Applications for undergraduate college courses in the UK, which start in September 2016, needed to be in by 15th January. Hopefully, those international students reading this will have a smile on your face because you got it all sorted before the deadline. You may even be organising your student accommodation right now so you can be sure that nothing’s left to chance on the day of your flight.
The good news is that you still have time to apply for a homestay accommodation and there’s still a great choice of options. Whether you simply want to stay with a host family – complete with meal plans and not have to worry about cooking for yourself or having to rely on takeaway meals – or perhaps you prefer a house share?
Increased number of applications
The number of full-time undergraduate applications, which arrived ‘on time’ for the 15 January deadline was nearly 594,000, an increase of 0.2 per cent compared to the same time last year, according to UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, UK).
You’re probably also wondering from what parts of the world many of the applications were received. Top of the list for the January deadline was China with 9,000 applications, followed by Hong Kong (5,000), Ireland (4,750), France (4,650), Italy (4,270) and Malaysia (4,070). There was also more than 3,000 applications each from the USA, Germany, Poland, Romania and Singapore.
Late applications
Maybe you’re from one of the above countries? But all is not lost if you didn’t make the application deadline! Some colleges will accept applications as late as 30 June. Once again, you can still grab yourself a cool place to stay with a homestay provider, because the scheme is a lot more flexible to the needs of overseas students and temporary visitors who are subject to the deadlines imposed by the college application system.
But what happens if you did apply by either the January or June deadline but didn’t receive any offers? Perhaps you didn’t meet the entry conditions because your final exam grades didn’t meet the minimum required. You may even have turned down all your offers because you weren’t happy with the outcome.
Clearing system
You probably know that the next stage is the Clearing system. It means you still have a good chance to study in the UK in 2016 You may no longer be able to so easily find a room at an university Halls of Residence, as many are soon taken but you can still apply to live in a hosted homestay accommodation. Remember- you will still need to leave your Halls of Residence after the first year anyway, which is not so convenient if you’re enrolled on a 2 or 3 year course. Some college courses can widely differ in their duration.
After 30 June deadline, all new applications are automatically submitted to the Clearing system, which gives students a chance to find a suitable match and universities can fill places that are still available. The system of Clearing takes place from July onwards and closes on 21 September 2016.
Arrive at your new home without any further worries
But there’s no need to panic, even at this stage. Some students might try contacting estate agents or private landlords in a bid to find a room at the last minute. With just weeks away from the start of term, it’s likely that in a town like Cambridge, Brighton or Bristol, there could be little or no affordable places left to rent. If you’re in the UK for the first time and your English is not so fluent, you could be in for trouble!
Alternatively, of course, you could simply be met by a Hosts homestay coach or people carrier when you arrive and be safely and smoothly delivered to your new home without any further worries.
It’s never too late to book a homestay, wherever you may be finally studying.