I know I have posted before, but I keep coming up with more specific questions!!
I recently made a decision to go to England and attend college for a year, and likely go on to uni and finish a degree. By the time made my decision this summer, it was too late for the visa process and enrollment. I have made a plan to go to the UK in April 2012, for a whole 5-6 months under a potential student visa, then switch and attend school in fall 2012. By the end of the first year of my college, my boyfriend and I are planning on making a decision about the future, so If I were to attend a second year in England, we would be engaged or married by then.
SO......I have a few questions.
As I said, I waited too long, and now cannot enroll for this school year. I am still learning the school system, so forgive me. I have a bad gpa and few decent college credits to my name in the US. The way I see it I am going to England and starting over. I understand I need to attend a college (already picked one) for a year to do my "A levels" and then go on to university. As an undergrad international student, is the only way I can attend uni is to get my A levels done at college in England? Are a foundation year and A levels the same thing? I am trying to speed the process up, as I won't be able to attend college now until fall 2012 and then I wouldnt be in uni until 2013, and finishing my degree around 2015. I was wondering if there are any colleges that start in the winter or even have summer classes. I figure this is a long shot, and I know the college I want to attend only starts students in the fall, but I'm looking for any possible way to start as soon as I can!!!! I've HEARD of people possibly being able to transfer associates degrees(is this true?), and I COULD obtain an associates within the next 6-7 months in the US if I tried really hard, but its not really the route I want to take and it would also take away a significant amount from my moving to England finances.
Has anyone gone over on a potential student visa a full six months before their course began? As most on here, I am trying to get to the UK and be with my boyfriend as soon as possible. Obviously I would be there for six months, unemployed, bored, while trying not to spend any of my savings. How did this work out for anyone who has done this? I know it won't be easy, but my boyfriend and I both know this, and I am saving up until then and he is also going to help me get by until school starts and I can work.
Once I start attending school and start looking for a job, how strict is the employment having to be in the same field as your studies? Say if I were doing A levels or a foundation year(still kind of confused on this) and wanted to study business, could I work at H&M or some retailer? What kind of jobs have people had, and what were you studying? Was it difficult to find a specific job that matched up with your course?
The website of the college I want to attend says international students must fill out the application and schedule a phone interview and then will receive a CAS. A requirement of the potential student visa says you must be in contact with schools, so you can go and do the last steps like seeing the school and interviewing. So if I were applying for potential student visa, but the college didn't necessarily need to interview me in person, would this effect me getting approved for the visa? Could I tell the college I am coming over for an interview, and this would help in obtaining my visa? Even though I am pretty set on the college I would like to attend, should I contact other colleges as well? For the record, the college has not even emailed me back after I emailed them to inquire about international students. My boyfriend has also emailed them asking questions and they emailed him back and gave him very vague answers and it didn't help us much. This college accepts international students and even has a section of the website for them, so why arn't they getting back to me, ughhh!
Thank you for your input and knowledge!
