Life at Bellerbys College

The New Beginning

Posted by Ksenia

In all those posts that I wrote during the holiday I mentioned lots of great things which made this summer special (I firmly believe that every summer is special in its own way) – trips to Tunisia and Ukraine, searching for a flat in London, friends, family, some free time for my hobbies (finally!) - but one thing was absent from this blog and at the same time always on my mind – the 20th of August, The Day of Release of A-Level Results, The Big Day that was the aim of all the lessons, practicals, homework and tests, revising till complete exhaustion and endless patience of our teachers.

I did not want to talk or think and even would not dear to write about it.  On the 19th one of my friends wrote that whatever will happen the next day we will face it with dignity and regard it as destiny.  There was nothing we could do; and I was absolutely agree with her.

When I saw in my mail box a letter with a title “Congratulations from Imperial College!” the first thing I felt was an enormous relief: I’ve done it, it’s over, I do not have to worry about it any longer.  Then it was a feeling of absolute happiness and I just had to share it with someone – I run towards my mum crying out loud: “I got in! I got in!” and gave her a very strong hug.  Then I ran back to my computer to see the actual results on the Edexcel website and check UCAS – I could not believe that my dream has come true until I saw the official confirmation.  (Ksenia achieved an amazing six A Levels at grade A!)

Once I’ve check those two out I went straight to Facebook and Vkontakte to put “Hurrah!!!!” in my status and see how everybody else did.  My happiness was not fully complete till I realized that all my friends got in where they wanted to.  For the rest of the day we were all sending and receiving congratulations, speaking with friends and relatives over the phone and sharing our happiness with those who were next to us.  It was a great day and it was really worth the waiting.

The next big thing was to get the Visa and it's not as easy as it may seem.  I needed to receive an original Visa letter from university and the transcript of my results from Bellerbys.  At first I was just waiting patiently trying to familiarize myself with the thought (a very pleasant one) that I am a new Imperial College student.  But then I started getting a bit worried.  The visa letter should had been sent to Brighton and then sent to me by DHL but a week had passed and still did not receive anything.  Nevertheless one thing was comforting me – I knew that in my college there are people who care about me and my documents and will always be there if I need help and advice.

Here I want to thank again Ms Paula Pocock who helped me enormously in this situation – she was replying straightaway to my endless letters, answering my questions and sending me by email, post or DHL every single thing that I asked for.  While Paula was away Mr. Corcut himself (an extra busy person as I have already said) did everything to help me as well.  And after a few calls to Imperial and one more week of waiting I received all the documents and applied for my visa.

Two weeks and one day latter (seemed to be the same for all my friends who were doing their applications in Russia) I could go to the Embassy to collect my passport.  When I was flipping over its pages it felt a little bit like when I was opening my mail box on the 20th of August.  When I saw the Visa it seemed to me the most beautiful piece of art I have ever seen in my life.  Then everything was really over and the new life was about to start.

Now I just have to pack my stuff and catch a plane to London.  So how do I feel?  I guess that a line from one of the famous songs by Garbage would describe it better then my own words: “I feel ready and yet unprepared…”  So now it’s time to say goodbye to this blog.  But do not think that you will get rid of me that easily!  Nothing can tear me and Bellerbys College apart (I hope everybody understands that it’s a joke or maybe I got too used to English humour eventually?) so I will continue writing in the Life after Bellerbys College blog.

Hope that you will be following my adventures in the Greater London and wherever else in the world and I will try my best to make them fun to read!  Once again I want to congratulate all the Bellerbys graduates who got into the universities of their dreams and wish all the present and future students of our college to do the same thing.  Good luck everyone and let’s have a great year!

Hitting The Restart Button - Back To College After A Summer in America

Posted by Maggie

I hope you haven't missed me too much.  I've just recently returned to London and I've never been this busy, ever, in my life.  College applications, writing personal statement, reading ahead for classes, running around getting all the necessities needed for a new school year, settling into a new room, catching up with old friends, meeting new students, trying to attend extracurricular activities, completing homework assigned, going to the gym, lending a hand at Oxfam outreach events, and planning my 18th birthday trip to Paris - enough to keep me fully occupied, if not, completely overwhelmed.

This is the time to hit the restart button.  September, when summer comes to an end, and fall takes over.  But before we hit the restart button, launching a whole new year, full of obstacles, opportunities, joys, challenges, and ups and downs, let's rewind time and I'll tell you more about my summer in America.

*

After I left London in June, I spent a week in New York City, discovering and taking advantages of what the city has to offer.  One of the nicest things about Manhattan is the fact that it is a walking city, like London for the most part.  The moment I touched down, I bought an unlimited travel pass that could be used for subway, overground, trains and buses for a week at $25 only! 

   

Not to mention, New York's subway does not sleep, like the city.  It runs 24 hours a day.  The first few days in the Big Apple, I walked around Times Square, Garment District, Upper West Side, 5th Avenue and Midtown; visiting the American Museum of Natural History, going to psychics, meeting random people in Starbucks, getting an American number, tracking down places with free Wi-Fi, sitting on the steps of New York Public Library devouring hamburgers and pretzels, participating in the walking tours of both Columbia University and NYU, bumping into the film set where Robert Pattinson was filming, watching films at Bryant Park Summer Film Festival and fell absolutely in love with NYC somewhere between the lines.

It seemed apparent that people simply meet new people on every corner of the city.  You could be a friend of the stranger who's lining up in front of you at CVS.  Everyone was open to new experiences and they were very helpful to the tourists, contrary to popular beliefs.  New Yorkers are not bitchy.  At least not in the summer.

   

For the second half of the week, I based myself in Greenwich Village, Union Square, Lower East Side, Chinatown, Little Italy, Wall Street and even Staten Island!  Yes, I took the free ferry ride to Staten Island after visiting Ground Zero.  It felt so strange, imagining planes crashing into the buildings that used to be right next to where I was standing.  I wonder how different this part of Manhattan might have looked today if 9/11 never happened.  Anyway, out of goodwill, I bought a magazine about the history of 9/11 on site whose profits will then go into the construction of new buildings around the area.

   

I saw the Statue of Liberty on my ferry ride to Staten Island.  I tried to envisage the immigrants moving into the Land of Freedom some 200 years ago, crossing the same path I crossed.  They were so brave, leaving everything behind at home, and travelled across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World, just so they could have a better life or in the earlier cases, in search of religious freedom.   

On the last day of my trip to New York, I further explored 5th Avenue.  I booked myself a hair appointment at the John Barrett Salon on the 7th floor of Bergdorf Goodman.  After leaving the salon feeling fabulous, I proceeded to the shopping floors and did some market research aka window shopping.  Well, not exactly. I tried some stuff on.  And bought some harmless things.  Hey, I'm only a girl!

   

I had a wonderful time in the city.  I'm considering living in Manhattan in the future.  The city is so amazing that they named it twice - New York, New York - I love you.  And I will be back for you.

After bidding the city goodbye reluctantly, I hopped on the Greyhound and I was Harvard-bound.  Yes, I was heading to Harvard to do a summer session there.  I was in the Secondary School Program (SSP) and took two courses - Journalism and Intro to Capital Markets and Investments. 

If anyone of you is thinking of signing up for Harvard Summer School, then I would highly recommend you to do so, because I had one of the best summers of my life there.  Seriously.  The university campus is situated in a nice spiffy little town called Cambridge.  It is about 15 minutes tube ride away from downtown Boston.  Cambridge has everything one needs.  Boutiques, Aldo, bookstores, kebab shops, J.P Licks (ice cream!), Starbucks, and Urban Outfitters!  Oh, I fell madly in love with Urban Outfitters.  They have these lovely Polaroid cameras, pillows, notebooks, shoes, and decorative objects for one's room!

 

   

The first couple of weeks at Harvard, I was trying to get to know different people.  The Summer School invited an array of multinational students from all around the globe.  One of my closest friends there this summer hails from Kenya and couple others from Hawaii, Greece, Brazil, Long Island, Singapore, Colorado, Nigeria, Spain, New Jersey, Paris, Norway, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico City and believe it or not, London!  In fact, one of the most bizarre incidents occurred to me there.  I actually met this Brazilian guy who went to Embassy London (Bellerbys partner college for students who want to study English) the same time I was attending Bellerbys at Harvard!  I mean, what are the chances?!  This is indeed a small world.

Now moving onto the classes... I enjoyed Journalism very much.  I loved doing all the assignments and going around town, writing and reporting stories.  I think I learned a lot about journalism this summer - the rapidly diminishing industry which has been replaced by internet blogs; the amount of work needed to write an effective story; the different types of writing like features, sports, reviews or just straight news reporting.  Did you know that obituaries are sometimes written before the regarding subjects even died?  How morbid eh?  For my obit assignment, I killed Karl Lagerfeld.  But hey, at least I got an A for killing him!  (Sorry, Karl.  In truth, I really admire your work with the Chanel House.  You're cool)

  

As for Intro to Capital Markets and Investments, I was mostly struggling (if not bored) to understand the mathematics aspects of the course - portfolios variance, alphas, betas, correlation, standard deviation etc.  Apart from that, I was intrigued by the social aspects of the course.  Learning about the stock markets, why they crash, bubbles, bonds etc.  I liked the intuition more than the actual mathematical side of investing.  Nevertheless, it was a very intensive and interesting course and I'm glad to have taken it this summer.  I got a preview of the investing world, and it looked pretty damn good to me.  (I do realize the irony, but hey, according to Warren Buffett, "Fear when there's greed, and be greedy when there's fear.")

Outside of the classrooms, we did tons of fun stuff too.  My friends and I went to Cape Cod and met gay couples, swam with seals and got tanned.  Then, we celebrated Fourth of July by the riverbanks and watched fireworks all night, then got lost in Boston as we didn't want to take the subway, knowing how crazy the crowds can get.  On top of that, we crossed two states and arrived in Maine on a Sunday morning, hitting the Kittery outlet malls, and visiting Ogunquit - which was a tiny seaside town. 

  

We also went crazy shopping on Newbury Street, finding a J Crew sister company called Madewell where the cutest boyfriend jeans can be found.  And what about the nights where we simply danced till we dropped?  The late night trips to Au Bon Pain for cinnamon rolls and orange juice?  The random excursions to Boston?  The time we spent at the Science Center, trying to convince the security man to let us check out the astronomy tower?  That one time where I almost died doing Bikram Yoga with a Norwegian friend? (where the room is heated while you do extreme exercises)  The days where we just lounged about on the lawn in front of our hall?  Jason Mraz's concert?  Trip to Andover, running after trains and passing by the hysterical fans of the Jonas Brothers?  Watching movies due to last minute impulses?  Ferry rides around Boston, visiting the historical sites and evidences the Pilgrims left when they first arrived at Plymouth Rock?  Going to my first Red Sox (baseball) game at Fenway, America's most beloved ball park?  Making fools out of ourselves (pole dancing) on the subway trains?  The good times were countless. 

Meanwhile, our Harvard dorms were huge - and we shared rooms with either one or a couple of room mates.  The bathroom was communal which meant that we had to share it.  (Something that I'm not too fond of - phew, thank God they've got ensuite bathrooms here at Bellerbys residence).

  

Our proctors were Harvard undergraduates and they were extremely nice.  We had study breaks once in a while and played games.  We had our meals at the Annenberg Hall, and I frequented the Starbucks on Church Road as well as this Italian restaurant called Uno where karaoke nights were held on Mondays.  I admit, my friends and I partied quite a bit this summer at Harvard.  But isn't that what you do during the summer?  Have some fun, let your hair down and who knows who you'll meet?  Maybe a Brazilian guy who went to the same school as you that you never knew; maybe an insanely hilarious guy from T&T (Trinidad and Tobago) who says "liming" instead of "hang out"; maybe a room mate who was named by the King of Thailand that you occasionally go to IHOP with; maybe a girl from upstate New York who has the same dreams as you.

The possibilities are infinite.  If anything, I believe the most important lesson that I've learnt this summer is to expect the unexpected.  Go with the flow.  Laugh.  Dance.  Sing.  Love.  And lastly, live.

Facebook - Connecting People! (part two)

Posted by Ksenia

In one of my posts I have already mentioned how important is Facebook in the life of young people and the only thing I can add is that this importance becomes more and more significant – at least for me.  At first all the endless applications, silly quizzes, requests, flowers, kisses, hugs or whatever from people I have never seen before really irritated me.  But while the number of my friends - English-speakers was growing I realized that Facebook is really doing a great job.  It made possible for me to meet people who otherwise could never become my friends and, the most important; it gave me a chance to help some of them.

Answering a few simple questions was the best I could do for those who contacted me but seemed to be a good way to make them a bit more calm and confident about themselves and their future arrival to the UK.  It is a hard decision to make – to come and study in another country where you do not know anybody and leave your friends and family behind.  But at the same time it’s a big step up – a chance to get the top-quality education, meet new people and become more or less independent.  So I hope that I have helped a few people to make the right choice. 

On the 9th of September a new term started at Bellerbys Brighton.  Dozens (if not hundreds!) of new students will be joining ELPP, GCSE, A-level, Foundation programs.  One of them is Zuzka, a girl from the Czech Republic who I have introduced to you in one of my previous posts.  Before her arrival she asked me a few good (as usual) questions which some of you might find interesting if you are thinking to come to Bellerbys.

Zuzka
Well I wanted to ask you about bank accounts in England.  Because I think I will need a bank account over there.  I read that Bellerbys helps students with registering with a UK bank.  Do you have any idea about which bank do they register students with?  Because I would like to have a bank which is like close to school so I could easily access it to get some cash.  Is there any need of my parents signing some documents since I am not 18?  Ha-ha, I know, too many questions, but that is just what I am ... ;)  But anyway thanks a lot for all of your help :)))

Me
Banks are easy.  College prepare a letter for you (just go and ask in Student Services) and arrange an appointment.  You will need some kind of permission from your parents but it’s very informal- nothing to worry about - and can be done as soon as they will tell you what they need (I guess it was something like an e-mail in my case).  The easiest one to go for is Natwest.  It has an office very close to school (in the shopping center) and has a very easy to manage accounts designed especially for people like us (I recommend you sign up for on-line banking as soon as you get your account, then you do not need to go to the bank at all).  They will talk you through everything - but it’s really very easy).

Zuzka
Hey Ksenia:)  Thanks a lot for your answer - do I get it right that there's no need of thinking about the account now and it's enough to solve it in the UK?  And does Natwest have some ATM near school to get to some cash without paying additional fees?

Me
Sure that you do not have to think about it now - anyway international students do not get many options.  If you decide to go with Natwest they will open for you two accounts - Reserve (the one on which all the money from your parents will be) and Step (for everyday use).  This system is very useful - though you get two cards you can only use one of them - the one from step account - and even if it gets lost or stolen you still can use the rest of the money – it makes you absolutely calm about your card when you are going out, for example.  That is why online banking is great - you can transfer money from Reserve account on Step in seconds.  Of course all of that is absolutely free.  They will explain it to you again when you will come to open the account.  The closest ATM is at Brighton station (1 min away).  As most of ATM’s in the UK it’s free to use.

Zuzka
I'm quite surprised about the ATM being for free; in my country most ATM’s charge some small fee from your account if you use it... :)  Thanks a lot for your information :)  Do most Bellerbys students have the Natwest account or it varies?  The system of two cards looks truly useful, I feel like that would suit me well :)

Me
Most of them have Natwest because it is the one suggested by Bellerbys.  You can also have Lloyds or some others but I have no idea about it :)

Zuzka
Haha thank you for your advice :)  Surprisingly, I have more questions (you know, only ten days remain and I still feel like I don’t know what I am going to do)....  Well, in regards to my question...  It might sound stupid but I’m interested in Biology and Chemistry exams.  I mean, there are practical ones, aren't there?  Could you please tell me how does a practical exam in Biology and Chemistry look?  It's just that I'm still thinking about taking subjects from both humanities and sciences and practicals are really something I'd be worried about - I have never done anything really similar.

Me
I perfectly understand that you are worried even though I know that you have absolutely nothing to be worried about.  Well, now the practical exams will be a bit different to what I have been doing because the syllabus (the exact list of what we had to know) might have changed and the college has changed the examining boards as well.  But I can give you a rough idea - for Chemistry it is not at all difficult and is real fun - you are given a few unknown substances and instructions of what to do with them and at the end you have to tell what is the substance which is always quite obvious.

Then you will either have to do a titration (mix a base and an acid together to find the point at which is mixture is neutral by the change of colour of indictor paper -it is a way of finding a concentration of acid/base) or an experiment connected with temperature - either to measure the temperature change in a reaction and find out how much heat was released, or to find melting/boiling point of a substance.  You will practice all those things for the whole year so you will be absolutely perfect when the exam time comes.  For biology we have not actually done the practical exam - we have done a coursework (you have to plan and do the experiment) and a written alternative to practical (when the experiment was already done for you and you will have to analyze the data).  So I do not actually know what you are going to do.

But anyway most students have not done any practicals before coming to Bellerbys and it is never a problem - everything is made easy and explained very carefully and of course practice makes perfect!

I think you really should take some science subjects – it’s very interesting and respected by universities.  Of course it’s not the easiest thing to study but so rewarding!

Zuzka
Hey)))) Thanks a looooooot for your answer:)  I still don't know if I’ll take science - do you think Mr Corcut would advise me about it during the interview?  And, yeah, surprisingly, that's another one of my annoying questions) what is this interview like?  Should I somehow prepare for it?  Oh my God only 5 more days, I am totally excited, though nervous anyway ;)

Me
Oh, you know that you are always welcome!  First thing – interview are NOTHING to worry about.  I won’t even call it an interview – rather an appointment to discuss you future studies in Bellerbys.  Mr. Corcut (as you already know the head of A-levels) will just ask you a few obvious questions – what are you interested in, what are you approximate plans for the future, which subjects you are planning to take.  It is not to assess you in anyway – it’s to help Mr. Corcut to understand how he can help you.  The only thing you can do to prepare is to try and think of what YOU personally want to do.

You should understand that Mr. Corcut is a very experienced man, he knows lots of facts about universities and he will probably advise you to take “serious’ subjects like Math and Sciences, Economic, English Literature or History – the ones that are the most respected by the top places and he will probably be right.  But it’s your life, your future and your decision.  I can tell you that doing an A-level subject that you do not like only because the universities do is quite wrong (unless of course you change your mind when you will start studying it) – it will be hard and boring for you and you will be unlikely to achieve very high results.

Personally I have chosen Sciences because of one simple reason – I love it, and I hope you will be able to decide in the same way.  Good luck and remember that one of the greatest experiences is about to start!!!! 

And to finish off this post one more question from Ange Chandra, Indonesia who is also thinking to join Bellerbys College.

Ange Chandra
What do you think of ELPP?  Do you think it's important for international students to take that course?  Did you, yourself, take ELP course the first time you joined Bellerbys?

Me
Well, when I first came to Bellerbys my level of English was really poor.  So I urgently needed some help and took a 3-week course.  It was real fun and helped me a lot with my communication skills in English and raised my IELTS score by a few points) I do not think that you particularly need it - in terms of English.  As far as I understand your level is quite advanced and will improve anyway during your studies in Bellerbys.

In the first term you will have preparation for IELTS together with your other lessons so you could take the exam to get the grade required for the university (usually 7- 7.5)  But on the other hand it’s a great opportunity to see the college in advance and meet people.  So it’s really up to you - what you want)

This is all from me for now. I would like to thank Zuzka again for her huge contribution for this post and wish her all the best in future!  I guess you will hear from me quite soon and I will update you on the exam results and the university entry.  Good luck everyone with their studies in the new term and take the most of your time in Bellerbys College!!!

This Is Not A Goodbye... But A See Ya Soon!!!!

Posted by Linh

Windy... cold... lonely... and strange...

On the 1st of January, I put my 1st steps on a far-away country, wondering where I would go, what the new school was like, would people treat me well, or I would be thrown in a strange or racism environment? (lol, i know that sounds a little bit pathetic, but well, at that moment, in order to refill the emptiness of inexperience, I put an experience of imagination :D )

Later, I met a member of staff from Bellerbys College who had to throw away his first day of new year to pick up an unknown girl instead of staying at home, enjoying a celebration with his family or friends.  And instead of being such a stranger or feeling angry of my appearance, he seemed to be very nice, asking me about the flight, how I felt.

Then I met Ishy - the host mother of my new home, who had to wake up at 5 a.m to wait for a stranger to come.  She smiled at her and gave the new girl not only her first UK breakfast but also a cozy feeling that mad her feel protected as if there had not been any 20 hour flight at all.  

....

Eight months have already passed so quickly, and here I am, in the farewell party, saying goodbye to people I have gotten along so far...

Thank you Jackie, as we often say to you, YOU ARE THE BEST MANAGER WE'VE EVER MET.  No matter how many students there are, no matter how many works you have to do, somehow, you always manage to talk to each of us, help us on every step of getting to a suitable university.

From advising us how to write personal statement, how to fill in the UCAS track process until finishing choosing firm and insurance choices, you have shown us how much you care about each student here.  Awww, we are gonna miss you so much.  I wish you would always be like you are now, a super-cute and devoted manager!!!!

Thank you all teachers in Bellerbys, especially Susannah - our English teacher, Hassan - our Accounting teacher, Peter - our CIT teacher, Phillip - our Mathematics teacher, Rachel, Hilal, Ross, Linda, Sam - our Economics and Business teachers.  Haha, I'm sorry if I miss anybody or write your name wrongly. (Yeah!  Naughty student, I know, lol)

Through your lessons, I have learnt many, many new and interesting things which then help me to realise that I was not wrong when choosing Bellerbys Oxford and choosing this course.  I hope that your health and your career would always get better and would be an inspired motivation for you to get on!  And I also hope that your future students would be as good as ME (haha)!!!

Well, first it was really hard for me to write this final post!  I wrote and deleted, and then wrote again and deleted... haha, it's even harder than my first post!

I still have a lot to say to many people, such as staffs in Bellerbys - who have been really nice and helpful; my classmates and other students in different courses I have known; people living in Oxford I have luckily had a chance to meet, to talk and to share my feelings when I was happy or sad; a boy smiling at me on the bus; a stranger I have not even known her name who tried to comfort me when suddenly see me being depressed...

Life in Oxford, life in Bellerbys has taught me so much that I could never ever forget.  And now flying back to my country, I know I have more confidence, more to be proud of myself when facing my parents and my friends, because I know that I have had such precious experiences for my own!

I will come back to England soon to go to Aston University in Birmingham.  So THIS IS NOT A GOODBYE BUT A SEE YA SOON!!! :D

But for this moment, happy summer holiday! ^^