Study in UK

About United Kingdom

Capital : London
Language : English, Welsh, Scottish form of Gaelic.
Official Currency : British Pound (GBP), EURO.
Climate : Temperate; Moderated by prevailing Southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one half of the days are overcast.
Time Diff. : London 5 hrs 00 min behind PST

Many students select to study in UK because of the most popular study destinations for education in the world.

Why Study in UK?

UK Qualifications are recognized by employers all over the world. The courses encourage independence, creativity and self- reliance : qualities that employers from around the world look for in potential hires. When making decisions about your future, you may wish to consider the kind of salaries earned by certain professions, the distribution of jobs and vacancies across the UK and other statistics about the current state of the graduate market. UK institutions follow one of the best quality standards in the world. The British government rates Universities, Colleges, and Schools periodically and ranks them between one and five. Come study in top universities in UK through AS Foreign Education – your university education consultant based in Pakistan.

Education System

After 12th a student can go for 4 years of Bachelor degree or 2 years of Associate degree
After completion of Bachelors Degree student pursues Master degree, which is normally of two years duration.
After completion of Master degree one can pursue PhD, which may take around 3 to 5 years to complete.
Each U.K. College or university sets its own admission standards for admission of International students. U.K. colleges and universities usually base their admission decisions on a student’s academic records and applicable test records such as TOEFL or IELTS or SAT. If a student applies for graduate schools then additional exam scores like GRE or GMAT will be required.

Required tests

You may be required to sit on an English Language Test such as IELTS or TOEFL before the university will confirm your seat on the course. The IELTS is organized by the British Council and results take 2-3 weeks.

The minimum scores usually required are 6.0 to 7.0 for IELTS and 213 to 250 (CBT) for TOEFL.

For MBA programs in good universities, a good GMAT score is required, in addition to IELTS or TOEFL scores and work experience of 2-3 years, in addition to decent academic performance at the Bachelor’s level.

Valmiki Group can help you obtain admission in MBA programs without GMAT score too!

Cost of Education

For international students, universities set their own fees and they vary by subject and by institution. The average costs of tuition in various fields are:

Under Graduation (3-4yrs)	£6,750 to £8,500 per year
Post Graduation	£8,000 to £10,000 per year
MBA	£7,500 to £13,500 per year (Programs at some top UK business schools can cost up to £20,000 per year)
Scholarships	Up to 1000 Pounds.

For both types of postgraduate study (taught and research), you should budget for a 12-month academic year. Average living costs (covering accommodation, food, clothing, books, entertainment and travel) for an international student on a degree course are £768 per month in London and £600 per month elsewhere.

Living expenses are approx. 400 to 500 pounds sterling per month depending upon your lifestyle and the city of residence. Please note, however, that some universities include the cost of accommodation and food within the total fee payable to them.

Important Dates

Student Visa Process

Process to obtain British Student Visa for international students. Immigration and student visa Information for UK

For EEA Students

If you are a student from EEA country that is – European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, then you can enter United Kingdom with minimum formalities. If you are from EEA then it is so easy for you to enter UK that you don’t even need to obtain UK Student visa. However, you’ll be asked to present evidences that you have been approved for the course of study you have selected and you have sufficient funds to stay and study in United Kingdom. In addition to this, you’ll also need a valid passport.

For Non EEA Students

If you do not belong to EEA (European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) then you’ll have to fulfill some immigration requirements. Students belonging to many countries will need to obtain a British Student Visa to study in UK. They can do this at the British Embassy, High Commission or Consulate of Britain. Students from some Commonwealth countries where obtaining a student visa is not compulsory must also have to get entry clearance before leaving their home. This is to make sure a Right of Appeal in the unlikely event that entry is refused. To verify either you need to obtain a visa or not, visit Foreign and Commonwealth Office web page at http://fco.gov.uk/travel/imm_visa.asp

Documents Required to Obtain British Student Visa

A valid passport
A letter of unconditional acceptance for a full-time course from a College or University
Mark sheets or Degree of previously joined exams Attested by IBCC and HEC
Evidence of your financial ability to meet, without working in the UK, the costs of your course, accommodation and maintenance and to support any dependants accompanying you.
Letters of recommendations are appreciated
Statement of Purpose
CV

Time of validity of the student visa to be received is usually determined by the length of your course of study. When you arrive in the United Kingdom, an immigration officer may question you, so don’t forget to take all relevant documents in your hand luggage.

Student Visa Doesn’t Allow

working more than 20 hrs per week.
your placement is part of your studies, has the agreement of your education institution and leads to a degree or qualification awarded by a nationally recognized examining body
do business, be self-employed or provide services as a professional sportsperson or entertainer
work full-time in a permanent job

Passport stickers, stamp and length of stay

When you apply for a student visa at a British Embassy, Consulate or High Commission outside the UK, you will receive a sticker known as vignette, in your passport with the conditions and length of stay. When you arrive at the airport, you will receive a stamp to show when you entered the United Kingdom.

If you are applying for entry at a port of entry (you can only do this if you are from a non visa required nation), you will get a stamp in your passport with conditions and length of stay.

Most of the overseas students (from outside the European Union) are initially given the right to stay for one year. But there is nothing to worry about, if you want to stay longer as a student then you may extend your visa validity length as a student.

The Immigration Officer may endorse on your passport with any other restriction that may apply to you.

Success Stories

Steps to Apply

Admission Process
Fee Transfer
Visa File Submission
Embassy Interview
Visa Successfully Received
Pre-Departure Preparation
Fly to Destination

Useful Resources

The websites listed in unit 1 refer to general life style issues of the UK. Use these sites to increase your knowledge of the cultural and practical aspects that a student may need to know when choosing the UK as a study destination.

Education UK website

We recommend that you regularly update your knowledge by referring to the Education UK website www.educationuk.org

Accommodation

Accommodation fact sheet www.ukcisa.org.uk/student/information_sheets.php

Accommodation for students www.accommodationforstudents.com/

HOST UK www.hostuk.org

Culture

National Parkswww.nationalparks.gov.uk

National Trust http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/

Entertainment

Ents24.com, a UK guide to live entertainment www.ents24.com

Festivals