I don't wanna sound unpolite, but any information needed for international student who are wishing to study in the UK can be found either on the UCAS or on the website of your chosen university, so if anyone needs any of these informations... well, United Kingdom's educational system and its university are everywhere online, it won't be too hard to find the answers you're looking for.
Moreover, I believe every situation is different indeed. I could write my painful experiences trying to get those information required by Ucas, but I sincerely hope you won't find any of these difficulties.
Italian school is a pain in the ass.
The education system reflects the society which is part of. It's a static and dying organization that struggle to keep its head out of the water, but ultimately fails drowning into deep oceans of nepotism, incoherence and incompetence.
We focus on dead subjects, that someone in the late 20s set as the most important knowledges that any student can acquire, rather than teaching useful stuff that student can apply in the world outside school. We stuck ourselves into a narrow space within safe boundaries, that protect us (?) from the outside. The result? Students have a one year more of mandatory education, which is usually the one that other young europeans use as Gap Year to experience and acknowledge real world; university aren't really a connection to the work system; they're just a prosecution of high school where once more student have to study, study, study and basically learn by heart subject that ONCE MORE won't probably be useful in the work place.
And once we've graduated, we can either choose to:
And once we've graduated, we can either choose to:
a) Try and be defeated in the pursuit of a job.
b) Study more, to get a master or/and a PhD
(and then not find a job anyway).
Anyone that wishes to escape from this rotten circle, and realizes it on time, goes abroad to study. Living one year in London/New york/ Berlin/ Paris (which at the end becomes at most two months, then the average italian goes back to his mama's kitchen) it's pointless, since you: won't find a job that can support you, won't learn the language, won't gain any relevant experience for you personal CV.
So the smart kid applies to a UK university for a master degree or, better, for a full undergraduate degree.
Unfortunately, the smart kid clashes against the Italian school, who sees him as an anomaly. Italian school it's absolutely not used to deal with international applications. Teachers are more likely going to be annoyed if you ask them to be your referee, and they won't answer to the simple question "Could you please give me a predicted degree of my finals?" either because they're too lazy or they don't wanna have any problem. Last but not least, they can make your life a living hell because you're a kid with ambitions, prospective and goals. Any person like YOU in Italy is seen as a cancer, or probably someone that hasn't yet been infected by the typical italian "male di vivere/ bitterness of living". So yes, the average high school will fight by all means at its disposal to deceive you. Get ready; if you survive, than you will understand why I am so happy to be here, in a place that encourages me rather than destroy my hopes and energy.
Also, most of the other student won't understand you. Cmon, they spend their final year talking about "yeah, maybe I will do medicine... or maybe law, or architecture, or engineering, or art. Maybe literature."
(WTF??? -.-)
A mixture of absolute nonsense, that makes crystal clear they have no idea of their future. Anyone who does it's either a nerd, a twat, or a misfit. Careful: they could even accuse of cheating during your finals because of this. It happened to me. That's what envy can do to people.
Italy really needs to open its eyes and start to support who have initiative. But i guess we're just going to die slowly, and recognize what we have done to our society when it's definitely too late.
 |
| Chinese school... |
 |
| and Italian's. Find the differences. |
