“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home” -James Michener.

Hi there! My name is Amelia and I’m writing to share my student experience after using Across the Pond to help connect me to my graduate school in the UK. I study International Business and Intercultural Communication at Oxford Brookes University.
 

Why I Studied Abroad

I always knew that I wanted to study abroad. In my undergrad, I participated in a few study abroad programs and interned abroad. Going abroad allowed me to experience a new culture, learn from different perspectives, and challenge myself in ways that I could not do at home. I got a global management minor as part of my bachelor’s and learned about culture theory, Hofstede, The Culture Map, etc. When I discovered Across the Pond, I knew that this was the perfect opportunity for me to continue my education abroad, but at a higher level.
 

Across the Pond was Incredibly Helpful, in Every Step of the Process

I couldn’t believe it when I realized that Across the Pond was a completely free service! My advisor helped me in every stage of the process, from finding the universities with my program of interest, to refining my resume and submitting applications. I ended up applying to several universities and my advisor made sure I stayed on top of all the communications and deadlines from each of them. Furthermore, once I was accepted and accepted my placement, Across the Pond was able to connect me with other students who had recently studied in the UK, as well as students from the US heading to my university, so I could hear their experiences.
 

Choosing Oxford Brookes University

When I was considering which university to attend, Oxford Brookes stood out to me because of the program’s personal touches. Their program director reached out to me individually to discuss the program and my options. When I arrived, I was impressed by the campus and the facilities, including the library, computer labs, and sports facilities. I also appreciated the supportive and welcoming environment that the university provided. The staff and professors were always available to help and answer my questions, which made me feel comfortable and confident in my studies. We had a small cohort in my program, so I got a lot of personal attention from the professors with my projects.
 

Accommodation and Student Life

One of the things I loved about student life in the UK was the variety of social activities. From week one I was involved in a variety of activities with the International Student community at Brookes. From sports clubs to cultural events, there was always something to do and explore. Through these activities, I made friends from all over the world and learned so much about different cultures and perspectives. For instance, we had an international student's traditional English Christmas dinner and got to learn about how they celebrate Christmas with specific foods and traditions like Christmas Poppers!

Balancing studies and sights is no easy act, but Oxford Brookes recognizes the value of experiences outside the classroom. From my first (jetlagged) day strolling through the streets of Oxford to the ISAT trips I’ve taken, my experience here would not be nearly as valuable without the opportunities I’ve had to see what makes the UK, the UK. I’ve been surprised by how much I love tea, and how much I dislike fish and chips. I’ve learned to navigate the politeness of British culture, and I’ve met people whom I hope to have lifelong friendships with.

I had never been to Oxford before studying at Oxford Brookes University, but in just the last two months I’ve fallen in love with the city. Oxford has more depth than I ever could’ve imagined. To walk through the streets of Oxford is to walk where Kings, Queens, and some of the most brilliant minds have walked for the last thousand years. I hope to one day be considered one of those brilliant minds, but for now, I’ll soak up as much of Oxford as I can.
 

The MA International Business and Intercultural Communication Program

The International Business and Intercultural Communication program was everything I hoped for. The courses were challenging but engaging, and the professors were knowledgeable and passionate about their subjects. I appreciated the variety of topics we covered, such as EU laws and regulations, business skills, and intercultural communication. One of the highlights of the program was the opportunity to complete an internship with a local company, which gave me practical experience and helped me to understand the local business environment.
 

Career Goals and Post-Graduation

My long-term goal was to find a job locally, and I'm pleased to say that I was able to achieve this. Thanks to the skills and knowledge I gained from the program, I was able to secure a full-time job in London. The education I received was comparable to what I could have received in the U.S., but the people I met and the experiences I had were irreplaceable. Furthermore, as a communications professional, understanding different cultures and how to work with them has been key to my career.
 

Conclusion

Studying in the UK was a life-changing experience for me. Through Across the Pond and Oxford Brookes University, I was able to gain new skills, make lifelong friends, and achieve my career goals. I highly recommend this opportunity to anyone who is considering studying abroad and I always recommend to those looking to study in the UK to utilize Across the Pond and your advisor. Their help is invaluable! Thank you, Across the Pond, for helping me to make this dream a reality.

- Amelia
 

My name is Pilar, 2 years ago I was struggling at my current job, and I couldn’t get promoted due to toxic work environment and staff shortage during the pandemic. Therefore, I decided to take a challenge and started to look for Masters degrees programs in the UK. I found out about Across the pond from my neighbour who got accepted right away after applying easily. I was extremely motivated and inspired to do the same. Hence, I applied through Across the ponds to several universities, and I got accepted into two. The first one was Oxford Brookes University, and the other was Middlesex. I chose Oxford Brookes because I’ve heard it had the program I was looking for and was rated highly among the UK universities. I merely decided to study in the UK to pursue my dream career and expand my knowledge in my field. Thanks to Across the pond who made the process extremely easy for me, they provided for me all the necessary to do’s and directly sent all the paperwork from my previous university to the new one in no time. In fact, I was really shocked I got a fast response.

After I got my visa, I booked the ticket to London a month before my course to enjoy travelling in the UK before getting busy with my studies. I visited many landmarks in London for instance, Big ben, Tower of London, Piccadilly circus, the British museum etc.. I even went south to see Brighton in the county of East Sussex, England. It felt very different of course than the regular seas you see. Just the English beach of pebbles (sand) and cold water. Moreover, I went to Bournemouth by the south coast – Dorset which I really liked and Windsor in Berkshire, England.

After a month travelling, I went to Oxford where my university was located. A very small town an hour away from London. During my course I found out several differences to where I studied in the US. Initially the coursework is 100% research there is no such thing called extra credit like US system does. It is only one chance at the end of semester to submit your paper so the whole research you do depends on only one paper the whole semester. I found that very challenging indeed.

Another thing, When you are writing the final research paper and you want feedback before you submit, the professor is not responsible to view your work or give you any feedback. Totally Unlike US system. However, Oxford Brookes had a virtual writing centre of academic bureau tutors to help students and provide them critical feedback. In my first research paper I was hesitant to use it but I did because the writing style was different than US. In Brookes they only used Harvard style which I was not used to but that academic centre was able to provide tips and explanation in how to write it. Also, I had several help from many tutors view my work before submitting to provide critical feedback. So if you are like me and like to ensure someone revises your work you can schedule an appointment with them for further assistance.

On campus after my lectures, I sometimes would go to the library to do my research. There are plenty of computers available and of course the online library resources are endless. I do have to point out that when you do the research ensure that you also use google scholars besides the university resource. Some professors will not recommend it just because its not from the University. But it helps 100% and I have used it millions of times to get research done. Furthermore, most of the sources on it are credible. So I recommend for future students to use Google scholars as a plus to the university library in their dissertation or client project.

As for my accommodation I stayed within the university housing accommodation. I do not recommend that at all to any student for several reasons. Mainly if you want to have peace of mind and make good room mates stay away from University accommodations and go to external ones.

Pertaining to my course, I was studying international events management. My course was very interesting because I learned a lot about sustainable events and digital marketing that I was certain it will benefit me in my future career.

During coursework I did have spare time. I decided to fully take advantage of that by travelling in the UK. I did not like to stay in Oxford much because it was a very small student town with not much activities or huge social life for me. Therefore, every 3 weeks or any weekend whenever I had the chance, I would go visit my friends and cousin in London and spend a lot of time there. I truly enjoyed that mostly than Oxford because it was a big city with plenty of places to go to and many professional people you can meet other than students. Once you pass 25 years old you should connect with professionals. Trust me it will help you in your future career.

Besides, after April my course was fully online so I had a job offer in London in my field which was liberating for me to study and work at the same time. So, I took the chance and maintained my work-study balance still like a student. Of course I still had my studies online and my academic advisor providing me feedback during summer virtually. I really enjoyed being busy and going to public libraries in London to do my research and meet new people everyday at work or even in a pub was an amazing experience.

I’m truly thankful I had this experience and achieved my MSc in international events Management with a merit that in fact helped me achieve the career path I wanted to pursue. Not too long ago I accepted a job offer for a Marketing management training program in a company in LA all thanks to my degree and the constant support of my family and friends and of course Across the Pond's.

As a future advice for future students, you will learn a lot on your own from your own research, some lectures are just theoretical, you will enjoy reading and writing even if you hate it and most of all travel across the UK because you only get one chance to do that while you are there.

- Pilar
 

I always knew I wanted to study abroad after completing my bachelor’s degree, but deciding where to go was the most difficult part for me. Luckily, one of my Internet research sessions led me to find Across the Pond. With the help of my advisor I found several schools in the UK that offered graduate programs I was interested in. I applied to several programs, but finally decided to attend Oxford Brookes for their MA Publishing.

Oxford Brookes appealed to me for a number of reasons: their student satisfaction rating was very high on a number of different websites, the lecturers on the publishing program had a history of industry experience, and the modules listed for the degree seemed directly relevant to the field. I wanted a master’s program that would help me gain industry experience as quickly as possible, and the Brookes MA has really lived up to my expectations. Already by the end of my first semester I had secured a work experience placement. I have since also acquired two volunteer positions related to publishing. If you want to learn the skills you need to be a publisher and have supportive teachers and advisors to help you get experience in the industry, I’ve found both through the MA Publishing at Oxford Brookes.

Some of the courses I’ve taken for my MA include an editorial module (with a proofreading tutorial), a marketing module, and a module covering design and production for publishing. In my second semester I am currently studying my elective modules: New Product Development (an editorial-based course), Rights Management, and Children’s Publishing. During this semester we are also required to submit a proposal for our final dissertation or major project that will be completed over the summer to finish the course.

I moved to Oxford just a week before the start of classes for my degree, in mid-September. I found it to be a beautiful city full of old buildings and rich history, and also quite a change from the busy urban setting where I had studied for my bachelor’s in Canada. While it may not have all the amenities of a big city like London or Toronto, the transit is easy to use, the city centre has decent shopping and there are loads of nice places to eat.

Oxford may not be a big city, but it is a very expensive place to live. Once you add up the cost of rent, utilities, food, and a transit pass, staying in residence starts to seem a little appealing. The postgraduate residence where I chose to stay (Clive Booth Student Village) ended up being the most cost-effective for me as the fees covered everything from Internet to a local bus pass, plus the location was close to all of the campus sites I needed to access for classes.

One of the nice things about my program in particular is that we are offered the chance to participate in school-coordinated travel to book fairs all over Europe. I had a chance to attend the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, and I will also be attending the Bologna Book Fair in Italy later this year. There are lots of places to see near Oxford as well, just an hour or two away by bus or train. Many of my classmates go to Bath on weekends, or take the bus to London. If you’re from Canada or America where the norm is traveling for a long time but getting nowhere, the UK is a pleasant change, because a two-hour train ride can get you to Paris! Travel is definitely one of the perks of studying in the UK… when your classes afford you the time, of course.

Everything about moving from Canada to the UK was a big step for me, and working with an advisor from Across the Pond helped ease the process a little bit. It was reassuring to know I could ask my advisor whenever I had a question about my school choices, my applications, or my VISA, and I would always get a prompt response. I also found the documents provided to me just before my move, like the Pre-Departure Guide, helped prepare me a little more for what life would be like in England. To any new student looking to study at Oxford Brookes, my advice would be to put yourself out there! Especially in the field of publishing, meeting people is the best way to gain experience, learn new things, and get access to resources (for example, those sought-after internships)!

There are some really good resources available at Brookes, from the lecturers themselves to the careers centre, librarians, and the Brookes Union. If you’re going to make an international move for school, make the most of all the new experiences, and talk to people! It can be hard to be sociable at first in a new place surrounded by new people, but I found the MA Publishing students to be a very international and very friendly group.

Taking a risk is worth it!

- Rebecca
 

Across the Pond actually recommended Oxford Brookes’ international foundation as a program that isn’t just geared towards people with English as a second language. It’s geared towards any international student, regardless of language. 

Oxford is obviously a great university town and it is nice because it is a big city but at the same time, it still has a very kind of small-town feel almost. It’s the perfect size! 

Oxford suits a lot of people, and a lot of international students because you can get a feeling of what a UK city is like without it being a daunting size.

Taking an international foundation at Oxford Brookes has probably been one of the most beneficial moves that I have made. The greatest thing that this program has allowed me to do was really develop my writing and understand how that fits into the university system over here. It’s got me used to the way the UK grading system works and how a UK university wants you to write papers – that is not as big an issue over in the States. Having a foundation program that really focuses on writing papers has probably been a really great step in preparing for a degree program over here. I think I would have been a little bit unsettled jumping straight into a degree as I would not have expected to have so many written assignments.

My foundation lecturers are just great! I feel like they’re always looking out for the students’ best interests. I definitely would rate Oxford Brookes extremely highly on how satisfied I have been with the school. There are obviously some frustrations, but I think you’re going to find that at any school. I feel like when I raise issues with Oxford Brookes they’re actually concerned about them and they go out of their way to get you an answer. They do really try and promote the students’ satisfaction.

- Rebecca
 

Studying in England is a fantastic opportunity. The education here is top-notch, and the region has such a rich history. With the continent, just a cheap plane ride away, all the dream vacation spots are accessible for so cheap that a weekend getaway isn't out of the budget even for the money-conscious students.

The advisors at Across the Pond were absolutely invaluable! They patiently took the time to answer all of my specific questions about anything that had to do with applying and moving to the UK. They guided me through what is a very complicated process step by step so that I was never overwhelmed by the things I had to get done to make it happen.

Their depth and breadth of knowledge about the UK, university applications, and VISAs make their services worth far more than I can express. They sent out timely guides on the topics that I needed to address before I needed to address them such that I never was in danger of missing a deadline or skipping something important.

They offer such a broad range of partner universities that I never once felt as though I had to limit my options as I worked with them. When I had selected my major, the advisors told me exactly which of their university partners offered it so that I could focus my research. Then they made the application process unbelievably easy. I filled out one form and sent all of the information to my advisor, and they took care of the rest!

Thank you, Across the Pond! I am studying in England now. Without your help, I never would have made this dream of mine a reality!

- Kory