About UCAS

It is the end of April beginning of May, the period when students can’t wait to see all the replays from the five universities which they applied to. There are INTO students who have already made their two choices, but others (like me) are still waiting for the decision-time.
In the UK there is a special way of applying to universities, which is different from the other countries. In my home-country, for example, Moldova, each student has to apply himself just to one Uni. After you have your exam results, you should go straight away to the University where you would like to study, and apply for a place there. Obviously you could be rejected if you don’t meet all the requirements.


Well, in the UK, you can make five choices. UCAS is the organization responsible for managing applications to higher education courses. This means that A-level students, or Foundation students, like us, have to decide which universities is good for them, write a Personal Statement, fill-in your personal details and information about your education and the rest of the work is done by UCAS. They send the application and the recommendation letters from your teachers to all the 5 Universities. Then all you have to do is to wait and work hard to get the grades that you need. UCAS provides a track system, which allows you to keep the record of your application and its development .

After you have the 5 replies, you have to choose 2 out of 5 universities. Make one firm and one insurance choice. Your firm choice has to have higher grades than the insurance one, because in the case that you don’t get the needed grades for the FIRM choice, you’ll be accepted at the Insurance University.
UCAS “makes the things run smoothly”, processing more than two million applications for full-time undergraduate courses every year. They aim to help students make informed choices about higher education, guiding them, their parents and advisers through the application process.
I think this is a good information for the INTO Manchester students who just have begun their foundation year, and maybe for prospective students.

Enjoying an extended holiday?

If the words ‘I am sorry, you’re flight was cancelled’ are familiar to you, then we are in the same situation. A dormant Icelandic volcano has erupted, ripping a 1km-long fissure in a field of ice. Icelandic as well as the European airspace has been closed, flights diverted and cancelled roads closed. This affected seriously my plans about going back to Manchester! And I am not in the worst position, because I was at home when Eyjafjallajoekull erupted. It was really odd packing and unpacking my clothes, but at least I could sleep in a normal bad, not on a chair in the airport. But there are many students who got stuck for days, without food or normal sanitary conditions. As a coin has two parts, so does this eruption for us, INTO Manchester student. On a side we enjoy an extended holiday, meaning more time at home with our families, but on the other side we ‘ll have to catch up the lessons we’ve lost. Therefore a lot of work is waiting for us.

Thanks God that the flights were resumed and we can return to Manchester in order to finish our studies. But there is still a problem. Even though the sky is open, this doesn’t mean that there are available seats on your wished flight. Therefore you’ll have to wait, like I do…
Firstly, I wish you a pleasant flight, and secondly I am sorry for not posting earlier this week, I am really confused because of this volcano eruption!

The International Society

It’s the 13th of April and it’s still time for holiday! I am sure that those INTO Manchester students who went back home are having great time with their families, but who’s stopping the other ones, who stay in Manchester to enjoy the rest of the holiday?! Apart from thinking about the Politics coursework (which is driving me crazy) focus on recharging your batteries for a new, challenging period of studies.

If you really want to have great time don’t hesitate to become a member of The International Society. It is opened for all the nationalities, from all over the world! Located on the Oxford Street in the direction of the University of Manchester it is very near to New Medlock House, so that it takes about 15 minutes to get there and 5 minutes to become a member.
If you still didn’t hear about this Society, it’s a pity! It offers a wide range of services from language courses, dance classes, guitar lessons to visits across the UK. The members of the Society organize events with amazing topics, such as the Mexican evening or the Evening of Easter traditions! It is a great chance to meet new people and discover new cultures.
I am a member of the Society and I’ve been twice in trips organized by them. I just had to pay for it and the success was guaranteed. The comfortable coach and the guide are provided, as the pleasant atmosphere. The trips are organized in weekends, but you still have one available!

One of my classmates takes Spanish courses and he is pleased as well, therefore go for a foreign language if you are still in doubt!




In my opinion becoming a member of The International Society is a key for becoming more open-minded and more sociable!

http://orgs.man.ac.uk/intsoc/

Easter in Moldova !

It is Easter time and I am enjoying it at Home! It is very unusual that this year both the Christians Catholics and Orthodox celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus at the same time, on the 4th and 5th of April. Usually the celebrations are separated by a week or two. This means that in any given year, you might find Roman Catholic Hungarians in the area celebrating Easter one Sunday, while the Orthodox Moldovans might be celebrating a week or two later. In 2005, the dates were spread very far apart: the Western churches celebrated on March 27 and the Orthodox churches on May 1.

Even though Easter is celebrated in the same day, the way it is celebrated is different. Moldovan Easter celebrations are looked forward with great enthusiasm, hope and joy. We celebrate it in a special way, taking into account old traditions which were taught by our grandparents.

The first thing that we do is to bake special bread called “Pasca”, which is filled with caw cheese. Together with the Red Wine they signify the sacrifice which Jesus Christ had to endure. Afterwards we decorate
Eggs in different colors as each color stands for a specific religious symbol. Red, for example, signifies Christ’s blood and green for fertility. Our traditional meal is mellow lamb, which is cooked with care by the housewives, and it is delicious!
In the Easter night we go to the church where the priest blesses our food and we purify our souls in order to celebrate this Holly Day with an open heart.
This is how Easter is celebrated in Moldova, my home-country.