How to start studying in England / Opiskelu Englannissa !

Hello everyone!

In this post I will be talking about how I became a student in England. Because I'm Finnish, this is mainly for Finnish people, because I only know the experience and process on that aspect. That's why the title is also in Finnish :)

So I started thinking about studying in England in the beginning of this summer 2014, because my friend had already applied here earlier this year. She applied through Kilroy, which is a travel agency in the Nordic countries that also organizes studying abroad. In England they have 5 Universities that they co-operate with.
I went to their website to just look at some options they had. I found out that there is still a late apply-process going on, and I really started to think about it. I sent them an e-mail asking what options do I have. I love the staff there! They are really helpful and they answered really quickly on any questions I had. I told them about what I am interested in, and they told me some good options to choose from.

APPLYING

The application happens through this website called UCAS. There you have to give your details, tell your choices on where you want to apply (you can choose 5 options) and then you have to write a motivation letter. You also need a recommendation letter from someone who knows you and can tell that you are ready to study in a university. I got this from my teacher. They also need your grades from your previous studies. (Ylioppilastutkinto tai ammattikoulu)

The motivation letter you are writing only once, so the same letter goes to all of your chosen universities. So this is why you can't say the university's name (unless of course if you are only applying to one university). In the motivation letter you simply tell a little bit about yourself, what you want from your future, your work experience and why you want to study this subject in England. They have tips on this on their website :)

The applying costs some money, but only like 20 pounds.

The applying process is quite simple, but you really have to put some thought on it, especially on the motivation letter, because this is what makes you different from everyone else.

Depending on what you are studying you may have something else in addition to these. I study marketing so that is all I had. But, if you are applying to study arts or design, you may have to do a portfolio and also interviews. The interview can be arranged via Skype for example.

STUDENT FINANCE

Studying in England is expensive, let's just face it :D The tuition fee for one year is 9000 pounds! This scared me at first, but if you just think that everyone else has to do the same thing, you just kinda ignore it.
AND if you are a citizen of the EU, which you probably are if you are from Finland, you can get the tuition fee loan to cover your tuition fee. This you have to pay back, but only after you've finished your studies and only when your salary is above (about) 21000 pounds a year. So if you are broke after your studies and don't find a job, don't worry, it's fine :)
You can apply to this separately, but Kilroy will provide you with information regarding this :)

You also get money from KELA, and you can also take a loan from them. These should cover your living costs in here, and trust me, they do.

Just don't think that only rich people can study abroad, because that is not how it is!

ACCOMMODATION

So where to live?
This was the next question I had after sorting everything else out. Every university has their own campuses, where you usually have your own room and a bathroom, and shared kitchen and living room. These are not that expensive and most of the first year students live here. There is also most probably different student accommodation companies all around the city you live. They are listed in the university's website. Some of these you have the same idea than living on campus, or then you can have an apartment that is only for you, which I have. The rents for these varies depending on location and how big your apartment is. You can also rent from the private market, but they don't recommend it.

GRADES

Commonly people think "ooh you have to be so good at school to go studying abroad". The fact is you don't :D I was in upper secondary school (lukio), which can be compared to college in England. The only thing I was good at was languages. I failed on maths and chemistry, and did really poorly on physics, religion and almost everything else too.. This doesn't mean you can't apply, you just have to do average on the finals (yo-kirjoitukset). Of course it depends on what you want to study and where, for example to study medicine and doctor things you have to be almost perfect. But everything else I think you just have to be average. The average of my grades were between M and C (L, E, M, C, B, A, I) and that is what they expected.


I was really scared to come here. I would have never believed that I would do this, but looking back, it is the best decision ever. The school is going fine, I have AMAZING friends here, and I'm not homesick at all! This experience gives you so much more opportunities in future and it also forces you to become independent.

So, I think thats all that I can think :D I will add something if I forgot. If you have any questions, feel free to comment!!

Thank you for reading!!

-S from Paradise x

Wilko & Superdrug HAUL+REVIEW (St. Moriz, Herbal Essences, Nivea, Vaseline...)

Hello!

When I moved to the UK I realized that here is SO much more stores just for beauty products, and regular stores offer a bigger collection of products! So needless to say I was excited :D!
So, this month I went to Superdrug and Wilko, and I thought it would be fun to show what I got, and tell a little about the products :) 

Hope you like it!

From Superdrug:

Simple, Kind to Skin, protecting light moisturiser SPF 15.

Carmex, Lime Twist moisturising lip balm SPF 15.

Vaseline, Spray&Go, body moisturiser in aloe fresh scent.

So, I've had these products for a while now and can definitely tell a little about them.

I really wanted to like the moisturiser from Simple, but it is not good! I had acne last year, and finally got rid of it this summer, and this product almost gave it back. I like the concept, moisturising, not oily, SPF 15, vitamins and suitable for sensitive skin. BUT after two days of using it I got two blemishes on my skin, and after 5 days of using it, I had five pimples and then decided to stop using it. When I went back to my old moisturiser, my face cleared back to normal. I think it is the SPF which clogged my pores and caused the blemishes. So, if you have acne-prone skin, I wouldn't recommend this moisturiser for you. If you have normal, oily skin (because it is a light moisturiser, so not for dry skin), but you don't tend to get blemishes, I think this product would be worth a try :)

I LOVE this lip balm from Carmex!! The moisture lasts for a long time, and the scent is fresh. I like how it tingles on my lips when I put it on, it means its doing something :D AND it also has SPF 15, which is always nice to have. 

Easy, breezy, Vaseline. This moisturiser is so convenient! I spray it on my legs and arms and then just rub it in and wait for a moment, and it leaves the skin soft and moist (hate that word :D), but not greasy as it says on the bottle too. It is not as fast as they promise on the packaging, you do have to wait for a while to let it sink in your body. This would be great in the hot summer days, because it also has a cooling effect when you spray it on, which lasts for a while. The only bad thing about this I have to mention, is that it sprays a little all over the place! So I don't recommend using this in a bathroom, where the floor may be wet, it will get slippery..

From Wilko:

Herbal Essences Fresh balance, clarifying shampoo.

Nivea Lip Butter, in the scent Blueberry Blush.

Nivea, Daily essentials, light moisturising day cream SPF 15.

St. Moriz, Instant self tanning mousse, Dark.

Imperial Leather, Foamburst, luxurious body wash, in the scent uplifting lime & grapefruit.

LUV this Herbal Essences clarifying shampoo. It leaves my hair very smooth and clean, as it promises. It also says on the bottle that it will leave your hair smelling citrusy, but to me it smells like artificial watermelon scent, which is really nice :D. I don't use this shampoo every day, because it is kinda harsh on your hair, and leaves it dry if using it every day. So if you already have really dry and damaged, especially dyed, hair, I would be careful with this. 

Nivea lip butter leaves your lips very smooth and it smells very nice! I like this product soooo much, I have it in another scent too, vanilla & macadamia, also really good. I use this every night, and my lips are smooth in the morning too. They both have shea butter and almond oil, which are moisturising ingredients. 

This Nivea light moisturising day cream I actually bought today to replace my Simple moisturiser. I am a little skeptical, because this also has SPF 15, so we will see how my skin reacts to this :D I hope it is good tho, and will write a review on that if someone is interested! It promises to provide "intensive" moisture and refresh the skin. It also has vitamin E and some other fancy stuff :D

I'm not gonna talk about this St. Moriz instant self tanning mousse so much, because I was thinking about doing a tanning routine post or maybe a video :o If some one is interested :D So I will talk about that more later. Briefly, it is a good self tanner :)

Last, Imperial Leather, foamburst body wash was just an experiment and I was so excited :D It just caught my eye and I have never tried one of these before so I decided to try it. I like the concept, how it promises that the lather will glide on your skin like silk and leaves it soft and smooth. It is supposed to be so smooth, that you could shave with it. Now, the consistency is very weird. When you spray it, it feels like shaving gel, and when you start to lather it, it starts to smell a lot like chemicals. It is nice and it leaves my skin clean, like a normal body wash, but I guess my expectations were too high for this product :D

Das it.

I will do these hauls more on the future and also I will review the Nivea moisturiser and St. Moriz tanning mousse in the future too. I hope someone liked this post and find it helpful :) Comments are always welcome, so if there is anything you want to say or ask, leave it in the comments!

Thank you for reading!

-S from Paradise x

BONUS

Song of the day: Justin Bieber-Swap it out (Love this song)

Color of the day: Black

Food of the day: Pomegranate

Drink of the day: Cranberry juice