Two funding gaps in Scottish higher education
Scotland’s universities are short of about £200 million, and Wonkhe argues there is a second gap alongside it — the one between what Scottish students receive in support and what living actually costs, which free tuition does nothing to close. Scotland’s review of university funding is now looking at both. Scottish students pay no fees, so what changes here will be places, provision and maintenance support.
“How do I see a doctor?” is the question international students ask most
Bupa’s on-campus teams report answering more than 11,000 questions from international students this year, with how to access a doctor the most common of all — a reminder that the NHS registration process is obvious to nobody who did not grow up with it. Register with a GP in your first fortnight, before you need one. GP registration and staying healthy explains how.
The hard parts of a year abroad, from week one of one
A Warwick student writing from Stellenbosch in South Africa on what the first week of a year abroad is actually like: the administrative chaos of enrolling in a second system, the loneliness that arrives well before the friendships do, and the distance between the photographs other people post and the experience of being somewhere you know nobody. Worth reading before you go rather than during the week you doubt the decision. The year abroad covers the practicalities.
Everything worth knowing about Liverpool before you arrive
A city guide for incoming Liverpool students covering transport, where to shop, and which parts of the first fortnight matter. City-specific, but it is the model of what to find out about wherever you are going before the week begins rather than during it. Moving to university is the general version.