main campus - edgebaston birmingham, uk. other campus in dubai. lot of facilities including library, sports centre, students union, food shops, grocery stores, 2 pubs and medical support areas.
  • Everything is connected through bus and train, own train station and multiple bus stops. lots of events. 400+ societies having events every week. every sport club for different levels - beginnner, development, competitive with live matches, inter university etc.

Part Time Jobs

  • Lot of part-time opportunities. decent both on-campus and off-campus. A good number of students secure TA, RA positions, though high competition especially in popular departments like econ. Pay is good around £10–£15/hour, depending on the role and experience. best role is to get student ambassador, easy job and good pay but limited work (only 40-50 hours all year) Other on-campus jobs include working in cafes, the library, or as student ambassadors, with wages averaging around £10–£12/hour. Students can legally work up to 20 hours a week during term time. 
  • 1.students work in loads of different places including in retail shops and restaurants near by, usually in selly oak or new street. but there are loads of good paying jobs and opportunities available within the university. these range from student ambassador roles to even cafe staff and library assistants. they pay is really good ranging between 9-13£ per hour. plus, for masters and phd students theres an option of working with professors as researchers which pays even more and is quite flexible with university work. 
  • It is a very competitive process, but if you start early you can easily get a job. Usually most places start advertising roles in the beginning of the year (around august-sept) so it is worth looking around then and applying.

Placement

10

  • Since the university of birmingham has a good reputation, it is very good to get a job. the average salary is around 25000£-35000£ with students finding jobs with pay of upwards of £100,000 per year.
  • There are loads of events all year round to encourage students to start applying year. people have gone into various fields including investment banking, accounting, finance, public sector, consulting, etc.
  • The careers team is super helpful and having one specifically for business school students is even better. they help out with everything from cv and cover letters to mock interviews and networking.
  • They also have help for international students looking for visa sponsored opportunities and opportunities in home country so that is key.

Accommodation

Off Campus
8

  • On campus accommodation. very easy to find, university is very helpful. they guarantee accommodation for international students in year 1 so that helps. you can use uni website for information - very detailed. 3d view and youtube room tours are helpful.
  • The best way to secure is by looking through carefully. recommend staying the vale village in year 1. it is 15 mins walk from uni a bit far but has a great sense of community. all 1st years stay there. 

Exams

  • No interview, only ucas application. That includes statement of purpose, reference letter and predicted grades. you also need ielts or tofel depending on which board you studied in high school.
  • Other than that you dont need anything else. if you already have your results you will get an unconditional offer and dont require predicted grades. they accept all boards - igcse, cbse, ssc, ib

Fees

  • You are charged a fixed amount for all 3 years based on the price when you join. it increases every year. I pay 22320£ per year as tuition fees.
  • You can pay monthly, full at once or term wise. Accommodation is around 6500£ to 10000£ for an ensuite per year. Monthly expenses around 500£ including grocery, transport, going out shopping etc.
  • Major expense is eating out and grocery. I don't use much for travel since I live close by and walk.

Scholarship

  • No scholarships available when I started for undergrad economics. there is available for other courses and for masters. the amount depends on the requirements, academic ones are usually only around 3000£-5000£.
  • You can have ones which cover all fees but they are more limited. best to contact the university and confirm if any scholarship available.