University of Southampton : Master's choice!

9.7
Verified Review (Out of 10)
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Academic
10.0
Accommodation
10.0
Faculty
10.0
Infrastructure
10.0
Social Life
8.0
Placement
10.0

Student's Snapshots

General
General
General
General
General
Accommodation

Course Curriculum

10

  • The course difficulty, I would give it 4/5 for someone who is familiar with the concepts or has some background. If you're unfamiliar with it, it's a solid 5/5 and you need to put in a lot of hours apart from your lectures as well. It was a mix of both practical and theory, with the practical aspect being 75% of it.
  • The most positive aspect for me was that it was highly practical based, which for me is a plus as I prefer that type of learning. The negative part would be the inclusion of high level mathematics for almost all the modules, even where not absolutely necessary.

Admission Experience

  • University of Southampton - Admitted 
    University of Leeds - Shortlisted 
    University of Sheffield - Shortlisted
    University of Warwick - Rejected 
    University of Glasgow - Rejected

  • In my opinion, and from the response I got from them, the reason why I got rejected was because my bachelor's was a 3-year degree whereas they wanted someone with a 4-year degree.
    1) The reasons why I chose UoS over others were QS rankings (UoS ranked better than the rest), it was the reviews that I got after getting in touch with the alumni of these universities, the cost of living, and the location (I like living sea side)
    2) The admission process was fairly straightforward, I applied through a counsellor Zoom Abroad and they handled the application process. All I had to do was review the forms for correction information. There were not many steps. There was no advance payment or deposit needed. Even my first installment had to be paid after a month of me starting my course. Once they had submitted the forms, I got the conditional offer letter where they required some more details from me (degree certificate, LORs). Once I submitted those things, I got the final offer letter which I then accepted.
    3) There was a minimum grade requirement for the Bachelor's, which was 3/4 GPA (or 70%) and it had to be from a relevant field, and they also needed a minimum of 7.5 score in IELTS. Apart from these, there wasn't much else in terms of academic requirements.
    4) My admission experience was quite smooth. I didn't face any blockers, and as mentioned earlier, there weren't that many steps either. The only thing to keep in mind is to keep all your documents handy so that you don't have to search for it if they ask for anything.

  • I applied for the September intake as there was no other intake option available for my course. However, I had conducted some research on this beforehand and had found out that there are more chances of getting placed in a company during that time period. 

  • The admission process started in December 2022, when I applied to the university via my counsellor. By the end of January 2023, I had the conditional offer letter. Then, a month later or so, after all my documents were verified, I received the final offer letter as well. I made the choice by March 2023 as I had to finalize an accomodation as well.

Class Schedule

10

  • The classes could be spread in different timings across different days, our timetable would change on a weekly basis, but we wouldn't have more than 12 hours a week. You could have back to back lectures or have one at 10am and the other at 4pm. The weren't more than 5 lectures on any given day though. The classes were held Monday to Friday - weekends were off.
  • There were approximately 120-140 people in my class depending on the module. 
  • Approximately 50 Indian students were enrolled in my course.

Faculty

10

  • There were minimum 2 professors assigned for each module, and we would have a minimum of 4 modules each semester. However, each student was assigned a PT (personal tutor) who would be sort of an educational and general guide for us throughout the year. This was highly helpful both for educational doubt solving as well as knowing about procedures that needed to be followed.
  • The teaching is brilliant I would say, the methods and examples they use make it very easy to understand. They also focus on giving us some tasks to do by ourselves so we get used to it. However, the contents of the course alone will not get you the job, there needs to be additional efforts by the students in terms of hands-on experience.
  • I haven't had any such encounters where the faculties used their personal networks to get a referral or job opportunity, but they do provide useful links and resources for the same. 
  • The faculty member I admired the most was our Course Lead - Mr. Edilson. What makes him stand out is that he individually helps out each and every student that needs it. He'll call you to his office and get you a solution instead of just passing on your query to other departments/people.

Campus Life

10

  • My University has 3 campus. They are Highfield Campus, Boulderwood Campus, and the City Center Campus. 
  • The facilities available are Hartley library which is one of the best and oldest libraries across all UK universities. There is a huge sports facilities with Swimming, Gym, Badminton and many other sports. We also have UHS (University Health Sevice) on campus. 
  • We have over 100 clubs and pretty much the same amount of events. At any given day, there is atleast 1 event happening in or around our university. I took part in a few myself - the color fun run, the fresher's week, etc.
  • There are many sports activities for both individual or team sports, at either the university level or even intercity level. There are various cultural events as well, like bollywood night, chinese new year celebrations, diwali, etc.

Part Time Jobs

  • For part-time opportunities, there are less teaching assistant roles but we do have a Student Ambassador role which acts as a guide for Students, helps manage events, and other activities. 
  • The pay range is about GBP 12 per hour, and it increases as you progress through the ranks.
  • Other jobs available are at the coffee shop (pret) or other restaurants, and they have a similar pay range.
  • We are allowed a maximum of 20 hours per week on our student visa.
  • It is not easy to secure a part-time job, you need to be actively looking for it and applying daily to get shortlisted.
  • Indian students typically do 16-20 hours a week and they earn around 11.44 to 13 GBP per hour. It is quite difficult to land a part-time job as you are completely new to the city and you don't know where to start, but once you start and get to know your way around the city, I think it's a fairly decent chance to get a part-time job. 3) You need to either go to the place in person or apply online first. Then, if you're shortlisted, you would get a call from the hiring manager who would verify and confirm your details like work status, hours allowed, etc.
  • If you clear that call, you would then be invited for an interview in person, once that is cleared then you're selected. There aren't many rounds for a part-time job. 

Placement

10

  • Firstly, 50% of the people from my batch went back to their country after completing the course. From those that have stayed, it's a 30-70 ratio, with 30 being the ones that got a job and 70 being those that are still looking for one.
  • The average salary range for a fresher would be GBP 25000 to 30000. If you have some experience, expect it to be anywhere from GBP 30000 to 50000 depending on your years of experience.
  • Students usually take the graduate route and apply for "graduate role" which are mainly for freshers that are about to graduate. Apart from that, they mainly opt for LinkedIn, Indeed and other recruitment sites. 
  • Not many of my batchmates have been placed. A few of them have been placed in Business Analyst roles in different companies. They had to wait a fair amount of time before finally getting the job.
  • There aren't any specific ones, but the NHS is one of them that I've heard of.

Accommodation

Off Campus
10

  • I used my counsellor's (Zoom Abroad) contacts to get my accommodation. They connected me with University Living, and they helped me finalize my accommodation via Whatsapp and calls.
  • The weekly rent was GBP 120 which was to be paid over 10 installments over the course of the year. We each had out private room in a shared flat. We had 2 shared washrooms, a shared shower and a big shared kitchen. Apart from that, we had monthly events like Pizza Night, Trivia Night, etc.
  • The challenges I mainly encountered were trust-based. Since it is a new country altogether and I don't know anyone there, I was hesitant to pay the deposit upfront. However, I can vouch that University Living is as trusted as it gets. The other challenge was finding a location close to the university which also had a decent rent amount that fit my budget.
  • My recommendation would be Green Wood Court, it is where I stayed and it was the best accommodation I saw there for this price range. There are other good ones like Orion and Glen Eyre, but they provide a similar experience for a higher price. 
  • My accommodation was a 15 minute walk away from the University. Most of the Indian students stayed either here at Green Wood Court or at Glen Eyre Halls.

Exams

  • For my University and my course specifically, only IELTS was required with a minimum score of 7.5. Additional, each individual component should be atleast 6.5. 
  • The documents needed were Statement of Purpose, Letters of Recommendation, CV, 10th Class Marksheet, 12th Class Marksheet, Bachelor's Degree, All Semester Marksheet of Bachelor's, Address Proof, Any Government ID.
  • No, there was no interview held.

Fees

  • The total course fees was around GBP 27000. This included the tuition fees, library fees, etc. However, it does not include the sports membership, that is to be bought separately. I hadn't taken campus residence so it wasn't included in this.
  • The fees were charged in 3 installments, which was more or less semester-wise. 
  • In terms of the monthly expenses, it was around GBP 650, with the rent being GBP 500 (120 per week) and the other costs like groceries, sim card, transportation being around GBP 150. 

Scholarship

  • For my course, every Indian/Overseas student gets GBP 8000 as a scholarship. More can be availed if you fit into the required category. The name is Dean's Scholarship for Overseas Students.
  • I too, received GBP 8000 as the scholarship amount.
  • Similar to me, my batchmates received the same amount. I had friends in other couses (MSc in Operational Research) who received GBP 3000 and my friends in MSc Computer Science didn't receive any.
  • As I mentioned, every Overseas student can get the scholarship as long as it's mentioned in their course prospectus.