The Ultimate Guide to Grad School in London

How to Move to London for School

So many people ask me about how I was able to go to grad school in the UK as an American. So, I wrote up a brief overview with some advice I wish I had for when I applied for my master’s program. I also share some tips for when I applied for my visa and how I established my life in London.

I attended SOAS (School of African and Oriental Studies) University of London fall 2019. After graduating with my undergrad from The Ohio State University, I treated my self to a trip to Europe to visit some friends. During my time in London, I had 2 friends that were currently studying in London for their Master’s. I also has 2 other friends that had recently completed their Master’s in the UK. All of my friends were telling me how I needed to apply to a school in London and how I would love it. Honestly, it didn’t take much convincing for me. My flight back to the US landed on June 7th and my portion of the application was submitted by June 14th.

The Master’s Program Application

Most UK universities only have a fall intake, meaning you can only start school in the fall term. So, if you’re trying to go to school this fall, I would apply as soon as possible since there are application deadlines. There are some schools that do not have application fees in the UK. When I applied to SOAS, they didn’t have any fees to apply. But schools like King’s College, for example does have application fee, but only maybe £60.

You will need academic recommendations from professors. SOAS required me to have two as a part of the application. Your application will not count as complete until both recommendations are submitted. This means that you may need to give your references a hard deadline to get their portion submitted.

Academic Requirements

When applying you will have to pay attention to the school’s academic requirements since they’re in UK standards. I just googled the equivalents; a lot of schools are very strict about their academic requirements. They will explicitly say on the site that if you don’t fulfill the requirements don’t even apply.

I’m not sure how other schools work, but in order to accept my offer into the master’s program at SOAS I had to pay £1,000 to hold my spot. This £1,000 goes toward your tuition. Be prepared to pay this because they only give you around 3.5 weeks or so to accept your offer with this payment.

Loans

If you get federal student loans, check to make sure your school is on the list of international schools that participate in the federal student aid programs. The list of schools can be found on this sheet:

https://studentaid.gov/sites/default/files/international-schools-in-federal-loan-programs.xlsx

While you’re doing all of this, you should know that your loans for school start over. This means there is a new pot of funds for masters programs. So, whatever loans you do get, apply for them once you get accepted into your program. For myself, I got enough loans to cover my schooling (3 terms – one full year) and a bit more to cover my living expenses as well. While in the UK on the tier 4 student visa you are allowed to work but it is limited to 20 hours per week or less during school terms.

The Visa Application

Once you have your application in, you have to wait until you get accepted before you apply for the UK tier 4 (general) student visa (there’s information that you’ll need on your acceptance forms, that are required for your visa). Once you get accepted, start on your visa as soon as you can, but the earliest you can apply for a student visa is 3 months before you start your course.

The visa was a big headache. There was a lot of confusing information about it. I.e. what documents were and weren’t required to be attached and in what order.

The UK tier 4 student visa costs £363 ($440). The part that sucks is, if your visa gets denied, then you do not get this money back. This means make sure your visa is filled out correctly the first time. Another part of the visa is the healthcare surcharge – this basically is you paying into the UK universal healthcare system. The cost was around £500 ($600). If by chance your visa gets denied you will get this money back!

For my visa application I did opt to pay for ‘priority visa’ (an additional $280) please note that I was on a very limited time frame. Please also note that priority visa does not guarantee an accepted visa. It also does not mean that your application will be in the front of the line. The only thing ‘priority visa’ says is that the decision will be made faster. Honestly, this could just be another way to make money and it might be the same wait time as without priority. I can’t be sure, but like I said before, I didn’t have much time since I applied so late.

Getting Your BRP (Biometrics Resident Permit)

As a part of your visa you will have to schedule an in-person appointment for your biometrics resident permit (BRP). This appointment takes place at your local visa application center. You will find location options near your hometown within the visa application.  The BRP is like your ID card when you’re in the UK. At this appointment you have to do a fingerprint and take a picture for your ID but for me it was a quick and painless process. You will pick this card up in the UK at a post office. You designate the post office you would like to. I chose the post office that was closest to my school’s address in London.

There were a few hiccups during my application process because I went into it without having any sort of idea of what needed to be done, but hopefully this is helpful for you and makes your application go a lot smoother.

Arriving in the UK

The UK recommends you don’t book a flight until your visa has been approved. This is good advice because I had to rebook a flight because I was still waiting on my visa to arrive. Your passport is sent with the visa application so you need the visa decision in order to travel. The flight I ended up booking was for the day before my orientation at school. This was a bit hectic, but was the best I could do with my limited time.

Getting a UK Bank Account

At my school orientation is where I got my refund check. The only issue was that I needed a UK bank account in order to cash it. Your school should be able to get you a signed letter specifically for getting you a UK bank account. You’ll also need your BRP, passport, and a current address (at the time I just put the hostel address I was staying in) to get your bank account. I joined with Lloyds bank to set up my account.

Please note: There are lots of people trying to set up student bank accounts in the fall. This step you have to finalize the set up in person. So, once you get accepted into your program and your visa has been completed and sent in, I recommend going online and filling out the online application portion. After the online portion is complete you should schedule an in-person appointment for once you arrive in the UK as soon as you can.

Having a UK bank account will allow you to sign a lease on a flat easier, get a job, and just buy the things you need. And get you around on public transportation so much easier as well.

Extra Funds

When you’re coming to the UK, they suggest you have about £2,000 with you. This is to sustain you while you look for a place, eat, and get around on public transport. I did not have £2,000, but I had enough money to stay in a hostel for 2.5 weeks, I was able to eat every day, and I had money for public transport at least 4 times a day. I spent $600-$800 until I was got my bank account set up and cashed my refund check. This is why it’s important to get a UK bank account set up ASAP!

Finding Accommodation

When I got to the UK, I did not have a place to stay so I started flat hunting as soon as I arrived. I used spareroom.com to find my place. There were also a number of Facebook groups for student accommodation in the UK. You definitely have to be aware of scams and be careful when touring flats on your own. But overall it was a good experience for me.

It took me about 2 and a half weeks to find my flat. While flat hunting I stayed in a hostel. Even though I had friends that lived in London that I could stay with, it was more convenient for me to stay in the hostel. Logistically (getting to and from school) and for my independence, I was able to come and go when I pleased. And I did not have to rely on someone else for the key to their flat.

My university also had student accommodation as an option. This does fill up quickly, so pay attention once you get accepted for your housing options. Your school will more than likely have someone to help you look for housing that is within your budget. That is a resource you have if you’re struggling to find a place.

Overall Advice:

• Do your research on your school. Know the school’s requirements, and make sure it’s a good fit for you. Make sure that the program is something that you’re interested in.
• Apply for your master’s program as soon as possible to give yourself time to apply for your visa and get your passport back.
• Be prepared to pay the fees.
• Google is your friend! Many people have written blogs about their visa experiences, how to find a flat, and pretty much anything else. I found these helpful during my experience.
• Make sure you read carefully – The order in which your documents need to be in for your visa is important. Know what documents you need for your BRP appointment. Pay attention because these things can affect the results of your visa application.

• A side note: All of these purchases (flights, visa, health surcharge, etc.) are in British Pounds and through British websites. My American bank was flagging my card for suspicious activity. So, you might want to notify your bank for this prior to making these UK payments back to back.

 I’m not sure how international student enrollment or visa acceptance has been impacted by COVID-19, but this was my experience applying to school for the 2019-2020 school year.

Below I’ve included a timeline of the events just to give an idea of how quickly things moved along. This will help you account for how much time that you for your application process.

Timeline:

Started my Application for school – June 9^th

Completed my portion of application – June 14^th

Both recommendations submitted (application ready for review) – June 25^th

Offer of admission into master’s program – July 22^nd

Accepted offer/ Paid £1,000 – August 2^nd

Visa online application paid and submitted – August 10^th

BRP appointment – August 23^rd

Visa application and passport sent to UK visa office in New York – August 28^th

Visa accepted and passport returned – September 17^th

 Flight to the UK – September 22^nd

University Orientation – September 23^rd Signed for my flat – October 8^th