Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Be prepared for Britain
By Vidushi Seneviratne
You’ve finished your A/L’s and got accepted into a University of your choice in the United Kingdom, so you think your life’s sorted right? Maybe not… since it’s probably now that the most daunting phase of your higher education begins. Let alone leaving your familiar surroundings and moving to a country foreign to you in every sense of the word, you also have to see to numerous other requirements.

Geared to making the first part of settling down in University much easier, is the Pre-departure Event 2005, an annual workshop, initiated and organised by the British Council. Organised with the assistance of UK graduates in Sri Lanka, the workshop provides an interactive experience for students to get an insight into the ways of student life in the UK.

The organisers talked the students through the basic requirements before departure such as - proving credibility for your acceptance to university and sponsor letter, capability to pay fees, clear intentions of returning to Sri Lanka and tips on visa interviews. They also informed the students that the visa application form could be downloaded from www.vfs.lk or collected by visiting the visa office down Duplication Road.

Throughout the rest of the workshop, many special deals put forward for university students in the UK were discussed. Etihad Airways, having ten weekly flights to Heathrow and seven weekly flights to Gatwick, both via Abu Dhabi, also offers a few good deals for students. One of them being the special one way fare at thirty two thousand rupees with total baggage allowance of 35 kg. For students hoping to return on holiday in three, four or six months, special ticket offers are available in order to save on cost and time.

Also special needs such as duty free shopping in transit in Adu Dhabi for essential items such as laptops, mobiles, cameras, electronics and organisers are available. Follow up services for the parents regarding their children’s arrival in the UK too, is available. Any details regarding these deals could be obtained by surfing www.etihadairways.com Another organisation offering UK bound students special deals is United Holidays, through Go Holidays, their outbound service which is the local partner in an International company dealing with areas such as travel. Giving over thirty two thousand discounts in hundred and six countries, the ISIC (International Student Identity Card) offered by them is the only internationally accepted student card in the world.

Among the useful deals available on this card are, discounts on services such as travel fares, entrance to museums, hostels, hotels, bars, restaurants, clothes shops and communication facilities. If required, you could register for the card at the Go Holidays office at 06-02 East Tower, World Trade Center. Go Holidays also offers special travel deals on airlines through STA (Student Travel Association) which is yet another service by them. The requirement to qualify for these offers is basically being a full time student.

HSBC, among their offers for students hoping to study in the UK, is offering the Lifestyle Education Loan, which would be a huge benefit in the pursuit of higher studies. The requirements for the loan are basically to be between the ages of eighteen and fifty five, to be employed in an established company and to be earning a minimum salary of rupees twenty thousand plus fixed allowances. No security or personal guarantors are needed and any one parent could apply with the child (student). For more details on the loan system you could log on to www.hsbc.lk

The students were also able to interact with current undergraduates from universities in the UK, who gave them a friendly insight to university life overseas. The shared experiences and establishing of contacts was of great help to the aspiring students.

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