UTTAM KUMAR TAMBOLI Review at University Of Reading [READING UNI], Berkshire | Collegedunia

Study Check : University of Reading

8.3
Verified Review (Out of 10)
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Academic
10.0
Accommodation
10.0
Faculty
8.0
Infrastructure
10.0
Social Life
10.0
Placement
2.0

Student's Snapshots

Convocation & Festivals
Accommodation

Course Curriculum

10

  • The curriculum was not necessarily difficulty but i would say that it is very different from education system in India when it comes to assessment. Most of my subjects had reports, presentations and field work as assignment instead of physical exams. So they had a mix of theory and practical element attached to it. 
  • Positive thing was that the teachers are open minded and gives you different perspective to think about the subject but the negative part is lack of assistance from them.

Admission Experience

  • I applied to University of Reading, Lancaster University, University of Aberdeen, University of Bristols, University of York, University of Newcastle and Stirling University and University of Oxford. 
  • I got rejection only from one which was Oxford probably because of their intense selection criteria, high application rates, and my profile not matching them. 
  • The reason for selecting this university was simple. I got Felix Scholarship which is a fully funded scholarship to study in UK. This scholarship is given in SOAS London, University of Reading and University of Oxford. As I was rejected from Oxford but still got offer letter from University of Reading, I got entry there. 
  • For selection criteria in terms of exam, there was only IELTS. They mentioned to have 6.5 bands minimum in every section of the exam to secure admission.
  • Apart from that, the reason for selection was also influenced by the University reputation. It is a research intensive university which comes in 4th rank for Environmental courses.
  • I got in through September intake. There is January intake as well but most of the students come in September intake. Another reason for this is most of the scholarships are given for September intake courses only. Like felix scholarship. Among all the universities I applied, university of reading was the first to give me offer letter. I liked the university because their email felt a lot personal and i felt that it is crafted just for me. As far as I remember it took 3-4 months to get offer letter from the university.

Class Schedule

10

  • One class per subject per week is scheduled. So a lot of self learning is needed to be done by the students. It is not like India where we have multiple classes for each subjects a week. 
  • My course only had 15 students and I was the only indian. There are courses like Business, Data Sciences etc which have a lot of students like 300-400 etc. so it depends on the course. 

Faculty

8

  • Generally there used to by one teacher per subject. He or she generally has an assistant to delegate basic course work in some courses. 
  • I would say that the course itself is a good overview of the industry but it is not enough to secure a job just by that education. My course didn't teach me any specific skill set which can get me a job neither in terms of software nor in soft expertise.
  • Faculty members don't assist in getting jobs. That's the biggest drawback I think exists there. All they know about traditional roles and PhD. 

Campus Life

10

  • There are library, sports facilities, gym and parks inside campus. My university has three campus. I was in Whiteknights campus. The other two are London road campus and Greenland campus.
  • There is a student union building inside Whiteknights campus which has bar pool table and dance floor. So a lot of events happen on different days of the week.

Part Time Jobs

  • University of reading is a great university when it comes to part time jobs because there are many campus part time jobs that are available.  The pay is set as per the national minimum wage and is more than that depending upon the type of job role. If it's of administrative level than the pay is more. 
  • Securing a part time job is neither too easy neither too hard. It depends on your profile and how much you give information to it. Also if you have previous experience then the chances of getting it is higher. For international students on students visa, one can work for 20 hours per week in terms time and 40 hours a week in non term time. 
  • There is bars and dining in campus which serves in college canteens. They give more shifts and the pay is good as well so indians try to get a job there. Other than that there are many new roles coming up like content creator and student ambassador. These roles are also preferred.  There is a website in which you have to apply for campus Jobs. For non campus Jobs there are websites as well or you can directly visit the shops and ask them

Placement

2

  • I don't have any info on this. But the job market is tough right now. I got a scholarship so it had a condition that I will have to come back to my country once my course finishes. So I didn't apply for Post study work visa. 
  • But I have friends who have been trying get job but it is very tough for international students right now as UK is trying to filter out international students due to immigration issues. 

Accommodation

Off Campus
10

  • I stayed in University accommodation. They are generally more costly than private accommodation. But as I got a scholarship so it was easier for me to get it. Plus it is inside the campus itself so daily commuting was easy for me. There are a lot of groups on Facebook where students share information about availability of rooms. So that's definitely worth checking out. 
  • My monthly rent was 800 pounds. But if you go to a private accommodation then you can get cheaper options like ,400 or 500 pounds a month. 
  • With university accommodation there is an added advantage of safety. That's why I considered it. 

Exams

  • Only IELTS exam score card was asked in the application. 
  • I gave in Statement of purpose LOR AND CV. 
  • There was no interview for the admission process. Nowadays interviews are taken for some courses as far as I have heard. But it depends of the course and country from which you are applying. 

Fees

  • The following were covered by my scholarship . 

    1. My course fees was 25800 british pounds.
    2. My room rent for the entire year was 10,600 British pounds.
    3. For Transportation, one can take an all day bus pass for 3.5 pounds. Rest there were cabs and trains as well. Like from Reading to London, the train fare was 20 to 25 pounds.

  • The room rent was paid in 4 installments. I used to get my allowance in four installment as well so that's how I used to pay that. 

Scholarship

  • Yes there are scholarship available for my course. I got Felix Scholarship which is given to South Asian students including India. In my scholarship I got around 5000 pounds. 
  • But it doesn't cover Visa fees. So I had to bear that. The selection criteria was merit based and overall profile of the student. The stipend is good enough to live nicely even if one does not have a part time job.  Every year 20 scholars from Are given this scholarship to study in one of the universities (University of Reading, University of Oxford and SOAS London)