The third week of August is traditionally the time when high school students in Britain receive their GCSE and A Level results. Now it really is time for those who achieved the grades they needed for university to sort out their student accommodation before term starts.
This year, a record number of 424,000 UK university places have been offered – up by 3 per cent on 2015, according to UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, UK). It is also reported that there are around 41,000 places available at leading college courses through placement clearing houses – also a slight rise on last year.
But what about international students? More than 430,000 overseas students from over 180 countries study in the UK every year, and in 2015 the number of international applicants increased by 2 per cent, say UCAS. The number of “internationally mobile” higher education students coming to the UK is expected to grow by nearly 4 per cent every year until at least 2020.
Getting a place on a college course could actually be the easy part in the various hurdles to be faced by students from abroad who want to study in Britain.
Equivalent qualifications
Many course providers at UK universities and colleges accept equivalent qualifications, such as High School Graduation instead of GCSE. While only a few qualifications gained in another country may be accepted as being fully equivalent to A levels, a number of universities or colleges will accept international students on the basis of their overseas qualification. Where there are a large number of applicants, there is often a requirement to have an extra, UK-based qualification, as well as High School results. And if English is not your first language, then universities will want a recognised English language qualification too.
Apart from sorting out a visa, flight costs and financing college fees for the duration of your course the other big item to deal with is finding decent, affordable international student accommodation.
Competing to find ever fewer places to live
The pressure is always up to the max in London and other university towns, such as Bristol, Brighton and Manchester. More than 1.7 million full-time students could be competing against each other to find ever fewer places to live while they are studying, according to property agents. Across the entire country, purpose-built student accommodation has only increased by a meagre 10,000 in the last 12 months from 545,000 beds to 555,000 beds for the 2016/17 academic year. It is estimated that the ratio of full-time students to available beds is now running at three to one. And there’s more bad news as rents are predicted to rise by 4 per cent in 2017/18.
So you have your exam results and there’s just a couple of weeks left till college starts – what are your options for finding a place to stay? Firstly, it’s almost certain that every room at a halls of residence is already taken – as they inevitably always are – and you will have to vacate your room after your first year anyway. Secondly, the reality is that you may simply be unable to afford private sector, sky-high rents and taking the risk of dealing with a possibly, dodgy landlord or estate agent. The National Union of Students (NUS) report that three quarters of students have encountered problems in the private rented sector.
Whether it’s your first time away from home or you simply want to know that everything will be taken care of, then you will always find a great room at a hosted homestay accommodation. It has to be the perfect option for international students looking for clean, comfortable and safe accommodation. Even if you only need it for a short period of time until you find something more permanent, a hosted homestay is a real alternative to private renting or even a hotel room. You may even decide to stay for the entire duration of your course.
Obvious home comforts
Remember – your host is not a commercial businesses. They joined the hosting scheme, set up by a properly run organisation, such as Hosts, because they have a spare room handy, which they thought would be useful to bring in a little extra household income. At the same time, they are genuinely keen to also learn more about people and culture from different parts of the world.
Many young students, especially those on English Learning courses choose a homestay for its obvious home comforts, family atmosphere, and most importantly, a chance to practise their English and generally learn about the British way of life. The leading scheme providers are approved to British Council standards, which means that regular checks are carried out to ensure that host families keep the room clean and comfortable with plenty of natural and electric lighting, heating and ventilation. You also have a great choice of meal plans to save you having to survive on takeaways, buying or cooking your own food. Even your laundry can be taken care of every week.
Because you can apply for homestay accommodation at any time, you won’t be left in a last-minute panic to find a place after waiting for your exam results. “Keep Calm and Carry On”… arranging homestay accommodation!