My university have some agreements with foreign schools, all over the world.
I've been interested in taking part into one of these programs, I even studied French for a year (man, that sucks... too boring), but I guess I should focus on English-speaking countries, as it's the only foreign language I can speak very well.

This week I got one of our newsletter and there's an option to University of Leeds. I thought "England, cool, I know English, I can study, travel thru Europe some time, bla bla bla", buuuut, I'd like to have some info about the university.
IMO, it's nice to have experiences abroad, but the education level must be worth.

So, what can you tell me about this college? Is it good, renowned? Are people someway "proud" of studying there? Would you be happy if you're able to study there? Do you study there? () Do you know anything about it's education level or rankings?

BTW, I'm studying electrical/electronic engineering.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Leeds#...ation_and_Rankings

it seems like a decent university

Go and take the chance. Tbh, even if it was a crap university it would be worth the experience of studying abroad

Yeah, I read part of that article yesterday. But I don't have parameters to compare with others schools. Yet.

Go ahead and study there =P

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chancer
BTW, I'm studying electrical/electronic engineering.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by blessedguy
Go ahead and study there =P

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chancer
Not so easy. They will evaluate each candidate before choosing.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chancer
You mus be crazy to study comp science. Once crazy, you're able to do it.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chancer
Good luck.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by blessedguy
what wll they evaluate, exactly?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chancer
99% sure about grades and English skills. Maybe a few more requirements, but I don't know exactly how it works.

---

It's a public school, and I may (or not!) get some money every month. I'll be looking for more info about the process.

The University of Leeds is a pretty good school as far as reputation goes. Historically, it is one of the original six "red brick" universities so that is moderately prestigious. It also has a good business model and thus is fairly rich - meaning the facilities are good, money is spent on research and keeping the place maintained etc. If you look at the rankings Chrono linked to then ~30th is very good.

http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/tol_gug/gooduniversityguide.php - this gives you an idea of the unis above and below Leeds and it is keeping good company. I don't know anyone that has studied there but I did look around the university myself when I was applying and I was happy with it (in the end I didn't apply there but that's for a completely unrelated reason), the campus was nice, the students I met were nice, the few lecturers I met seemed intelligent and so forth. According to that link I pasted 75% of the students are satisfied with it, that seems fairly high. It's a renowned place because of historical status and that means a lot - prestige comes hand in hand with the age of a university a lot of the time. The education level is easily one of the highest in this country and it's a popular university with lots of applications. With it being research orientated your subject fits in nicely there, so that would probably be a bonus. I would recommend the school as a positive experience of education in Britain, so go for it.

Also, the city of Leeds is fairly nice (as northern cities go!), it has a great dining scene and is culturally diverse. Shopping is good there too, I am led to believe.

Good luck and I hope that all helps!

So far so good. Very "encouraging" info.
And about the city or country. How expensive is living there?

I sort of gave a summary of Leeds, but I can expand on that. It's up in the north of England (historically the industrial part, the "poorer" part). [As an aside, England has a north-south divide, wherein the South is considered wealthier and the North is looked down upon slightly - it's a stereotype that is less and less true these days.]

Leeds is in the county of Yorkshire which is very scenic once you get out of the city, beautiful countryside and lakes and areas for walking. Lots of great pubs in Yorkshire (The Star at Harome for some of the best food and drinking). I would recommend exploring this area if you do attend the university. Back to Leeds itself; it is your average modern city with all the conveniences associated with that "stigma". It does somewhat cater for students, supporting the populaces of two big universities. Transport is fine, shopping is fine, clubbing is fine, you get the picture. The local football team used to be good but is now in the second/third division after they went bankrupt. Oh, the glory days of Leeds United.. Heh. One thing Leeds has going for it is a great haute cuisine dining scene: Anthony's is a brilliant (expensive, though) starred place, then you have the Piazza by Anthony which is meant to be incredible (not had a chance to visit it yet), there is a wonderful Sichuan Chinese place called Red Chilli which is truly authentic, The Ellington, The Bird by Vineet, L'Enclume is close, Sous le Nez, Kendell's Bistro, No 3 York Place, Akbar's, Aagrah, Chaopraya, Fuji Hiro.. the list could go on, but those are probably the places in the city itself with many more out in the towns in the Yorkshire Dales. http://www.anthonysrestaurant.co.uk/ <- worth checking out.

It's very diverse with many ethnicities being represented - Asian moreso than most. The traffic at rush hour is just as frustrating as anywhere else in this country. Links to London are good via train and coach. Crime is bog standard, it's not massively dangerous but being careful is always a given in more rough sections of the city. The local accent can be tricky to understand as a non-native. But, since you'll be at uni there, most of the students will be from everywhere else in the country so that probably wouldn't be a problem. Leeds has the usual smattering of museums, landmarks, culture, etc. (read the Wikipedia page, it's way more thorough than my memory and knowledge).

How expensive is it to live here? London is hugely expensive, Leeds is less so. It's hard to express the cost of living as a simple thing. Rent for a student will be approx. £250-400 a month (depending on location and the quality of your accommodation), a cinema ticket costs ~£7.20, milk is 50p for a pint, bread is 80p for a loaf, a bus ride starts at around £3.00 (getting a bus pass from the university will make that cheaper and less of a concern); it's not as expensive as Norway but it's not *cheap*. You can learn to find bargains and shop on a budget. Drinking (I know what this means to students) can be cheap too with pubs offering happy hours and deals. What else would you like to know on this particular subject and I can answer the specifics?

My advice would be to ask the university about rent prices and if they can offer help in that regard and also read the Wikipedia entry on Leeds all the way through to learn the facts and ins and outs.

As for the country, England; to me it's home and I love it overall. I doubt I could bring myself to ever leave permanently. I may hate the current government and disagree with many things that go on - taxation is way too high, blah blah - but it has beauty and great cities and has culture and history. There is tons to see and do and visit. The countryside is splendid and unspoilt, the coastlines are amazing. Then you have London, a truly global city, which is a jewel in itself. I could rave about England for hours. Yes, it's moderately expensive but not mind blowingly so. It rains a fair amount but it's a temperate climate that never gets too hot or too cold. It's green outside of the major metropolitan areas. There are some nice beaches around the country to enjoy in the summer. The food, despite its reputation, is wonderful - who could hate fish and chips as a national dish? The culture is deep and ancient, it's diverse, it's cheap to travel to Europe, it has great homegrown ales.. everything you could ever find special.

* ixesha shrugs

Good luck with the research.

It's a good university, and a fun city. However, it isn't on of the top 10 in the UK. For your course it is ranked 16th in the UK.

Great. Seems pretty good and I'll probably apply for the selection.
Thanks!

Today I found the requirements. As I could expect, there's a proficiency exam, TOEFL, CPE or IELTS. The firsts 2 will be after the period I have to apply, and IELTS costs something like 200 US dollars.

I also need a teacher indication ("recommendation letter"), what might not be soooo hard. At last, write a "study plan", telling my intentions, goals, etc.

I still have a few days to evaluate if it's worth paying all that money.

Also, there's no studentship (), they only cover academic fees, but as it's free, that means they won't pay a single penny.

Apply or don't, apply or don't, apply or don't, apply or don't, apply or don't...