United Kingdom

This cosmopolitan country has a population of around 62 million inhabitants. Many citizens of other countries who have long settled in the UK, making this country rich and diverse, open-minded, and a multicultural society. This is also reflected in the religious life in the UK. Although approximately 70% of UK population converted to Christianity but other faiths are also quite large as the religion of Islam which reached 1.8 million people.
State language course of English with a distinctive accent is often called the British accent.

The UK has a radial road network with total 29,145 miles which is around 46,904 km of main roads. There are a lot of transportation that can be used, like cars, trains, buses, and airplanes. The cost of the ticket depends on when you’re going to go, the destination, and how long you’ve been booked the ticket. In ticket purchasing, you can get the particular discount for students.

As the rough draft, living in London needs cost more or less £900 each month. While for other cities in UK the living cost is around £650 to £800 each month. The costs above have already covered the costs for accommodation, transportation, foods, communication, and other daily needs. But of course, the cost will vary, depends on living style.

There are more than 3.000 schools or education institutes in UK that accepted international student on various levels with thousands of study major choices. There are a lot of education access and trainings in UK that combine various major choices that suitable with needs, interests, and abilities.

TYPES OF EDUCATION IN UK

INDONESIA LANGUAGE COURSE

UK has a very good tradition in providing English language teaching. English is given at all educational levels ranging from beginner to expert, and is designed for all ages from young to old. Some courses prepare students for study in specific areas such as medicine, law or business.

Teaching system is usually more of practice, where you are expected to actively communicate in English since you first enter, engage in games, problem solving and discussion to practice your English ability.

Home Language Course Fees for an average of about £ 100 per week for a large class and £ 300 per week for smaller classes and intensive.

PRIMARY & SECONDARY SCHOOL

In general, the length of basic education in the UK is the same as in Indonesia, which is six (6) years. After graduating from elementary school (primary education), students proceed to secondary school level (secondary education) the duration of four (4) years.
After graduating from compulsory education ten years, the student will receive a certificate called GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education). Students usually take about ten (10) of subjects assessed (depending on subjects taken) through a combination of assignments and written examinations.

GCE A ‘Level & IB

Lasted for two (2) years, ‘A’ Level (Advanced Level) is usually followed by students age 16 or after they get GCSEs. Students typically take two (2) to five (5) subject ‘A’ Level which is a condition of acceptance for admission to the university. Each subject assessed through written examinations, assignments or both.
With certificate GCE ‘A’ Level, students can continue their studies to universities or colleges that offer vocational programs.

IB (The International Baccalaureate) is equivalent to the GCE ‘A’ Level, today more accepted as a necessary qualification for enrolling in UK universities. Exam for this qualification can be done in private or public schools in the UK.

The cost for ‘A’ Levels averaged about £ 24,000 – £ 31,000 during the study period.

ADVANCED PROGRAM (HND) & PRE-UNIVERSITY (FOUNDATION STUDIES)

Advanced courses (HND or Higher National Diploma) program offers technical and expertise, usually around 1-2 years depending on the chosen majors and certification. Qualification obtained is a Certificate of Higher National Diploma or Higher National Certificate.

For class XII students graduate high school in Indonesia, most universities in the UK requires the master A ‘Level or Pre-University (Foundation) before continuing into the first year at university (undergraduate degree). For majors that are difficult such as medicine and law, especially for the top universities in the UK, international students are required to enter into the program ‘A’ Level for two (2) years before the undergraduate.

Fees for Pre-University Program (Foundation) ranges around £ 10,000 – £ 15,000 per year.

GRADUATE PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM (UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE)

UK’s first university was founded approximately 800 years ago, so the university in the UK already has experience and profound knowledge in the field of education.

In England, Northern Ireland and Wales, S1 is generally completed within three (3) years. The term ‘sandwich courses’ where students completed a study of two (2) years at university, then the third year they do research or internship outside of school, then in the fourth year they return to university to complete their S1. In Scotland S1 generally lasts longer, is for four (4) years. As for professions such as medicine program lasts approximately five (5) years.

Assessment is done through a combination of assignments, participation in seminars, written examinations and dissertation. After completing the S1, the title that is given is the Bachelor degree like BA (Bachelor of Arts), BEng (Bachelor of Engineering) and BSc (Bachelor of Science).
Once students get a Bachelor Degree, the UK Government provides the opportunity to work full time for two (2) years, it is called Post-study workers. This opportunity is a golden opportunity to gain work experience and networking before they return to Indonesia.

For those who want to enroll undergraduate degree, students are required to register through the program UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions System) online.

Tuition at the university ranges from £ 10,000 – £ 13,000 per annum, while for the medical, tuition fees of around £ 16,000 – £ 30,000 per year.

POSTGRADUATE PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM (POSTGRADUATE DEGREE)

S2 (Master) in the UK usually takes a short time for only one (1) year, including the MBA program (Master of Business Administration). This makes education S2 in the UK to be very competitive compared with other countries that require a period of two (2) years. Coupled with the opportunity to work full time for two (2) years provided the UK government to international students after obtaining Master Degree in the UK, which is called Post-study workers.
For the S3 program or Doctoral (PhD), the required study time is three (3) years.

The MBA program is designed to enhance managerial skills, ability to analyze complex problems and ability to make strategic decisions. There are a few MBA programs designed specifically for
certain industries (finance or retail) or a specific sector (insurance and loss defense, e-business, public sector, etc).
Entry requirements for the MBA program is the experience of working at managerial level a minimum of three (3) years, so the cost of the MBA program is higher than any other Masters programs, ranging from £ 15,000 – £ 18,000 per year.

Master’s programs are generally divided into two (2) kinds of learning systems, namely:

1. LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM (Taught PROGRAM)

This is a more detailed academic program, designed to provide depth of knowledge you will be the subject that you take earlier in S1. Some programs also serve as a ‘conversion course’ which will introduce you to a new field of study that you take, if the field of study is different from your previous S1 field of study.

Taught courses are subdivided into two Master’s program – usually lasts one (1) year consists of classroom learning, seminars and dissertations; and Diploma Program – held nine (9) months of teaching the same elements with the Master’s program but WITHOUT dissertation.

2. RESEARCH (RESEARCH PROGRAM) *

For Research Program, the average duration of study is two (2) years. This is a program where 70% of learning is the research outside of school such as in the lab, field or company; and 30% are students asked to formulate a hypothesis of the research conducted.

The research program gives you the opportunity to conduct research in specific areas of your interest. You will formulate a research topic under the supervision of one (1) or two (2) mentors who specializes in your chosen field. To succeed you must be able to demonstrate intellectual ability to be independent, have good time management and discipline as well as your own set time and schedule of research you do.

The cost for the Master’s program ranges from £ 9,000 – £ 13,000 per year.

DISTANCE LEARNING

Students can choose different types of access to education and training system, combining a variety of fields in accordance with the needs and abilities. Many areas are also taken with the system of distance learning (Distance Learning) in their respective countries. With a diverse choice of this particular field, it gives students easiness to select the area in accordance with the desires, ambitions, and their enthusiasm in taking a science.

STANDARD QUALITY & ACCREDITATION EDUCATION IN THE UK

Standard quality of education in the UK is guaranteed by the government, therefore the UK qualifications are known and appreciated around the world with high quality.

All levels of education, especially undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs must go through the authorization DfES (Department of Education & Skills) and the Royal Charter of Act of Parliament.

Some quality assurance of TQA (Teaching Quality Assurance) per four (4) years, to assess the quality of teaching on specific subjects; also RAE (Research Assessment Exercise) to assess the quality of research from a university.
RAE is an important reference for consideration for postdoctoral studies in the UK. Scale ranging from 1-5, the higher the scale means the higher the university’s funding of certain of educational research on the subject.

SCHOLARSHIP STUDY

The UK is one country that is very supportive of international students to continue their studies, by offering scholarships to candidates who excel consistently. More information can be found at www.chevening.com
Therefore, for outstanding students with good academic grades, universities in the UK also provide scholarships, both full and partial.

After getting the Full Acceptance Letter from university where you apply, the student can apply for a student visa which can only be maintained by a particular agent education course, where SUN Education Group is one of them. After completing the required visa documents, visa applicants are required to be fingerprinted and photographed directly at UK embassy representative offices (VFS).
UK also provides health insurance (National Health Service) for international students.

There are many options of good accommodation for foreign students in the UK; consultant in SUN Education Group will directly help you arrange accommodation once you are accepted at school or university in the UK.

# Accommodation School or University (University Residence)

Usually schools and universities provide accommodation for his students, especially for those who study the field of Masters and PhDs to facilitate their activities in the campus either research or study together. The facilities available such as beds, wardrobes for clothes storage, desk and lamp for learning, chairs, heaters and bookshelves. Some are also equipped with bathroom facilities in the room and 24 hour internet access.
This accommodation costs on average £ 80 – £ 130 per week

# Renting Apartments or Houses

Popular choice for more than two (2) students who want to share the cost of accommodation is to rent an apartment (flat) or a home with a minimum contract for one (1) year. Usually the home has complete facilities such as living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and dining room.
Information can be obtained from real estate agent or school that has agreements with certain agents.
The cost for renting an apartment or house ranges from £ 60 – £ 100 per week. Of course, this depends on the cost of renting an apartment or house size and location. You also likely have to pay the cost of electricity, heating and telephone charges.

# Hostel

Usually managed by a non-profit organizations and some of them are specifically for students from certain countries.
It costs around £ 60 per week, but with furniture and facilities that may fall below the standard held by campus accommodation.

# Lodgings

Living in ‘Lodgings’ means you are renting a room in someone’s home. You have your own room but the possibility of having to share a bathroom with homeowners.
The cost ranges between £ 60 – £ 90 per week depending on the location and negotiation.

Students who study more than six (6) months in the UK will get permission to look for part-time employment (part-time job) a maximum of 20 hours per week during the school term and can work full time during vacation periods.

Salary earned during the odd jobs around £ 5 – £ 6 per hour; to work evening hours (night shift) will earn more than £ 8 per hour.

• England is one of the central of history, art, and culture.
• The English societies are multicultural.
• High quality of education that known worldwide.
• Study for a short time, because of the intensive program and gives more efficiency in the aspect of money and time.
• Study environment that creative, interesting, and fun.
• Free health insurance given for international students
• Great method of teaching and learning process that included to make students more independent.
• The competitive study costs.
• Chance of working full time for 2 years in the UK after graduated.
• UK is a classic country that has a lot of beautiful tourist attractions.
• Various entertainments, like theaters, concerts, sports events, pubs, restaurants, etc.

Most of the cities in the UK have its own tourist attractions, from the historical classics, till the modern and advance technology.

• Buckingham Palace is the Queens official London residence and is used to receive and entertain guests on state, ceremonial and official occasions for the Royal Family.
The Palace is located between The Green Park, Hyde Park and St. James’s Park.

• In Legoland, nearly everything you see is ingeniously built from Lego. This child orientated theme park brings Lego to life and offers kids tons of fun with 50 interactive rides, live shows, building workshops, driving schools and attractions. Where else can your child drive a JCB digger, drive a car, fly a plane or sail the seas in complete safety? There are height restrictions on some of the faster bigger rides but plenty of rides for smaller children too. There are daily theatre shows, puppet shows, a live stunt show and an amazing 4D mediaeval experience.
Loads of places to eat or you can take your own picnic to enjoy in the 150 acres of park. Plenty of places to buy Lego merchandise at the end of the day to extend your collection.

• The London Eye has now become one of the iconic sights of London. Opened in March 2000 the wheel is a metaphor for the turning of the century. From January 2011, it’s official name was changed to the EDF Energy London Eye. The London Eye is 135m/443ft high and there are 32 capsules attached to the wheel which travels gently at a speed of 26cm per second. Each rotation takes 30 minutes in which time you can marvel at the views that span up to 40km in all directions (depending on the weather). This is the UK’s most popular paid for visitor attraction, visited by over 3.5 million people a year. The London Eye is within walking distance from several underground stations including Waterloo, Embankment, Charing Cross and Westminster. Waterloo is the closest tube station.

• Harrods of Knightsbridge is one of the largest department stores in the world, with over one million square feet of retail space and over 330 departments. It has a distinctive logo of a green background with the gold lettering of Harrods. This enormous shop can see up to 300,000 visitors flow through its doors. Twice a year, Harrods holds a sale offering genuine discounts on hundreds of prestige items and at peak times the tills can take up to £1 million. The world famous food hall is also an attraction to visitors with its huge choice of delicacies and gourmet food on offer.

• Hampton Court has grown from humble beginnings in the 11th century to one of the finest palaces in the world. Over 800 years of history can be explored through this magnificent palace whose previous owners include Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. Visitors are offered an introductory exhibition, a guide through Tudor kitchens, a costume guide tour, and the opportunity to see the Queen’s state apartments, the King’s apartments and the Wolsey and Georgian rooms. One of the most impressive sights is the Great Hall, England’s last and greatest medieval hall, decorated with sumptuous tapestries. Outside you can try not to get lost in the world’s most famous maze or visit the Privy garden restored to its 1702 glory. Refreshments can be found in either the coffee shop, café or by taking your own picnic.

• Stonehenge, The Mystical Healing Ground, Stonehenge is possibly one of the UK’s most famous and mysterious landmarks. Consisting of a ring of monolithic stones, complete in some cases with heavy stone lintels, argument has long waged between historians and scholars as to both the site’s construction and its purpose. The Neolithic period in which Stonehenge was erected was initially thought to have lacked the means of transporting and lifting the 25-50 ton stones that now stand and lie at Salisbury Plain. Built over a period of 650 years, both supernatural and methods deemed out of their time have been suggested as being behind the construction, although more recent claims have argued that it could actually have been carried out by hand using primitive technology and the principles of leverage. Theories as to Stonehenge’s function have ranged from a Druidic place of worship and sacrifice, an observatory, a burial ground, an extraterrestrial landing site, right through to the latest evidence that it was in fact a place of healing in the vein of a stone-age Lourdes.

• York Minster, located in the ancient walled city of York, there has been a place of worship on the site since around 630AD. After being repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, the Minster building we know today began construction somewhere around 1230 and reached completion in 1472. This meant that stonemasons and workers starting out on the initial venture did so in the knowledge that they’d never see their work completed. The plan view of York Minster reveals the cruciform to which a lot of Christian churches were built. The building consists of a nave, a chapter house, a transept, an east wing, a crypt, and three towers. It is also host to some of the most spectacular stained-glass windows in the whole of the UK, some dating back to the twelfth century. There have been a number of fires at York Minster throughout its turbulent life, completely obliterating various sections. Perhaps the most famous of these – or notorious at least – was in 1984 when the roof of the south transept was destroyed by a bolt of lightning, three days after the consecration of the new Bishop of Durham, Dr. David Jenkins. He had been widely reported in the press as saying the resurrection was a ‘conjuring trick with bones’, which had lead to accusations of harbouring heretical views. The bolt of lightning was seen by some as a divine show of disapproval.

• The roman’s bath at bath is the hot spring of roman Britain, Bath is home to the only hot springs in the UK. It is upon this spring that the original Bathhouse was built in 4AD following the Roman occupation of Britain. The exceptionally well preserved Great Bath remains to this day, as well as the Sacred Spring, originally worshipped by the Celts, and the Roman Temple. These are all found below street level, having been excavated and restored throughout the course of history. Everything above street level was built during the nineteenth century to house these finds. There is also a museum, which is home to an extensive collection of Roman artifacts found in and about the surrounding area. Bath was once a busy Roman town, so there’s plenty to see here. Unfortunately, the water that flows through the Roman baths is no longer open to the public. This is due of the risk of infectious diseases that claimed the life of a girl in 1979, who after swallowing some of the water, died five days later. The recently opened Thermae Bath Spa allows present-day visitors to experience the hot springs and thermal baths as the Romans might once have.

• Edinburgh Castle that perched atop the heart of Scotland. Edinburgh Castle stamps a majestic authority upon the capital city of Scotland, as it sits high on its perch atop Castle Rock, overlooking the city sweeping out beneath. Archaeological evidence shows that the rock has been used as a strategically positioned stronghold for over 3000 years. The structure that stands there today, however, dates primarily back to the sixteenth century, when rebuilding and strengthening of the fortifications were commissioned after the destruction of much of what had stood there before, during a year-long siege sparked by the deposition of Mary Queen of Scots from the Scottish throne. The oldest surviving section of the castle is in fact St. Margaret’s Chapel which was built by King David I and dates back to the beginning of the twelfth century. Edinburgh Castle has a strong military history, having served as a garrison fortress from the time of King Charles II onwards. It was also used as a military prison from 1842 until 1923. Nowadays, its primary function is as a tourist attraction, being Scotland’s second most popular behind the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, although a small, largely ceremonial garrison remains.

• Do you know that the name Big Ben came from a man named Sir Benjamin Hall whose name engraved on the Great Bell.
• Do you know that UK published more than 200.000 books in each year that makes it the largest book publisher in this world.
• Do you know that the guard soldier of Tower of London called as beefeater.
• Do you know that UK’s flag often called as Union Jack.

Aberystwyth University; Anglia Ruskin University, Bangor University; Bellerbys College; Birmingham City University; Bournemouth University; Brunel University; Cambridge Education Group; Cardiff Sixth From College; City University London; Concord College; Coventry University; Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU); Goldsmiths, University of London; Hertfordshire International College of Business & Technology (HIBT); International College Wales Swansea (ICWS); INTO UK University Partnerships; INTO Manchester; ISC Study Group; King’s College London; Leeds Metropolitan University; Liverpool John Moores University; London International College of Business & Technology (LIBT); Middlesex University; Newcastle University; Northumbria University; Plymouth University; Plymouth University International College (PUIC); Portsmouth University; Queen Margaret University College; Queen Mary; Queen’s University Belfast (QUB); St. Mary’s University College (SMUC); Sunderland University; Teesside University; The University of Manchester; The University of Sheffield; The University of Swansea; University of Bath (Found only); University of Bedfordshire; University of Bolton; University of Bristol; University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN); University of East Anglia (UEA); University of Exeter; University of Greenwich; University of Hertfordshire; University of London; University of Reading; University of Southampton; University of Warwick; University of Sunderland; University of West England (UWE) Bristol; University of West London – formerly Thames Valley University (TVU); University of Westminster.