Homepage

FAQ

All

United Kingdom

Why is UK a good destination to study?

Home to some of the world’s top-ranking universities, the UK Higher Education System is reputed for its excellent quality of education, unique educational framework, and interactive teaching methodology. Every year, thousands of students apply to study abroad in the UK. You can do the same and study abroad in the United Kingdom. Student Connect is here as your higher education consultants in the UK!

UK universities are consistently securing top positions in reputed world university rankings such as the QS World Rankings, Times Higher Education Ranking, and Academic Ranking of World Universities. For international students who dream of pursuing their higher education in the UK, the possibilities offered by globally recognized degrees awarded by prestigious UK universities is endless.

Foundation – up to 12 months

Pre Masters – 3 to 6 months

Undergraduate – 3 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 4 years in Scotland Post Graduate – 1 year across the UK, at times certain courses which requires professional practice such as Architecture, Health courses or courses with placement/ internship makes the course duration up to 27 months.

PhD – 4 years or more depending on the duration of the research topic.

Studying in the UK can be expensive but with proper financial planning, it could be more affordable than other countries such as Canada, US, Australia and NZ. UK course duration is shorter than these countries and UK has a long tradition of providing prospective international students with merit based and country-based scholarships which will reduce your tuition fee.

For example, you can complete a master’s degree within £14,000 which is not expensive when compared to Canada, USA and or Australia. You also get to recover these during your 2-year graduate route work visa.

Living as an international student in the United Kingdom is expensive compared to some other countries. However, the return on investment in spending all that money on your vital growth and education is definitely higher than your investment.

Like any country, how expensive is to live in the UK depends on your lifestyle choices, where you live and how you choose to spend your money. For example, living in London requires lot more money than living in West Midlands or Liverpool.

Simple answer YES!

UK education will open doors for you to further your career anywhere in the world. We are pioneers in education and it’s recognized by all kinds of employers including Fortune 500 companies. UK is home to some of the world’s best universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, London School of Economics and so forth. The large number of international students in the UK is testament to the fact that UK degrees have been popular across the globe. Students from other developed countries such as USA, Australia and Canada come to the UK to study for its fierce reputation and being in the heart of Europe.

Yes, more than 20 UK universities are in the world Top 100 Universities. More detailed information on this can be found at: https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2022

The answer is more complex than a yes or no. Rankings do matter as different organizations rank universities in different order. For example, Guardian League Table, Complete University guide, QS world rankings, Student Crowd and so forth. It can be confusing and information overload.

What we would advise student to do is speak with an expert counsellor of our team who will be able to address all your concerns around rankings, explain you the subject reputation, the university and its facilities, our experience of dealing with university partners and their facilities.

UK is better in terms of course duration and student experience aspect. The UK universities have excellent student support services including departments such as Wellbeing, Students Union, Careers office, Placement Office, International Office. While other countries definitely have these as well, but in the UK the support services go a step beyond in supporting you to complete your studies.

Also due to course duration being short, your expenses are also less, living cost in the UK can be lower than other countries if you plan your spending.

UK offers graduate route visa upon finishing your degree. The graduate route visa enables international students to work in the UK in any field for at least two years and afterwards you have the choice of either setting up your own business or finding sponsored work visa. Upon living in the UK for a certain period of time, you can choose to make UK your home providing you meet the requirements legally.

UK is also closer to most south Asian, Middle Eastern/ North African and SS African Countries making it easier for you to travel home quicker if required.

UK admission process and visa process is fairly straight forward process in comparison to other countries. Most international students get a visa decision within three weeks which may not be the case with other countries.

When applying to UK universities, you can rely on other means of English Testing apart from IELTS for most courses which are cheaper than IELTS.

UK student community enjoys many discounts just being a student, from stores to transportation to restaurants, full time students gets various kinds of discounts to support themselves.

As you well be aware, the UK is currently under national lockdown. Thus most universities are closed except or those in essential roles. Most university staff are currently working from home and are operating on reduced capacity than usual. The Universities are doing the best they can give the unprecedented times we are in. Hence, there are extended delays in processing applications. Student Connect has a good network of communications with these Universities and we are working with the University to progress your application as fast we can. Rest assured Student Connect will do everything in our ability to get updates from Universities. 

All universities are currently operating classes online hence, there is not an urgency to be in the UK at this stage since no physical classes are taking place. Therefore we kindly urge you to not worry excessively. In due course we will bring updates to you when we have received them from university

Yes, you can register online and attend classes while you are waiting to either apply for a visa or waiting to receive your CAS following your unconditional offer and have paid the fees. 

Your university would send you an email with all details about online registration and how to attend classes. Please check your email including the spam folder in your email to see if your university has contacted you. You will need access to a computer and internet to take part in classes and access e-library and other resources which will assist you with the course. If you need help with online registration or have issues with it, please let us know. Some universities would expect you to pay the full registration fee to access classes such as 50% of the fee depending on the University.

When you receive your visa, follow these steps:

  • Inform Student Connect
  • Prepare for COVID restricted travelling which is discussed later on with the upcoming questions.
  • Think about how you are going to travel
    to the UK, when you get to the UK how to travel to your place of accommodation or hotel.
  • Register for your online classes and attend them until you arrive in the UK.
  • What to do and what not to do.

There are regulations when and if you think to travel to the UK. Please note the UK is currently under lockdown therefore the majority of the country will be closed for non essential services until further notice from the government if you do decide to come to the UK. 

Some of the things you must consider before booking your flight is the following:

Self-isolation: More information here 

  • You Will so need to self-isolate in the place you’re staying for the first 10 days after you arrive. You cannot go outside your house unless it is absolutely necessary.
  • You may be fined up to £10,000 if you do not self-isolate when you need to.
  • You may be able to end self-isolation early if you pay for a private coronavirus test.


Accomodation: 
Firstly ensure you have arranged suitable accommodation in the UK. This is very important since you must self-isolate when you arrive in the UK. You need to provide this address in your passenger locator form as well.

You must go through Immigration where the Immigration officer will ask you for your COVID test confirmation, your TB test report if needed and your passenger locator form. You must be prepared to provide this. Post this go straight to your accommodation when you have cleared immigration, customs, and other formalities.

When you arrive in England, it is very important that you stay in your declared accommodation on your passenger locator form for the full self-isolation period (see examples above). It can take up to 10 days for you to develop coronavirus symptoms after you catch the virus and in this time you can unknowingly pass it on to others, even if you don’t have symptoms. You cannot change your address unless it is a safety issue and you can no longer remain there. 

The only Exceptional circumstances to this is In England, you may also be allowed to leave your accommodation in exceptional circumstances. This includes such things as:

  • Accessing basic necessities like food and medicines where you cannot arrange for these to be delivered or get your family or friends to deliver these for you.
  • accessing critical public services including social services and services provided to victims (such as victims of crime)
  • moving to a different place for self-isolation where you can no longer remain where you are.

.

When you arrive in England, go straight to the place you’re staying to self-isolate. Only use public transport if you have no other option. If you do use public transport, wear something that covers your nose and mouth and stay 2 meters apart from other people unless you’re exempt. Pack a face covering to cover your nose and mouth before you travel. If you have coronavirus symptoms, it is important that you do not travel by public transport. 

If you have a long journey within the UK to arrive at your self-isolation accommodation, you may be able to stop overnight in accommodation in which you can isolate yourself from others before continuing your journey. Before doing so, you should check that the overnight stay is necessary and permitted under the national lockdown ‘Stay at Home’ rules. If so, you must self-isolate and provide the address of your overnight stop on your passenger locator form in addition to your declared accommodation address.

If you develop coronavirus symptoms when you’re travelling to England, you should tell one of the crew on your plane, boat, train or bus. They’ll let staff in the airport, port or station know, so they can tell you what you should do next when you arrive.

If you develop symptoms before your 10- day self-isolation period ends, you should self-isolate for 10 more days from the point you developed symptoms, even though this is longer than your initial 10-day self-isolation period. If your symptoms have stopped after these 10 extra days, your self-isolation period ends. Your household will need to self-isolate for 10 days from the day you develop symptoms. 

If they have no symptoms after 10 days, their self-isolation period ends. Anyone who has symptoms can get a test. If you test positive, additional self-isolation requirements apply

You should look for any of the following symptoms in the 10 days after the day you arrive in England:

• new continuous cough 
• high temperature 
• loss or change to your sense of smell or taste

If you have any of these symptoms, you should continue to self-isolate at home. If you are staying with others and you develop symptoms, the whole household that you are staying with should begin self-isolating. You should self-isolate for at least 10 days from the date of symptom onset and until you are better and no longer have a high temperature. Symptoms of a cough or changes to your sense of smell or taste can last for several weeks after the infection has gone and so you can stop self-isolating even if you have these symptoms.

The household you are staying with should self-isolate for 10 days from the point that your symptoms start. You should get a test if you have symptoms of coronavirus. If you have no internet access, you should call NHS 119 to arrange for a test.

Our detailed service provision can be found on our website home page. Below is a quick guide to what we provide you:

Our Core Services to student clients −

  • Consultation, advice, and guidance about studying in the UK.
  • Act as a link between the university and students to represent all party interests
  • Guidance to help students make a firm choice of university and course.
  • Submit and process all admission applications on behalf of the students.
  • Assessment of all supporting documents for admission and Student visa.
  • Guidance on soft skills and career advice.
  • Guidance and preparation for UKVI interview maximizing chances of grant of visa. − Assisting to choose the right course for you.
  • Consultation on further education and career aspirations.
  • IELTS preparation
  • Guidance on graduate route visa application.  

Our Premium Services to student clients’ Premium services include all of core services plus a dedicated Client Care Manager who will be responsible for their smooth admission process, accompanying students to visa application centre for support, airport pick up, 24/7 crisis support, access to UK legal support, assist in finding part time employment, placements, applying for dependant visa and a personal Client Care Manager assisting them with enrol and settle in the UK in the first 5 days. Become their legal guardian in the UK if they are a minor.

All our services are ABSOLUTELY FREE! Anything related to you as a student solely and our core service to you is all free. We do not charge any fees for any service. However, there are certain special services you may require which are nonstandard which we will discuss with you beforehand, so you make the decision whether to pay.

While there may be several agencies you could seek support, our differentiating factors are below:

  • Majority of our colleagues have been former UK international students, we have the lived experience of studying in the UK and may have had similar aspirations as you may do now. We are best placed to understand your wants, needs and aspirations and do the best we can to support you achieve your dreams and goals.
  • We are a British company registered in the United Kingdom and our headquarters is in London. You can find us on the UK Government website confirming our legitimate business.
  • Having a head office in London means, our colleagues in London are ready to support you with any issues you may encounter when you arrive in the UK. We are only a phone call away. This gives much needed reassurance to parents who may be anxious when sending students abroad. Rest assured we are here should you need us especially in the first few weeks.  
  • Some of our colleagues have worked in UK universities giving us first-hand experience of supporting you through admission process and all our colleagues are well trained and professionals from diverse backgrounds.
  • Our promise to you is that we will provide a service that is transparent, honest so that we all can prosper together. We fully understand that education is immensely powerful to transform your lives and we will take it seriously.
  • You are more than just a number for us, we get to know you on an individual basis, and we will always look to respond to you within 48 hours no matter how busy we are.
  • We go beyond just helping you with your admission, we take real interest in your careers, we will support you to find part time jobs, placements, internships and even with post graduate route visa options you have. 

Our head office is in London, United Kingdom.

We also have physical offices in Bangladesh, India, Nigeria, Ghana, and those of you who don’t live in these countries, not to worry, from our London head office, we support students from all over the world. All our services will be exactly the same except the only difference is that we do not have a physical office yet in your countries. We are ambitious and we will soon open more branches so we can support as many people as we could within our resources.

YES! Throughout the last 12 years, we have supported number of students from various nationalities to access UK higher education from USA to Australia to Malaysia, we have supported students. So do get in touch with us, don’t let not having a physical office in your country put you off, all our services will be exactly same, and you will have access to quality service over video calls, phone calls, WhatsApp, emails and so forth.

Currently we are UK higher education specialists, in 2024, we will be providing services to Canada, USA,

 and Australia as well.

Majority of universities have two main intakes which is September and January of every year. In addition to these two main intakes, we now have intakes in February, March, April, May, June and July in some selected universities.