Sowmya Kandasamy Review at Newcastle University [NCL], Newcastle Upon Tyne | Collegedunia

My Masters in Newcastle University

9.3
Verified Review (Out of 10)
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Academic
10.0
Accommodation
8.0
Faculty
10.0
Infrastructure
10.0
Social Life
10.0
Placement
8.0

Student's Snapshots

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Classroom
Classroom
Campus
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Facilities & Labs
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Sowmya Kandasamy
Reviewed on Mar 6, 2025(Enrolled 2024)

Course Curriculum

10

  • It is quite difficult. Because it has written exams more. We do have assignments but comparatively fewer.
  • Positive aspects: practical experience on data, computing lab sessions to get hands-on practice.
  • Negative aspects: more of written exams.
  • Maximum two classes. Minimum one class. Usually it will start around 11:30 am and last around 2 hours.
  • So the usual timings are,
    • 11:30 am to 1:30 pm
    • 12:30 am to 2:30 pm
    • 3:30pm to 5:30pm
    • and the seminars will be for one hour.
  • The average number of students is 50. In my class, 8 Indian students are there.

Admission Experience

  • I have applied to 5 College; they are
    • 1. Newcastle University
    • 2. Sheffield University
    • 3. University of Leeds
    • 4. Cranfield University
    • 5. University of Liverpool
  • I got shortlisted in all 5 Universities
  • I got the admission offer from all five universities mentioned above. No, I haven't received any rejections.
  • I accepted the offer of Newcastle University. And I didn't get rejected in any of the universities.
  • The main reason is that it is in the Northeast, where the cost of living will be less comparatively. And also, it is a part of the Russell Group. And for the safety concerns.
  • We have to make an application and wait till we hear it from them. Once they send a conditional offer, we have to make our deposit fee of 1500 pounds to receive the unconditional offer. Once we receive the unconditional offer, we have to wait to get our CAS to get our visa. They will send the draft first; once we confirm our details are correct, they will issue the final CAS.
  • A 2:1 honours degree, or international equivalent, in any subject. You also need to have a good basic level of numeracy equivalent to UK GCSE or above. IELTS is not required, but we should get a "medium of instruction" certificate from our college, where we did our bachelor's degree.
  • It was seamless. I haven't faced any challenges, as the IT support was brilliant. Whenever I have doubts or an issue, I'll just raise a query in my dashboard, which is normally answered in one or two days.
  • I applied to the Sep 2024 intake. There are no such factors; I just decided to go in September. It took around 9 months.
  • September 2023: applied to the University
  • January 2024: Got the conditional Offer
  • February 2024: Got the unconditional offer
  • March to June—too much time to get my loan got sanctioned
  • July 2024: got my CAS
  • August 2024: Got my VISA.
     

Faculty

10

  • 5:1, so every student has a personal tutor from the faculties, who will be the mentor for the entire course. If we have any queries or issues, we can report them to them. Faculties are quite reachable; we have to send an email or we can even meet them at their workstation.
  • We have all our course contents and modules uploaded in the Canvas app. All the lecture notes and all other work notes will be uploaded in the Canvas post lecture. They will prepare a PPT in advance and upload it to Canvas, which we have to go through before the lecture.
  • No, if they find any internship opportunities, they do share. But apart from that, there is no personal referral.
  • I admire my DPD, Degree Program Director, Dr. Jane, who is originally Chinese but did her Masters and PHD in the UK and got a job as a lecturer and then gradually promoted to DPD now. I admire how she develops her inner strength and courage to excel herself in a different country and different language.

Campus Life

10

  • Main University, NUBS, Urban science building, FDC, The core, the catalyst, helix—this is all I am aware of.
  • Library, sports building, cafe, student hub, student union, IT cluster.
  • Freebie events for freshmen, elections for student union officers, and so many.
  • We can be a part of any of the societies by subscribing to them, and we can also attend all the events conducted by all other societies by enrolling in them. We can also register to be a part of any particular sport. Student Union is always open for students to drop in.

Part Time Jobs

  • Am not sure about this data, as I haven't searched for any of the positions during my term time.
  • May be 12 pounds per hour, or 11.44, which is the national minimum wage.
  • Many internships are available. 20 hours is the maximum per week.
  • It will be difficult to secure one on campus, as there will be lot of competition from other country students as well as the British students.
  • Most of the Indian students will prefer to get a part-time job in restaurants or in any off-license shops. Students earn around 11.44 to 12 pounds per hour. It is difficult to secure a part-time job from my experience, as we got to hear back only one in 100 applications. They have to search in LinkedIn or indeed for the ads and apply through the portal. Once we submit the application, we have to complete an online assessment; if we succeed in that next step, it will be an in-person interview.

Placement

8

  • 20% of the people were able to find the part-time job.
  • 25000 to 30000 pounds is the average salary range for entry-level graduate jobs.
  • There is no campus recruitment. We have to search by ourselves and apply. Mostly we utilise LinkedIn, My Career website of my college and Targetjobs website.
  • We haven't been placed in any of the firms yet, so it is difficult to share this early.
  • KPMG, Deloitte, EY, and JP Morgan are the major companies for recruiting.
     

Accommodation

Off Campus
8

  • My accommodation is good. We got it through Wright Residential.
  • It is fully furnished and the monthly rent was 500 pounds, including bills.
  • Getting cheap accommodation in our budget, including bills, is a big task. Mostly ensuite will be costly for a very small room itself. Sharing accommodation was a bit affordable here.
  • Try to get added in the local area WhatsApp group; mostly people will post about the rent ads in the group with pictures; we can contact them and get it sorted. College accommodation is best if they dont know any of them here for the initial few months.
  • My accommodation is 4 miles away; I used to go by bus, which hardly takes 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Most of the Indian community people stay in a place called Fenham.
     

Exams

  • I'm not sure about the MBA. But for a Masters degree, there is no need for entry exams such as IELTS.
  • Statement of Purpose, Letter of Recommendation from your college principal, HOD and one from your workplace if you have work experience. Degree certificate, semester marksheet and detailed explanation of how it has been graded (back side of marksheet). Curriculum Vitae. 12th and 10th marksheet. Medium of instruction from college.
  • There is no interview conducted for my programme.

Fees

  • The tuition fee was 28900 GBP. I got the university's scholarship worth 4000 GBP. So, I have paid 24900 GBP for my tuition fee. I'm living in private accommodation, so hostel fees are not included.
  • It is annually and semi-annually. I have taken a bank loan to fund my fees so I have paid in full before travelling to the UK.
  • My expenses are as follows:
    • Food: 200 GBP
    • Transportation: 40 GBP
    • Rent: 500 GBP

Scholarship

  • Yes, I have received the Vice Chancellor's International Scholarship based on my academic performance as an undergraduate. There is no such eligibility criteria; all of my friends have gotten the same scholarship.
  • I got awarded with 4000 GBP.
  • One of my friends got a Vice Chancellor Excellence Scholarship, which is 50% off her tuition fee. It is a separate application that you have to make to the university mentioning why you are eligible for the award. There are two options: 100% and 50% off your tuition fee.
  • Whoever applies to the university generally gets the basic scholarship, which I got, which amounted to 4000 pounds. Only a few will get the Vice chancellor Excellence Scholarship, like 5 to 10 people.