Thinking of coming to study in the UK? An interview with a student from Taiwan

Q: When did you decide to come to UK?

A: I had been in the international education system since I was little, so it made sense to go abroad. I hadn’t been in the Taiwan education system, the family expectation was that I would go abroad at some stage as I’d been following an international curriculum.

Q: What is schooling like in Taiwan?

A: In Taiwan, you study all subjects at high school, then as well when you go to university, it’s more like being in the USA – you can’t chose one subject or just a few to study, you have to do everything.

Q: Why think of coming to the UK rather than say, the USA?

A: For me I went to States for summer schools and decided it wasn’t for me. Also my mum studied in the UK and liked the European culture so suggested I came here.

Q: What was the process for you in order to come to the UK to study?

A: In Taiwan, you consult an agent, that is the norm. The agent is usually recommended by friends. The agent started by recommending I apply to take a Foundation degree and then move on to a degree but part of that application process involved taking the IELTS exam and I did really well with this because I’d been taught in English at the international schools. If your English isn’t that good, you would have to start with an International Foundation course which would include bringing your English up to a higher level. Also to apply for Foundation, you need to pick a subject because it links to specific degree courses or areas of study in the universities that offer them. I wasn’t sure what to pick. So altogether it seemed that A Levels were a better choice.

The agents work with educational companies and they recommended specific schools. They support you with your application to the school and for a visa. At the time I did my application, we didn’t have to pay for the agent’s help, but I did know they would only recommend schools where they would be given commission by the school. But I didn’t know the UK system, I didn’t understand what 6th forms were and that you could chose a school or a college. With hindsight more information would have helped. For me it was also important to have boarding facilities because I was going to be under 18 and had never come to the UK. It was a good decision for my first year as it let me focus on my studies – meals and cleaning were all sorted for me. But it is expensive.

Q: How long before arriving did the process start?

A: The whole process started about 8 months before moving. The consultation happened around the November of the previous year. I took the IELTS exam and then had a long consultation about what A Levels were, the three 6th Forms colleges I could pick from and what subjects I wanted to do. The Agent organised for a Skype interview with the schools so I could see the differences and they could see if I would be OK with A Levels.

Q: Looking back, do you feel you made the right 6th Form choice?

A: Yes definitely, it was a small college and felt like the teachers were very focussed on you. The classes were really small – especially when I compare to Taiwan where we had classes of 30 at least. Also being able to choose 4 different subjects was good and have different people in the classes meant I met lots of new people.

Q: How did you feel about doing A Levels?

A: Before I came I had taken AP exams in my school and my expectation was that A levels would be the same. But they aren’t, they are loads harder. AP’s are easier, and they are tested in a different way to A Level’s with lots of multi choice & short answer questions in the exams, not essays. A levels were a bit of a shock, they are very intense! That’s why having small classes was so important, to really help you understand the content.

Q: was there anything else that felt very different compared to Taiwan?

A: The teachers value your opinion more than I had experienced before! In Taiwan it is important that you give correct answers when the teacher asks you a question. They don’t want to hear your opinion but in my UK A Level classes, we had discussions and everyone had a chance to give their own opinion, that was so different!

Q: were there any bad things about coming to the UK?

A: Bad things- not really. I’d say you need to have a high level of English to study A levels, I think even higher than when I went to uni. You need to be able to access the curriculum fully, otherwise you don’t understand the questions in textbooks or exams. My advice would be to come to a summer school to get your English up, unless you’ve been taught in English for ages. I’d say you need a flat 6 for do OK at uni but if you’re at 7.5 you could be confident you can access the curriculum. You need to be quick with reading. I’d recommend just to read novels all the time, like when you’re commuting, or at lunch time. IELTS is just an exam, if you have the technique you can work your way through the questions and pass the exam. Personally I don’t feel lessons in IELTS actually help your English, they just help you pass the exam. To get good at English, you need to read loads and talk in English all the time. What overseas students tend to do is speak in their native tongue with friends rather than in English and that doesn’t help them get better. Lots of people reach a threshold with their English and don’t get any better. That makes it hard to get top marks in exams so you have to make a decision and work at it – talk in English almost all the time and read for fun, not just the textbooks you have to.

Q: Is there anything you’d do differently, looking back now?

A: I think use an agency, rather than just an agent who is one person based in your country who has an arrangement with a group of schools. Because they are only going to recommend those and then it’s a bit of chance where you end up. Looking back, I’d have liked a plan that was tailored to me. But it worked out OK in the end and I really enjoyed my time at college and at Uni.