Lifestyle

London, is the heart and capital of England and is one of them major cities in the world. It is a vibrant, cosmopolitan, and welcoming city, very much like Singapore. London is home to many world-renowned colleges and universities. It is a very cosmopolitan city with many nationalities. Most areas in central London are safe but going out in groups when going out of central London is recommended.

Weather

London is blessed with good weather. The temperature starts at 15 degrees in October and gradually decreases as winter approaches. In recent years, London has been able to experience sub-zero temperatures (and therefore snow). Rain comes in the form of very small drizzles(or sprinkles) and hardly gets you drenched. Winds are stronger than in Singapore. The coldest months are in January and February, with a low of about -5degrees at night. Come March (spring), it gets significantly warmer and the weather becomes much more pleasant again.

Activities and attractions

Within London there are many musicals that you can catch during your time as a student here, from Phantom of the Opera, to Oliver and Avenue Q. The list goes on! There are also many interesting museums here. Some attractions include Oxford Street (Orchard Road of London), the London Eye, Buckingham Palace and the Big Ben. Chinatown is conveniently located in central London where you can get Singapore food, though at much higher prices than in SG.

Estimated cost of living

London is generally the most expensive city to live in the UK.

• Accommodation: £70 to £160 per week
• Food
  • Home-cooked: £70 to £90 per month
  • Eat out: £5 to £20 per meal!
• Mobile phone bill: £15-25 per month
• Transport: £10-40 per month (assuming you walk/cycle to school)

Total: £600-1000 per month

University College London

Location

UCL is located primarily in the Bloomsbury area in Central London. It is close to places like Kings Cross (where you can the Eurostar), Oxford Street and Covent Garden (shopping districts). It is very much a city campus, which you may liken to SMU in Singapore. While the area around UCL can be described with anything but quiet, it is very convenient to live in as everything is merely a short walk away. Accommodation is located relatively near the school, save for a few Halls of Residence that require a much longer walk to school. You can choose to stay in either a UCL Hall or a University of London Intercollegiate Hall.
It is famous for courses like Law, Clinical Medicine, Neuroscience & Behaviour, Psychology, Immunology, Pharmacology & Toxicology and the Social Sciences (e.g. Economics).

School life

This very much depends on which course you study. Generally Year One is a very relaxed time, as not all the results are counted towards your final degree classification (again, course-dependent) and there are relatively few lessons. This changes in Years Two and Three as the workload increases and you get closer to graduation.

Tutorials are conducted in about a 1:15 tutor-to-student ratio. Exams are usually held in the Third Term, just after the one month Easter holiday in April.

Students

UCL is renowned for having a large international student population, and students are generally very hardworking. The course you study affects the type of people you will meet, with many Asians found in more ‘practical’ courses like Economics.

Settling in

The UCL Singapore Society organises events for freshers, for example, an orientation walk in London and a pre-departure briefing in Singapore. There are many Singaporeans in UCL, and you will find it difficult not to meet one on the way to school. Help is usually just very, very short walk down the corridor or road.

Alan Lim
Economics (First Year Undergraduate) ’09/10
VJC 05SXX

Imperial College London

Location

Imperial College is situated in South Kensington, Central London. It is a small and urban and is pretty much comparable to SMU of Singapore. It has a very safe and pleasant environment. Though in an urban setting, Imperial College is situated just south of Hyde Park, one of the largest parks in Central London. It is a place for you to play some football, go running or simply enjoy the beautiful place and relax! For students who live in Evelyn Gardens (a cluster of school accommodation to the south of Imperial College), the river Thames is just a 10 minute walk away.

School life

The experience of studying in a world-renowned university is, as you would expect, challenging. Lectures, tutorials and laboratory work take up anything from 15 hours to 27 hours a week depending on your course of choice.

Students

Imperial College has one of the largest percentage of international students and you get to mix with a whole range of students. With high speed internet connection, processors and the latest software used, the Imperial College lives up to its name as a science and technological school.

Settling in

Settling down in Imperial College is easy, especially with the help of the Imperial’s Singapore Society whose mission is to ‘create a home away from home’. Pre-departure camps are organised annually for you to get to know other Singaporeans before leaving for London. The support facilities are excellent, with the Student Hub ever so helpful in helping students with bank accounts, accommodation, finances and life as a student here.

George Lim
Mechanical Engineering (First Year Undergraduate) ’09/10
06S64

Goldsmiths, University of London

Location

Goldsmiths is in New Cross, South East London. Vibrant, distinctive and with great transport connections to Central London, it’s comparable to the Heartlands of Singapore and an ideal base for experiencing and enjoying the London alternative. Our teaching and administration, and most of our residential accommodation, is located on a single campus. It includes the RIBA award-winning Rutherford Building and the prestigious Ben Pimlott Building.

School life

All about the freedom to experiment, to think differently, to be an individual – Goldsmiths offers a transformative experience, generating knowledge and stimulating self-discovery through creative, radical and intellectually rigorous thinking and practice. We work with a network of renowned professors, galleries and museums both in London and internationally to create an inspiring and dynamic place in which to study and develop an independent practice. Many graduates of Goldsmiths are the most recognised names working in their fields today.

Students

Our students have a vast variety of different backgrounds and reasons for studying, creating a diverse student population. Our list of former students includes names like Antony Gormley, Julian Clary, Damien Hirst, Mary Quant, Bridget Riley, Sam Taylor-Wood, Graham Coxon, Malcolm McLaren – leaders and innovators in their chosen fields.

Settling in

We’re here for you. No matter what we do, it’s always with you in the forefront of our minds. We are your voice if you need to discuss any issues related to the University and the Students’ Union are the people to speak to.

Candy Chen
Fine Art (Third Year Undergraduate) ’09/10