Chinese - advice on British universities

[Chineselookingwest]

my Son would like to study at UK University. Many of his friends do but they only mix with fellow Chinese and international students and keep themselves to selves. This is not what my son wants - he wants to integrate properly with UK students. His English is fluent.

he does not want to go to a university where international students isolate. He has friends at Essex university and Guildford and Holloway London who do that. He will avoid those places. Where else should he avoid please.

I don't feel superior to anyone. I just wanted our Chinese poster to know which are better universities and I did not mean those where the rich go. I meant those where those with higher exam grades go.

As for better schools - the best schools often get the best exam results although of course I know there are very good fee paying and state schools who work well wilth children who find exams a struggle and getting those people from a failure to a low grade is an achievement.

There are plenty of UK boarding and fee paying schools which cater for intellectually challenged pupils who get poor exam results and no way could get into places like Oxford and Warwick.

Bath and Durham aren't in the same league as the top London universities and Oxbridge. Bath isn't a Russel Group university. Durham takes in more privately educated students than any other university but there's a whole range of private schools...

Bath does a lot of 4 year degrees, with a year in industry. It has a good reputation for employability.

Sporting facilities-wise it is one of the better Unis, not least because it is a performance centre for some of the national teams. It does have a basketball team but it is the Team Bath swimmers, Netballers and Bath Bucs hockey team that tend to get the publicity.

In terms of geography, it is sat out of town, up some steep hills, surrounded by National Trust land.

It is fairly easy to get between Exeter/Bristol/Bath by train (so you could manage without a car). If you do decide to travel everywhere by train it might be worth investing in something called a Two Together Railcard:
https://www.twotogether-railcard.co.uk/

But why not just say "These Universities are where those with higher exam grades go"?

Why link it to specific schools?

What difference does it make whether Bath is Russell Group? Bath is ranked way higher than most Russell Group universities.

I don't spend a lot of time policing every word I write. About 20% of children go to fee paying schools in the UK for sixth form. Plenty of them go on to the best universities. I don't think it is a problem to point it is out. It is an issue China has handled for decades - it send children of that kind of the elite to the countryside to be street sweepers and rubbish collectors to try to break the cycle of the children of the intelligensia being as successful as their parents. I was just pointing out certainily UK universities aer regarded by boh state and private fee paying school parents as better ones and if you have paid a lot of school fees you tend to prefer your child at Oxford than Sunderland for example and they will have better chances goingn to Oxford and probably meet similar teenagers than if they went to Sunderland.

“Similar teenagers” - Honestly Xenia you live in a very small minded world which only reflects the very narrow sphere you exist in.

It’s only about 8% of secondary kids who go to fee paying schools I think.

I went to a state school and it saddens me to think you wouldn’t want your children mixing with me at university @Xenia

When have I ever said I don't want your children mixing with mine? There are heaps of state school children and in all kinds of jobs. My main point was to let the poster know that universities differ - not just for those where the most academic teenagers go like oxford and Cambridge but also those who are bright and went to fee paying schools.
The 7% is up to sixth form. Then loads of children leave school and plenty move into fee paying schools and it gest closer to 20% from fee paying school at sixth form level which actually reflect the percentage at most of the leading universities which is not surprising.

The really sad thing is that the class system in the UK is perpetuated by parents who instill in their children this attitude of “children from the better schools in the UK”. This means relatively young state school educated graduates are still reporting being asked about what school they went to. Really corrosive.

There is even a new podcast called “What school did you go to?”!!

It’s 17% percent now and really the 6-7% is concentrated in one area in the south of England. Wales less than 2% go to private schools and Northern Ireland and Scotland again fewer people go to private schools.

Anyway this is a thread about a young Chinese man coming to the UK and having the experience he wants. And I’m sure we all want to provide useful advice and support.

The better schools in London include vast numbers of state schools who do much better than loads of fee paying schools though, surely everyone agrees?, from Henrietta Barnett to Brampton Manor and many others.

And some students amongst those who get the best grades come from all sorts of entirely unremarkable schools, surely everyone agrees?

OP, DS has a Chinese girlfriend who he met in a (mainly British students) house-share during the second UK lockdown. They are still together. I think she has lived with other Chinese students during her Master's course (at a university with a high percentage of Chinese students) but hasn't really fraternised with them very much.

Hello UK posters who helping me and my son so much. I have three added questions if you allow:

1. how do you teach your children to budget? Are there tutor lessons or apps on iPhone? We do not need to budget but son says he wants to learn because important skill. I am embarrassed about this failure of mine to advise him and please help with suggestions
2. My friend say son needs to learn British dishes like roast lamb, spaghetti bolognese and sausage and mashy potatoes. I think he can cook Chinese and flatmates can teach him those dishes when at university. Do you agree (I told before my son good cook but only Chinese food)
3. Do most students have car? My husband thinks so but I not planned for this.

So happy for your son and his girlfriend. I hope my son has across culture friends and partners too and will ask for flat that is mixed British and international (so many posters told me that so thank you plentiful). It is good that it can be done. I am sorry to read that so many Chinese keep selves to selves but my son will not be doing that and is very very excited about opportunities of British university.

lots of kind messages after I posted few days ago. Thank everybody so much. Mumsnet seems very open and helpful to international posters like me. That is not the image I had of British people after you voted to leave European Union so I am pleased you so nice.

Hi @Chineselookingwest firstly I just wanted to applaud you and your son's attitude - it is very refreshing to see an international family with such a positive and down t earth attitude. My impression is that your son will have a great time and fit in really well wherever he goes because he sounds great! My son would be happy to share a flat with him - especially of he can cook him chinese food!
To answer your questions for our situation (son starting at either Southampton uni or Reading uni):

1. My son is in the exact same position as yours - born and bought up in UK but also has no idea about budgeting! has never had his own money and never had a job. First day of uni he will get the minimum maintenance loan here (approx. £4300) in 3 termly installments a year and he will have to work out how to live of that! Loan for fees and we will pay his accomodation costs. I think your son is probably no different from many UK children - University is where they learn about budgeting. Don't be embarassed - we too have failed here!
2. I honestly would not worry about british dishes - which are rubbish compared to Asian dishes. My children much prefer Asian, India etc food (and Nandos). My son wuld be absolutely DELIGHTED to end up in a flatshare with a boy who was a) willing to cook, b) a good cook and c) could cooke spicy/asian food. My own son cannot cook at all and, again, uni will be his first opportunity to learn to cook.
3. My son can drive and has a car at home but he will not be takin it to university, at least for first year. most unis discourage cars I think and don't have parking spaces available at the halls of residence.

i wish your son all the best - he sounds great - and not really very different from my english son.

And remember, only 51.9% of the people who voted, voted to leave the EU and only 72.2% of the population voted. So in reality, only 33,551, 983 people voted to leave the EU out of a total population of 67,333,000 so not even half the people! I certainly did not and many of the people who did (not all) now view it as a mistake and feel they were misled.

@smarthome how very nice your message was. I feel not so bad now you say that British students like your son do not know budgets as well. I hope my son will learn because he asked that we only we give him budget like a British student has, not more like his friends and he has at home. My husband worried about this and wants to fund my son more but I am very proud of his view (he volunteers with homeless charity here in Shanghai).

From reading posts on here, we will pay for accommodation (middle price room) and then send him £100 - £150 every week for food and living. He wants to get job at university too maybe as lifeguard (he good swimmer)

so many good wishes to your son as well

You Tube will teach him how to cook any world cuisine that he wants to learn!

Being able to cook is a great way to socialise in halls of residence. You can start with budgeting before your son comes to the uk. When my son was in his final two years of school we gave him a set amount each month to cover his travel to school, lunch at school, entertainment etc. and this was good budgeting preparation. Being a lifeguard is a great university job. My daughter qualified last week and has a part time job at our local pool and will work them in the university holidays. I hope you and your son enjoy your trip to the uk in the summer. 欢迎来英国

Hi OP, I have enjoyed reading your posts. They have made me nostalgic for university! (I am 50 and did my first degree in the 1990s).

I wanted to suggest that you add Leeds to your list of possible universities. It is easy to get to from some of the other ones you plan to view and is a lovely medium sized city - small enough that students won't feel lost but big enough that there are students of every nationality, and places where you can get proper Chinese ingredients (I know this because my English friend got into authentic Chinese cookery).

Regarding practical advice, the UCAS website is helpful:

www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/ucas-undergraduate-international-eu-students