Studying in the UK: a schematic approach

This article is mainly aimed at people who are considering studying in the UK. Many people clearly “would like” to study in the UK, but they often wonder whether the high cost of such a decision will pay off, or they have doubts about what it is like compared with other options. Although I am not going to make a deep comparison between different options or between university systems themselves, I think that a somewhat more schematic view of what to expect can be helpful. I am also not going to weigh advantages and disadvantages, because that depends on each person: I am simply here to give a more organised view of what I have seen and discussed with several students in the UK about what it means to study at university level there.

I will organise the article around the three most important pillars that someone should take into account when making a decision related to their education: the student’s academic, professional, and personal development.

Academic development

Studying in the UK means adapting to a fairly autonomous way of learning. It is not enough to go to class and take notes, because the amount of material covered is huge, and very often it may even be preferable not to attend so that you can study independently with the materials. That said, it is also true that it depends on the subject and the area of study: it is possible to get good grades if you put in enough time and work to understand the concepts and replicate some of the things covered. I say it depends because, for example, in mathematics, you will often have to prove something you have not seen before and, depending on the professor, the difficulty can be much greater or lower. However, if you study things like economics or other disciplines, the questions may be more aligned with the models, concepts, or definitions studied.

One important thing, which I wish I had understood better, is that exams become difficult not so much because of the exercises themselves, but because of the time and the structure of the exam. Very often there are several long questions, or questions that require quite a lot of time, and you are given only two hours for an exam that could perfectly last three or four. This means that the student needs to know the material very, very well, from beginning to end, and understand everything before going into the exam, if they want to get a good grade. This, in turn, explains one of the things I find hardest to understand in the UK: the grading system.

The grading system goes from 0% to 100%, but it is divided into several levels: First Class, Upper Second Class, Lower Second Class, etc. For MSc degrees, Distinction, Merit, and Pass are used. In any case, First Class or Distinction are used for marks from 70% upwards, and someone who does not understand how the system works might think this is easy, since it is like getting a 7/10 in Spain. But nothing could be further from the truth. It is very rare to see someone getting more than 85% at top universities, although it is clearly possible. This is due to the structure of the exams, but also to the criteria of the teaching staff, who often do not conceive of giving higher marks because, in many cases, that would mean that the submitted work is almost better than what they themselves produce, if it is an assignment, or that you have completed the entire exam perfectly, which is also usually almost impossible. Even if the answers are correct, full marks are not usually awarded for each question. Therefore, you never reach 100%, but reaching good grades can be more manageable. If someone does not like this type of exam and prefers facing more difficult problems but with more time, then Spain would win in that sense.

If someone is interested in degrees in the social sciences or business, then exams will not be the worst part, but rather something known as essays. In these, professors expect you to compare sources, argue, have your own opinion, and learn the typical academic structures expected for the task. And this is much more difficult than it seems, especially if you come from a more guided system. In the UK, there is often no single correct answer. You have to justify, discuss, criticise, and build a position. That is why critical thinking carries so much weight: not as a nice phrase, but as a real skill. Also, we are used to having our writing assessed in English subjects in Spain, but in Spain what is assessed is the writing of the text itself, whereas here it is assumed that you know English and the content is criticised. For that reason, people who have obtained a C2 in Spain may still have quite a lot of difficulty meeting everything that is required. It depends a lot on your previous training.

However, two very important points that are not usually considered, and that I find comparatively better than in Spain, are that the first year does not count towards the average and that, in many universities, you can choose modules from other areas of knowledge or departments. Many of my friends, and I myself, would have had a much better average if the first year had not counted. I got a 7 and then an average of 8.75 in the following three years, but clearly there is a period of adaptation to the university system, making connections, learning to be more adult, etc. In the UK, it does not count so that students can do this and have a more complete experience, which has good aspects for good students, but badly incentivises the “bad” ones. As for the optionality that the UK offers, this allows students to study subjects and gain knowledge in areas that are suitable for their own academic development, being able to specialise in whatever they want under certain minimum criteria. In Spain, in my experience, this is not usually the case unless the degree is specifically interdisciplinary: one is usually restricted to departmental options.

Professional development

One of the great advantages of studying in the UK is that the university is usually very connected to the professional world. There are careers fairs, events, societies, alumni, companies visiting campus, internship opportunities, applied projects, and contacts that can open doors. Obviously, this does not mean that getting a job is easy. For an international student, it can be especially complicated: visas, competition, long processes, and a lack of initial networks. But there is an ecosystem that forces you to think about your professional future very early on, and allows you to discover what exists and act accordingly.

What, surprisingly to me, is least taken into account when deciding whether to study in the UK or not is the way the UK functions as a hub. Being close to universities, companies, start-ups, consultancies, banks, research centres, and international events creates opportunities that perhaps you did not even know existed from the outside. This is the reason why many people want to study specifically in London, and not in smaller cities or on more isolated campuses. Everything is concentrated in London; it is the best place to be in Europe, apart from Zurich. If someone chooses another option, it has to be because the university is good enough to take them to London or to other places of interest. For example, I myself chose Warwick because it was a COWI university for mathematics and because it has a very strong connection with London. In addition, I was offered a partial scholarship and the cost of living near campus was much lower than in London, where it can be up to three times higher.

Student societies are also important in this sense. They are not just clubs for socialising; very often they are spaces where you meet people, discover sectors, organise events, speak with companies, or begin to build a professional network. Honestly, this is one of the best parts of university life in the UK, because there are societies for almost anything that might interest you, and it is very likely that the colleagues and friends you make there will end up in important companies and positions, and will be very interesting people with interests similar to yours. I myself belonged to several societies, both in Spain and in the UK, and it is possibly the decision that has given me the most value at university, by far. And this is something that is not seen much in Spain, but that can really change the outcomes of your future professional career.

What you do need to know is this: in the UK, networking events and similar things do not usually provide the same upside as they do when you attend one in Spain. What do I mean by this? I mean that, even if you speak a lot with employees from a certain company or attend some exclusive event, unless stated otherwise, this does not usually give you any advantage in getting the job. This is because the processes are usually long, standardised, and formal, so it is not usually possible to gain an advantage over the thousands of applicants for the position. Clearly, this applies to important or large companies; for small companies or start-ups, this does tend to work quite well.

Figure 1. Conceptual diagram of the three pillars of studying in the UK: personal, academic, and professional development, together with the factors that connect them.

Personal development

Studying in the UK often means living alone, changing country, speaking another language, understanding another culture, and solving problems you had never even considered before. Finding accommodation, managing money, opening accounts, moving between cities, understanding contracts, adapting to the weather, making friends, dealing with bureaucracy, and learning to be far away from your environment. All of that is also part of studying abroad, and it makes someone go from being young to being an adult in about a year.

You also realise that not all students experience university in the same way. Many come from different countries, with different cultures, religions, customs, ways of seeing things, etc. This can often frustrate someone who lives in their own way, and it is more common than one might think, especially if you also share a flat or residence. But there is also another, less obvious difference between students. Some arrive with more information, more contacts, more familiarity with the system, or more confidence to move through certain spaces. Others have to learn everything along the way. That is why studying in the UK also makes you aware of the importance of information, context, and networks. And, partly related to this, in the UK one becomes more clearly aware of social differences.

Spain is, all things considered, a fairly “equal” country. Clearly there are differences between neighbourhoods, cities, nationalities, etc. But, in some way, inequality is not usually very visible at university, for example. This is different in the UK, because it can be clearly seen through clothes, trips, accessories, backgrounds, etc. In truth, if you think about it, you realise something: in countries with such high educational costs as the USA and the UK, it is not usually those who are “good” who study, but those who can afford it and want to do so. And this can make you feel impressed or shocked, but it all depends on how you look at it. Even if there are people who have a different reality from yours, university allows you to meet them in an “equal” environment —the classroom, the library, societies, etc.— and you can take advantage of that opportunity to form relationships and connections that can enrich you personally and, possibly, also professionally.

One final point I want to highlight is the mentality of the students. Because the costs are so high, university is hard, people are far from their country and their family, and for many other reasons, everyone wants to succeed, whatever that means. They want to go to London and get the best possible job; they want to return to their country and be better than the rest; they want to start a company and become millionaires; they want to be the best surgeons, etc. This happens in every country, but you are not given the same means everywhere. Here you are, and because students know this, you meet people who do impressive things, and you are inclined to do the same because you see that it is possible. It is the whole ecosystem that makes you more ambitious and pushes you to pursue your goals. This is what I like most about studying there: I went from being the most ambitious person in some of my circles to being the one who has to work to keep being so in the UK, since everyone had at least the same desire as me to achieve things. In another article, however, I will talk about how, although this is true, not everyone puts in the same effort, and that is where international students usually win.

Conclusion

Studying in the UK is not simply about going to a good university. It is about entering an ecosystem where the academic, professional, and personal dimensions are constantly connected to several aspects that one does not usually take into account. A class can lead you to a professional opportunity. A society can give you friends, contacts, or a new direction. A bureaucratic difficulty can teach you independence. Living alone can change the way you understand yourself, and studying in another country can give you a perspective that you would hardly have acquired by always staying in the same environment.

However, there are also negative aspects to studying in the UK, which we will discuss in more depth in another article, because they do not always have to do with what studying there is like, but with other external things: weather, society, job opportunities, cost, etc.

Right now, I just wanted to put on the table all the relevant aspects that need to be taken into account, since everyone can interpret things as they wish. For example, someone who wants another type of exam, another type of experience —more focused or academic, for example— or other things, may find that other countries are more recommendable.

I made my decision taking all of this into account, so now it is your turn.