More than a Master’s Degree
Choosing to pursue a master’s degree in the United Kingdom was an opportunity to step outside my comfort zone, continue developing academically and experience life in another country. I was particularly attracted by the quality of British universities, the possibility of completing a master’s degree in one year and the independent approach of their programmes. I also wanted to encounter new perspectives, improve my English and meet people from different parts of the world.
My MSc in Mathematics was academically demanding, but also extremely rewarding. One of the main differences I noticed was the emphasis on independent learning. Lectures provided the foundations, but students were expected to spend a considerable amount of time studying independently, consulting different sources and organising their own work. I had the opportunity to study subjects from several areas, including number theory, cryptography, group theory, stochastic processes, graph theory and numerical methods. At the end of the programme, I also completed a dissertation on mathematical models of epidemic spreading on networks, which allowed me to combine mathematical theory, programming and simulations.
On a personal level, studying abroad helped me become much more independent and adaptable. At first, adjusting to a different academic system, communicating in English every day and managing the practical aspects of life in another country was challenging. Over time, however, I became much more confident. Meeting students from many different countries was also one of the most valuable parts of the experience. I learned not only about British culture, but also about many other cultures, perspectives and approaches to education.
Some of the most important skills I gained were the ability to work independently, manage long-term projects and ask for support when needed. I also learned that adapting to a new country does not happen overnight. It is completely normal to feel uncertain or overwhelmed at the beginning, but gradually you develop a routine and start to enjoy the experience much more.
Before arriving, I wish I had known just how quickly the academic year would pass. For that reason, I would recommend beginning the accommodation search, document preparation and financial planning as early as possible. It is also important to take advantage of university support services, student activities and opportunities to meet new people from the beginning. You do not need to have everything figured out on your first day.
The support I received from Across the Pond was very helpful throughout the application process. It allowed me to understand each step more clearly and made me feel that I was not going through the process alone. Studying in the United Kingdom involved both academic and personal challenges, but it also helped me grow, meet incredible people and discover new possibilities for my future. It is an experience I would definitely recommend to anyone considering taking the same step.
- Fabián
Studying in the UK? How about Studying and Traveling?
When you are about to embark on your trip to the UK, you think that you are only going to bury yourself in your studies, because it is normal to want to focus 100% on studying since you aren't spending a small amount of money or time. You want to dedicate 100% of your energy to it, and I understand that at the beginning you are nervous, so maybe the first month you say "Ok, I will use the first month to adapt, get to know the surroundings a little bit, and get used to my routine," but you will have another 11 months to do other things. This is where the idea of "I want to travel, I want to explore, I'm already here, I want to go to Scotland" comes in, because that was exactly what I thought. I said, "if I already know York", in my case I went to the University of York, which is a wonderful school, it is one of the best and you can feel it in every class you attend, and the professors are very good, but even they tell you, "You know what? Relax, stop thinking about school stuff and travel, explore, you are already here."
And the truth is, you wouldn't be wasting it, nor do you have to sacrifice a lot of school time to be able to explore. I think it is one of the things you absolutely have to do, aside from studying, because the system gives you the time to disconnect from school. There is even a week they call rest week, intended for your brain to rest from the things you are doing for school, and you can use it to travel.
Recommendations? Scotland... London!
Honestly, I recommend going to Scotland. I think that if you go to the UK, specifically England, you have to go visit Scotland. It is very close; it takes about three hours by train, more or less, and you can easily pick a city, tour its most important spots in one day, and return that same night. Will you end up exhausted? Yes. Is it an experience I would recommend? Also, yes. Another recommendation: if you are in York, which is sort of a midpoint on the island of Great Britain, going to London isn't very far either. It is a very large city, though, so keep in mind that you won't be able to cover it in a single day, but it is also a must-visit. In fact, visiting other cities will also help you reconnect a little bit with your home country, because often when you are there, the food doesn't taste the same, and that is the first thing you miss from your country. In bigger cities like London or Edinburgh, finding restaurants that make good food from your country is easier.
There are many other places I visited, for example, Manchester, Liverpool, and the coastal town of Scarborough. While they aren't huge cities, if you are used to living at the speed of a big city like Mexico City, which is where I come from, visiting those cities will give you a little bit of vigour in life. There are very good restaurants in those cities too. I would recommend one in Manchester; I honestly don't remember what it's called, but look for it as a restaurant that gives you "machetitos", it's excellent with steaks.
Do not miss the opportunity to try other food, I mean, food from other countries, because since the UK is such a cosmopolitan country, it is very easy to find food from other places that you perhaps wouldn't find in your own country.
Zero fears of tourism
The truth is that the people there are very warm. You might think otherwise, but traveling, talking, and getting to know other places is something you just have to do. You are already there, take advantage of it; don't just bury yourself in studying. Yes, that is what you are going for, but it's not that difficult either, and you will realize that. It seems that when someone tells you about it, they are just paying lip service, and you think "it's very easy to say but doing it is complicated," but take it from me, I already went and lived that experience, and it is not as difficult as it seems. Make time to explore, and whether you go with a scholarship or your own funds, make room for it, it is truly worth it. If you had to choose just one destination out of all the ones over there, I would recommend, and I repeat, Scotland.
There are many good seasons to go to Scotland, specifically Edinburgh. I went during the December season, which is when the Christmas markets are there, and honestly, it is totally recommended. Don't miss it, the Christmas markets are very beautiful, there is a lot of food, try everything. Something else I can recommend to you is a map. There are many places that sell little maps, buy one. I think it is something that when you look at it, you will say "I toured that city," and you will remember the spots you went to. For example, I vividly remember going to the castle; by the way, if you go to the castle at 1:00 PM, there is an impressive cannon shot, you must go. Getting back to the map, it makes a great souvenir.
I hope this is useful to you because I want to emphasize that not everything is studying. The professors say it, and I think it is also healthy to disconnect a little bit. At least in Latin American countries, we have a culture where we always have to be doing something, we always have to be productive, we always have to do things; you can't disconnect, maybe you can't even take a 5-minute breather. But you will realize that the culture is very different over there. All that's left is for me to wish you good luck on the next trip you take to clear your mind from your studies, because I know you will go and you will make it happen.
-Diego
What I wish I had known before going to the University of York
The UoY, or University of York, is one of the best universities in the United Kingdom, and although you might think, "that is just a ranking," or "maybe they aren't that good," I can tell you right now that they are indeed very good, and you notice it in every single class.
They have curricula at the vanguard of the world's needs, and mind you, I don't just mean the UK's; they are preparing people to be ready to face the challenges that haven't even reached our countries yet, but when they do, we will be a few steps ahead. Now, you already know the university is very good, but what about the accommodation, the life, and the country?
Your home in York
The university is huge, and the truth is I didn't explore all of it, but I can tell you that the options for staying on campus are very diverse; whichever college you are assigned to, you are very lucky, as they all have their charm. I don't want to take away the merit of living on campus, because it is very convenient, both because you don't have to worry about paying for utilities, and because you can get to the classroom in 5 minutes. However, I think a better option would have been to live off-campus, because generally speaking it is cheaper, and you are closer to urban life. You can ask the government to exempt you from council tax payments because you are a foreign student, and that is a big help regardless. But what happens? At least in my experience, the time difference between when I got my visa and when I travelled to York was 10 days, 10 days! I wouldn't have had time to find accommodation in time; what I did was secure housing at the school well in advance, which takes a lot of pressure off you.
Making money
This is one of the things that I really wish I had known, especially because you think, "I won't have time," or "I want to focus 100% on my studies," and I can tell you that you will have more than enough time for everything: traveling, working, and studying. Now, in York there are many options for working, restaurants, bars, cafes, bakeries. It's just a matter of finding a place you like, since being a student city/town, there are many places that give you the flexibility to work, and that helps you a lot, because when you are a student that is vital, and even more so because you also want to travel. So, my advice is: work from month 1.
I know it sounds difficult, but that's just it, it sounds more difficult than it actually is. If you have already dared to go to a country you might not know well, working will help you not only to make money, but to gain experience so that later you can look for something more specialized in what you want, because let me tell you that it's something the English value a lot, that you already have experience working in their country, but It will also help you socialize, improve your use of idioms in the language, and distract you from school.
Grocery shopping is expensive?
Here I must say yes and no, because it will depend a lot on where you shop. I recommend certain stores like Lidl or Aldi, which are very good, cheap, and have sales very often, and as a student, you appreciate that. I think it depends on tastes and budgets here, but in general, I could tell you that it is not expensive; there are many products that are expensive in our countries, but there they are absurdly cheap, like bread, for example. It's not that it's expensive in Mexico, but I don't know why, they almost give it away to you over there.
There are also many student discounts in restaurants or cafeterias; take advantage of them, you can stock up on bread for several days there. Also, use apps like Too Good To Go; that app gives discounts to people who want to buy the leftover food at the end of the day at a restaurant. It's not bad, it's just that the restaurant offers fresh food daily and they won't offer that food the next day, and as they would say in my hometown, "better in my belly than in the trash."
There are many other things that, although I would have liked to know before going, I think it was also good that I discovered them along the way. I hope you can also discover them like I did because going to the UK was one of the things I will always recommend.
-Diego
Why Studying in the UK Might Be the Best Decision
I am a firm believer that if something scares you, you should do it, because that is where you grow, and to be honest, going to study in the United Kingdom was one of the decisions that scared me the most at the time, but I don't regret a thing. Obviously, thinking that you will be far from home and that you will go alone, especially when you haven't travelled abroad alone, is an uncomfortable situation. I thought that the culture shock, the weather, the people, the country, and the way of thinking would be very difficult things to face, but now, after having lived the experience, I can tell you that I couldn't have been more wrong in my life.
Going to the UK was an eye-opening experience; being such a cosmopolitan country, you find people from many countries, many ideas, and many ways of thinking. You can adapt ideas for your return home, if you are thinking about returning, or you can change your way of seeing things, because sometimes what you need is to know how other cultures view things. Often, the people with whom you exchange ideas become people with whom you maintain friendships, despite the cultural differences and the distance.
I can say that I remain friends with a Turkish friend I met in York; he is me, but in a Turkish version. Can you imagine finding your "you" from another country? I would never have imagined it; he even invited me to his wedding. The probability of something like that happening to me in Mexico is very low.
But why might studying in the UK be the best decision?
The experience of living in another country by itself is already attractive; meeting people, places, and cultures is fascinating. However, the academic vision and the years of advancement that the UK has in terms of the problems they solve and teach you, I am very sure you haven't heard about in many places. That experience and that vision you bring back will help you pave your way in the professional field, in your entrepreneurship, or even in your daily life. Going to study doesn't just give you a master's, doctorate, or bachelor's degree; it gives you perspective, and that is something you couldn't get just anywhere.
-Diego
My Best Decision: Fulfilling My Dream After Turning Thirty
Hello, my name is José, I am from the city of Santiago, Chile, and this is my experience studying in the United Kingdom.
The Decision That Changed Everything
The truth is that I had always dreamed of studying abroad, living new experiences, and learning about other cultures. The United Kingdom had always been my goal. However, the years went by, and I never dared to do it.
Despite this, after a holiday trip I took to Edinburgh and London, that flame of studying abroad was reignited, and I embarked on the adventure, enrolling in the LLM in General Legal Studies at the University of Bristol, with quite a few more years behind me, but with the same energy and enthusiasm I had ten years earlier.
How to Survive in England
As for my academic and personal life, it was very difficult at the beginning, as I travelled alone, without my partner, and I had to adapt to an academic environment that was very different from the one I was used to in Chile.
However, I took this as a personal challenge and was fortunate enough to build a very good support network with other Chileans who were also studying at the university. Today, there are at least 15 Chileans among us, ranging from undergraduate students to PhD students.
Learning to Live with Bristol’s Diversity and English Culture
Another important aspect was the culture. Fortunately, Bristol is a very diverse city and welcoming to foreign people, so I never had any problems adapting to English culture.
Bristol is, without a doubt, a city of many contrasts: it is a small city, but with the soul of a big city. It has everything you need and, best of all, it is a very friendly city for anyone who wants to explore it on foot, except perhaps for the endless hills on the way up to the university. In addition, it has incredible places and views for anyone willing to explore it. Although I admit that what I have enjoyed the most has been being able to go to different cities to enjoy football at different levels and to talk with people from different places.
Although I still have several months left in the United Kingdom, I take away a great lesson: living abroad literally means starting from scratch and learning to understand how different things work in a different city.
For example, something as simple as crossing the street could often become a difficult task, but not an impossible one. Therefore, without a doubt, the most important lesson has been the resilience and perseverance that one develops, as well as the opportunity to broaden one’s horizons, which undoubtedly helps you grow as a person.
What I Would Have Liked to Know Beforehand
Now then, what would I have liked to know beforehand? Probably how to understand the English transport system and the different opportunities that exist to manage your budget better.
The United Kingdom, and England in particular, is a very expensive country, so planning your budget is essential, as is getting your Railcard in time and always carrying your university ID card with you in order to make the most of the available discounts.
What I've learnt from This Adventure
To conclude what my experience in the United Kingdom has been, I am left with the certainty that it has been, without a doubt, the best decision I have made in my life. I do not regret it for a second, and I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to live it.
I hope that those who are still in doubt decide to do it. Even if you think the time has already passed, it is never too late to learn and fulfil your dreams.
- José
