How I got into a UK university

I cannot believe that I started this blog when I got into university. Let's go back to that point. I technically took a second gap year after my Au Pair year, cause I was still confused about life and everything. I did apply to universities that year but the courses I got into were just not right and I did not want to study something random and not like it. It was quite a horrible year, all I wanted was to be back in America, and not be stuck at home with my parents. Back then, someone was urging me to just do another course that is similar...like culture or whatnot- so I wouldn't end up with a gap on my resumee.
Utter bullshit, let me tell you. Until now, no one has EVER looked at my CV and asked me what I have done that year. And I would rather have a little work experience than a dropped uni course on there. So just don't listen to anyone, if your gut tells you something else. Most of the time, you know what's good for you. And I am not a quitter. I probably would have complete that degree while hating it. And that what not have gotten me anywhere.

Just like every other person, I wanted to do something "with media". Getting into university in Germany seemed ridiculously complicated if you didn't graduate top of the class in high school. Then I looked in to studying film but that was either in film schools in Bavaria or impossible to get into grade-wise. Meeeeh!

Eventually I got into the idea of studying abroad. First I was obsessed with Ireland, but then the application process seemed random and complicated and then I found that the UK has an actually straightforward process. It's called UCAS and has pros and cons. What I LOVE about it is that the unis don't just look into your grades but at your motivational letter. This gives people a chance that really wanna do something but don't have the most amazing grades. The cons is that you can only apply to 5 unis, so you have to pick them carefully. I eventually applied to four English unis and one Scottish one. Can you guess which one accepted me?

Not gonna lie, the English unis all rejected me. I think the research I did on those unis was not the best. Honestly, I had no idea what kind of unis I applied to. I am so so glad that they did reject me though, because studying in Scotland is pretty much free and in England you have to pay a bijillion pounds a year. Biig factor that I somehow forgot to include in my thoughts? 

As you see, I got incredibly lucky with my application. I obviously did some things right but then some of them were not good enough. (I just wish I could have found a blog where someone told me what to do- haha)

This was my weird journey to university and I always tell people that it was fate that I ended up in Scotland. Random thing- when I was about 15 I bought a travel guide for Scotland. My friend asked me if I was planning to go to Scotland anytime soon, and I just said 'one day'- The travel bug only really hit me after my Au Pair year, but even though I wasn't specifically thinking that I wanted to move to Scotland. It was more a case of "I hate Germany and feel so out of place" and "I need to study in English cause I cannot deal with German". I consider myself really lucky that everything worked out the way it did, and my years in Scotland were just the best.

xxx

Let's start fresh.

Numbers wise, my 2014 consisted of: 8 books (plus all of the Harry Potter series), 86 films, uncountable hours of TV series, 13 flights, 3 concerts or so, 112 new friends according to Facebook, account balance 0£€¥,  money spent on priceless moments: a lot, but who cares.

Let's start fresh, right now.

Right now I am sitting at a Manchester airport hotel. I will spent five more hours in this lovely lobby thanks to RyanAir, who decided to delay my flight for five hours due to winds (although every other flight left on time!). So we had to go to another airport, fly from there, arrive in Manchester way too late to get a train somewhere or do anything, really. So checking into a hotel was the only thing I could do. And because I don't want to pay another 100£ for a train up to Edinburgh, I will be taking the bus like other poor students. Which will get me in to Edinburgh around 28hours later than plannes. BLURGH!!!!!

But hey, it could be worse. So to make this post a bit more cheerful, here are four things I'm slightly obsessed with at the moment.

1. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I've only discovered this while researching for my dissertation,  and   started watching it hesitantly but I'm already on episode 50 finished. I just can't stop.  Some episodes are slightly cringy but a lot of them are really good. And Lydia Bennett is my spirit animal.  Forever. What it is, you ask? A transmedia adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.Totally contemporary with vlogs and shit.  

2. My new teeth.  OK this is silly but I finally went to the ever-so-feared dentist and got my stupid teeth fixed (after eating two gummy bears my teeth started hurting so much I had to stop. Oops- definitely a sign to go to the dentist ASAP!). So I'm brushing and flossing the shit out of them now so cavities will not be in my vocabulary anymore.  I swear. 

3. My dissertation.  I'm still not sure what my angle is and how exactly I am going to write what I have in mind, but I every day I am thankful that I can write about film and other fun things. (Did I mention I am writing about the Hunger Games films? )

4. Studying Abroad. When I was hanging out at the airport yesterday, I overheard a few people talking about studying abroad (did I join in? Naaah ah, I am the creeper pretending to read haha) in the UK. In a way this is why I started this blog- I wanted to share all my experiences with people who might want to do the same thing. When I was thinking about working at camp in America, it was seriously difficult to find a proper review from someone. Same with studying abroad. And I mean proper reviews that inspire you and help you with those annoying questions of funding etc, written by someone relatable. So someone that inspired me and reminded me to write more about this is my friend Ilinca, who appeared in this video recently (Sorry, it's in German).
Isn't she cute?

PS: #5 of this list will forever go to Taylor Swift. I remember giving a presentation about her brand image about two years ago. Jesus, that presentation would be totally different today, wouldn't it? I find her incredibly fascinating and she is growing in to some role model, man.

Dreaming about: Graduation.

photo credit: Aston University via photopin cc

It's graduation time right now here in the UK and it makes me so SUPER excited for my own graduation next year!

Germany sadly has no tradition in this sense whatsoever, there is no proper graduation ceremony for most courses and everyone just sort of ...leaves and that's it.

Sometimes when I'm asked why I came to the UK to study I say it's because of the graduation ceremony that includes the gown and the hat and all of that traditional fun stuff. Obviously I came for other reasons as well, but (to be honest) I am really glad that graduation is a big deal here.

Probably still not as big as in the US, but still.

What I am not excited about (not yet at least) is the time after graduation- where to go, what to do. Too much to figure out! I don't want to move out of this lovely flat, I am sad to (probably) leave Edinburgh, make a new start ... all so terrifying.

ANYWAYS, the actual graduation day is something I am SO excited for. My parents and my sister coming here, taking a lot of fun pictures with everyone, going out for dinner/lunch after...  needless to say I am super jealous that my friends had this super sunny day on their graduation this year.

ONLY 360 days left until it's gonna be ME!

Feeling numb.

The days are just flying by, everyone is counting the days. Some of us because they really want to go home, but most of us shush each other when we talk about how little time is left.
I know I feel so sad about leaving this place, but not really. I feel numb above all.
Right now all I do is live day by day, trying not to stress about the massive presentations and papers I have due pretty much tomorrow. Every day I check off another presentation, another assignment, another last class. This is all great, but at the same time I am just rushing through these last precious days, just trying to make it.

Also my body just sort of decided to give up which means I am on antibiotics and steroids right now (haha I love saying that) because of a strep throat. arghh!!!!!! There could not have been a worse time for this. Anyways.
See you on the other side, when life is full of good stuff again.
That will be on Monday by 7.15pm.
fingers crossed.

Studying. UK vs US

Coming to the US to actually study here at a University was one of my dreams- I never thought I would actually do it but here I am. There are so so many differences between the University systems and between the two schools I have been to- some are hard to adjust to, some are not really noticable.
Something I want to say before you read this comparison: Both of the schools are pretty small with the student body being around 6000 students. QMU in Scotland is probably very different to the University of Edinburgh, that has around 25000 students. It is not really representative for Scottish Universities and neither is St. Edward's like any other American college. They are both pretty special schools and I love them both very much. They were the right choice for me, even though I never thought that small and personal classes would be the right fit for me. I find it actually nice that the teachers know my name and where I'm from. Another thing is that my course (film and media, or communication here in the US) are pretty modern and fun classes and not as serious or stressful like law or science for example. So keep this in mind when reading this!

	Scotland (UK)	USA
Assignments	We have around two/three essays per module per semester and then maybe an exam at the end. We have to keep up with reading during the semester. My uni relies very much on independent studying, doing your work in your own time and being responsible for what you do.	Loads and loads of stuff. Homework for almost every class, reading, presentations with every project, field trips, exams, ... it never ends! It feels like high school, there is attendance taken in almost every class, they micro manage you a lot. I have the pleasure of taking quite interesting classes, but generally the system requires you to take a bit of everything until declaring your major. Thank god I don't have to do that!
Daily life	I live in the beautiful city cente of Edinburgh and the campus is around 40 bus minutes away. I have classes maybe around 8-10 hours a week but attentance is not really taken, so it could be much less. Therefore, I have time to find a job, chill, meet friends, do other stuff. It feels much more relaxed and independent. It gives you time to "have a life" that does not just revolve around uni.	It feels like school is my main priority here. It probably should be like that anyways, but let's be honest. Student life should also be fun. Living on campus and having so much work, I always (try to) finish my uni work and then do other stuff. What makes life hard as an exchange student in the US is not having a car. You are pretty mich stuck on campus. The bus system in Austin is fairly okay but does not help when you want go somewhere off the route. I have accepted this and built my life around my friends here, doing stuff with them and then going out on the weekends with them. Doing stuff on my own is not part of my life here, which is very strange in a way.
Exams	I hate exams and I find them really hard. Studying for it is not so much about learning dates and facts but about understanding the relevant issues and developing a critical standpoint.	Here, most exams are multiple choice. So you don't really need to understand anything but just study until you know everything from the top of hour head. SO so different from home and not really my preference either.
Atmosphere & Community	QMU has it quite hard. The newly built campus is outside of Edinburgh and even though we have a Student Union with a bar and events and so on, very few of the students are actually taking part. Living on campus is mostly for freshers so they are almost the only ones on campus when classes are finished for the day. You wouldn't just meet up on campus if you live in town, which makes it really hard for any sense of community to develop.	This point is very dependent on the different schools, but community is a big thing here. The US is full of campus Universities, with no big city around. Everything revolves around campus life, the bigger schools have their own police, shops and so on. Creating a community is one of the main priorities here, with campus events, school mascots and obviously sport teams, school pride, getting T-shirts for every event... typical American. I love it, it makes it so much easier to meet people and be part of something.

and again.

Was kann es Schöneres geben, als wieder einmal Harry Potter fürs Essay anzuschauen? 

Ah ich weiss: Im Harry Potter Land zu wohnen 8)