an HONEST review of exchange at the University of Manchester

[@DearOldWorld]

I know that I forgot to talk about a lot of things, so if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments!! Timestamps: 0:35- Homesickness 1:39- Academia/The University of Manchester 7:10- Manchester, the city 9:35- Making Friends

[@Fatmafatma-bp5mg]

Thank you very much for sharing your experience with us. I am from Oman and I studied at UNSW for my masters. Now I am planning to do my PhD at the UoM. Your video is really helpful. Thanks 🌹👍🏻

[@DearOldWorld]

Wow, that's AMAZING!! Best of luck, sounds like you are doing incredible things xx

[@sindhuramodali8846]

I love that you made all of these vlogs about UOM! I was an exchange student at the same time as you and I miss it so much, and I feel like I'm reliving my experiences watching your videos!

[@DearOldWorld]

I'm so glad you like the videos, I miss it too!! We were lucky though with the timing of everything.

[@sanjanadias3105]

hi Sindhura , I was wondering if you are an Indian. I wanted to move to the college and wondering if its a good choice

[@AnandaGomesHenn]

Mel, it was so sweet getting to know you and accompanying you throughout this experience!! Love you and your videos 💖

[@DearOldWorld]

Ananda, this is the loveliest comment!! ❤️❤️Are you still planning on going on exchange to UoM?

[@AnandaGomesHenn]

@@DearOldWorld yes i am! but because of the whole coronavirus situation i don't know whether i'll be able to go next semester or will have to wait for next year... it's a bummer, but your video really motivated me to keep the plan alive!!

[@DearOldWorld]

Awww I hope it all works out for you xx

[@sekerkz611]

it was really helpful! Thank for making the video!

[@aliciashih2159]

HELLO! YOUR HAIR IS SO LONG NOW i love this though!!

[@DearOldWorld]

I KNOW! I was planning to get it cut when I got back, but #COVID

[@jiaaoyu7860]

Talking about teaching, well, the podcast is very high-quality.

[@DearOldWorld]

Yes! Thanks for the info Jiaao

[@samanthajoy1776]

Are the exams timed? I study at Unimelb as a criminology major and most exams are essays that you have a couple of days to write. I'm worried when I go on exchange its going to be the 1 or 2 hour structure and I haven't done an exam like that for social science subjects in about 2 years. Could you share your opinion on this please?

[@samanthajoy1776]

hey could I please have some clarity regarding this if you know?

[@leticiafigueiredo8609]

Hello! I got an offer from Man Met but the building I would me studying at is in Hulme, and I’ve heard pretty bad things about the neighborhood regarding safety. Did you feel safe in Manchester?

[@DearOldWorld]

Honestly, I come from a very safe part in Sydney, so comparatively I did feel less safe in Manchester - mostly because people would tell you it isn’t safe at night and point out ‘a stabbing occurred there’. But I personally didn’t experience anything bad. During the daytime it feels quite safe, but at night I was always told to avoid walking along the curry mile alone and to instead take the back streets. I just checked the map for where Hulme is, and it’s adjacent to moss side which has a history of crime. The only time I really went near hulme was to go to the ASDA, so i don’t really know much about it. My advice would be to stay safe would be to try and not walk alone at night and to catch the bus or public transport if you can. Be alert, but also know that it’s not all horror stories. Nothing bad happened to me and by the end of my time in Manchester felt more safe and familiar.

[@jenniferj9695]

Nice video, where did you get your headband from? x

[@DearOldWorld]

Thanks Jennifer

[@dannykim1239]

Hey, just wondering, is going exchange to Manchester competitive? like what would be a realistic GPA to give you a good chance to go.

[@DearOldWorld]

For my uni (UNSW, Sydney), competitiveness for a uni completely depends on popularity. So each exchange uni has a certain number of spots, and basically what they would do is order everyone's WAM/GPA from highest to lowest and then give the highest WAM, their first preference and so on until spots fill up. So the WAM requirement varies depending on the cohort. As my cohort was one of the first exchanging to UoM from my Uni, there was no guide as to what WAM had been previously accepted in the past, so I can't really tell you a realistic GPA unfortunately, as I do not know. If your uni is like mine, they exchange office may provide a guide as to the GPA requirement for UoM. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help.

[@dannykim1239]

@@DearOldWorld thanks for taking the time though, appreciate it!

[@sy8112]

Hi would you say there’s a strong campus community feeling at Manchester ?

[@DearOldWorld]

I think there is, but perhaps less so than campus universities where halls of residence and the university buildings are all on one plot of land e.g. university of birmingham. I also think, the amount of "community feeling" you experience at a university, actually largely depends on how involved you are in clubs and societies, or even just how much time you are investing in your relationships with your peers.

[@arthurcasey3995]

So what grade did you get at the easy exam then?

[@DearOldWorld]

Before I quote my mark, I just want to say that I was on exchange so I didn't prioritise my studies as much as I normally would have here in Australia, and so I did also have subjects where my grades weren't that good. Also, I want to note that I don't feel like academic marks are a good representation of who people are, and you should always take them with a grain of salt. So yeah, my best exam grade/easiest exam was 85.5%.

[@lequocthinh8992]

Great video :D seems that your accent has a little bit changed :D

[@DearOldWorld]

Thank you! and I don't know that it has, but I would love if it did!

[@sanjanadias3105]

Hi, do you find people in England friendly or Austrailia?

[@krishnanpm4773]

WOW NO DISLIKES THAT'S GREAT

[@danushka2617]

hey , you okay? you sounded upset wjem talking about making friends

[@DearOldWorld]

Thank you so much Daniela for such a thoughtful comment

[@jacquiherbst85]

@@DearOldWorld I totally get what you mean. I went on a gap year after undergrad, and came back to a uni where I had so many great friends, but everyone had obviously moved onto their new spaces. Making friends after the initial uni experience is very difficult, and I've learnt that you need a new perspective on how to make friends once you're onto a new life stage. I get the heartache of not making close friends though

[@jacquiherbst85]

On another note, I'm hopefully going to do my PhD at UOM in 2021 so this video is great!

[@DearOldWorld]

@@jacquiherbst85 I feel like this comment reached into my soul. Thank you for sharing your experience and wisdom ❤️

[@DearOldWorld]

@@jacquiherbst85 How exciting!!! I'm glad you found the video helpful :)

[@anastasiaspyridou8008]

I've got a question to anyone that knows. Manchester or Nottingham University? I will be majoring in English language and literature.

[@MusabInamdar]

👌💯🔥❤️

[@alessandramariuzzo3010]

Hi! I'm from Venice, Italy and I'm gonna move to the UK to start studying Politics and IR at the Uni of Manchester😊 Im scared I'm gonna find it difficult because I don't really know how everything works there like assignments and grades wise... Did you prepare in some way? I know that they make you write a lot of essays etc

[@oliviamcardlelongo370]

Hey! I’m going next year to study a similar course at Manchester, we might share some classes together :) do you have insta?

[@DearOldWorld]

Hi Alessandra, for Politics and IR I imagine assessments will be quite essay-based. I personally did not really prepare before going to the UoM, but I was already in my third year of my Development Studies degree (which is pretty much all essays) at my home uni in Australia. If I'm going to be honest, I didn't do very well in my first year of uni and I really didn't know how to write an essay, but somehow by completing my assignments and responding to the feedback that my tutors gave me, I learnt how to write better essays and it just kind of happened naturally. I'm pretty sure that for first years at UoM, your grades don't actually count and that you just have to pass, so I wouldn't stress too much. Just make sure that you do actually look at essay feedback and work on it. Essays are pretty simple- Introduction, Body paragraphs and Conclusion. Body paragraphs should follow the P.E.E.L structure (look this up if you don't know what it is). Also, make sure you learn how to PROPERLY reference (this will ensure that you don't engage in academic misconduct/plagiarism)!! For referencing, go onto the university faculty website and they should have a referencing guide :)

[@alessandramariuzzo3010]

@@oliviamcardlelongo370 Hi yes! Its @alessandramariuzzo_

[@alessandramariuzzo3010]

@@DearOldWorld thank you so much for all this info! You actually helped me a lot! 💜

[@urseliusurgel4365]

University education has become commercialised in the UK. Students pay fees and take out loans to pay them and for living expenses. In a way, students are paying for a service and expect commensurate results - i.e. good grades. This has led to a culture of both 'spoon-feeding' (giving out detailed lecture notes, telling students what questions will be asked in exams) and to grade inflation. Also the amount of money a university gets is more closely linked to the number of students it has, and there is a consequent pressure on universities not to fail students and require them to drop out. It was very different back in my days as a student (early 1980s), we had no fees and were supported by local authority maintenance grants. As a result we were not spoon-fed by the teaching staff, people were allowed to fail, my course lost about 15% of its students due to failing the first-year exams. As an example of grade inflation, on my course (Zoology), in my graduation year no one was awarded a first. This was not unusual, the Zoology department at Leeds did not award a single first for three years running. Currently, at the University of Manchester about 27% of Biology students achieve a first. I worked at the University of Manchester for 34 years and have two degrees from there. I really cannot believe that people have become more intelligent over the last 4 decades, if only because a mere 12.5% of people of my age cohort went to university and now it is around 50%. Probability would suggest that in selection for intelligence (which university entrance is, to a considerable extent) 12.5% would represent a higher concentration of this quality than 50% of any population.

[@DearOldWorld]

Similar to situation in Aus.