Fresh Talent Graduate

Ever find yourself boasting about your home town, or your skills, or wanting to show off your new shiney graduate diploma but you don't speak Glaswegian? Well have no fear my international student cause the 'Fresh Talent' program in here!

Lots of international students come to the University of Glasgow to broaden their minds and educational experiences. Many of them actually fall in love with this rainy Glasgow climate, the warmth of these friendly Glaswegian's and want to stay after there studies to find work.

This is where the Fresh Talent program comes into play. The Fresh Talent program aims at encouraging international students (non EEA) to remain in Scotland for work up to 2 years after they graduate. There are a few qualifying factors that must be met such as:
- you must graduate!
- you must be from a non EEA country
- you've been living in Scotland during your studies
but you can have a further read up here to see what a great opportunities this is!

So for all you international (non EEA students) polish those pearly whites, put on your best suit and show Scotland what you have to offer!

Setting up a bank account

Many international students other than struggling with the decisions to spend their budget on booze or books can often find it challenging setting up a bank account as an international student. That being said these tips should help smooth or at least speed the process up a bit.

First off before setting up an account check with your bank in your home country to see if they have any special relationships with banks in Scotland or if they can assist you in opening up an account.

Depending on where you live in Glasgow most people will choose a bank that is either close to their home or close to the school. To name a few, some of the main banks are
- Clydsedale
- Bank of Scotland
- The Royal Bank of Scotland
- Lloyds

All of the banks will be able to offer you a student account.

To speed things up when you go to open up an account be sure to have the following documents with you
- Passport
- Letter from school (ie. unconditional offer letter) showing that you are a student
- Proof of address
One other item that might be helpful to bring with you (depending on the type of account you want to set up) is a letter of reference from your home bank as this can be helpful in establishing a credit rating.

If you are living in the schools accomodations, the Accomodations office can provide you with a proof of residence letter. The Accomodations office will type you up a letter and address it to the bank you have choosen to open your account at.

One thing to keep in mind is that setting up an account does take time, maybe up to 5 weeks so it is good to bring enough money with you to cover your expenses during this time. It is best not to carry large amounts of money with you, use either travellers checks or a bankers draft at this time.

Happy Banking!

Transferring Money??

This is one of the most popular questions asked when it comes to paying for school fees, accommodations and general living expenses.

The university does give students a variety of payment options from transferring, to paying by check, debit or credit cards. Depending on your financial circumstances and your situation there is no option that is best for everyone.

When you are granted acceptance into the school and/or their accommodations the school will provide you with the necessary documentation and information in making the right decision for you.

In my experiences I found that when paying the first lot of fees writing a check was always the simplest and cheapest option to do. Certified checks for the bank is another great option that is cheap as well 9
only $3-$5 depending on your bank), cause when it comes to transferring money each and every time you transfer money the banks will charge you a fee which can range from $30-$70 depending on the bank and the amount being transfers.

Make sure you read over the information on payment options that the school will send and choose the option that suits you best.

When it comes to everyday living expense some students opt for opening up a British bank account and then wiring lump sums into this account and using when needed. This is a good option and can help you still to a solid budget, but again when it comes to transfering money, you will be charged a fee each and every time.

I found the best option was to just use my bank card from home at the instant cash machines and withdrawal money as it was needed. Withdrawing money with your home bank card is a great option and to some maybe more affordable the transfering cause this way you only have to pay small fee usually $3-$5 depending the bank.

University accommodations

Glasgow University has a variety of different accommodations available for students from single to shared bedrooms, from a 20 minute walk away to literally rolling out of bed and right into your lecture hall, there is certainly not a shortage to choose from.

Check out here for a list of the different accommodations. Or take a look at this accommodations movie that give you a look at the areas and some of the senior residence staff.

Important thing about university accommodations is that the rooms fill up quickly so it is important that you apply for accommodates as soon as possible.

Once your application has be received from the school you will receive confirmation letting you know the availability of rooms along with a little bio on the facilities and a form that you must fill in and send back stating your preferred accommodation (building) that you wish to live in.

If you are slotted into an accommodation the accommodations office will then ask you for a deposit in order to reserve your spot. As an international student living outside of the country paying deposits can sometimes be tricky but there are a few different options you can choose. Paying deposit information will be sent to you when you are assigned a room but the most common ways of doing this is either wire/transfer the money into the schools account (with this option your home bank will likely have a fee on this usually its around $30-$70 depending the the bank and the value being transferred). The simplest way I think to do it is to just write the accommodations office a check - this way there are no extra additional fees to worry about when processing and transferring the money. Just make sure you write the check out for the deposit amount in pounds stirling (£)!

If you don't manage to getaccommodationss with the school there is certainly not a shortage of private accommodationss that you can rent as well! I will post more information next week on finding privateaccommodationss.

Your Living in Glasgow!

Whether you are from the UK or from a little town on the other side of the world moving to a new place can be filled with mixed emotions. There is the excitment of new adventures, people, places, and life...then there is also the loss of familiarity, friendly faces and those home cooked meals and your mother doing your laundry :-)

However have no fear for E-mentoring is here!
Your e-mentor will .....
-Help you feel more confident about what University is really like
-Give you insight into what to expect from your first year of study
-Be a regular point of contact throughout your first year of study at Glasgow

If your an undergraduate or a postgraduate e-mentors will do their best to help you with your questions and ease those butterfly's we all get!

E-mentoring Pilot Blog

With the popularity of blogging and the promises of better channels of communication then what better way to test it out than with e-mentoring! Replacing the traditional email this blog will serve as the communication point for e-mentors and their mentee's.

Hopefully this will be a project and a site that will obviously build with time, so if you are a fellow e-mentor or mentee and have any suggestions, we'd be willing to hear them. Just post yourself a comment to the blog and lets get blogg'in.