Why study in UK/USA?

- I was considering US for my undergrad but chosen to go to UK instead, because of the familiarity with education system as well as better alumni network as a Thai student. 

 

What factors influence you choose the school & location?

- I think it is the academic reputation, career prospect as well as location of the university. It is important to know what do you want to get out of your higher education then rank your potential choices accordingly. 

 

Your application journeys

I started by looking which courses I potentially interested at through UCAS, from there I came up with a list of university. One of the easiest way (although might not be the best methodology) to filter out good university is to rank them according to their requirement, after that I group them according to grade requirement band i.e. tier 1 = A*A*A; tier 2 = A*AA etc. This way you get to choose the best university without compromising your chances if your result didn't go as plan. 

 

I applied to Oxford so I have a more rigorous check on my personal statement. I think it is important to get someone very experienced to sort of be your mentor during your ps writing journey. In my opinion, a good ps should convey: 1) your academic excellence 2) your passion 3) your personal life. As such it is good to get someone to help make sure that each part is fulfilled. In my case, I have one advisor for academic and one for overall structure and flow which is really helpful towards application. 

 

Studying pressure

-Maths at university is very very difficult, a lot more so than high school. It is a different ball game and pressure is definitely there throughout and especially so during exam.

 

How many hours per day to study?

 I think maths is different to other subject as most of our “learning” stems from our own exploration during homework time, so i usually dedicated around a good half day for any homework and most of the time it requires more. 

 

School facilities (library, gym)

UCL doesn't have a gym and library is often packed so I usually don't study there especially for degree like maths, you are not doing much work but rather you are doing a lot more “thinking” which I don't think library is the right environment for me. 

 

School life (canteen, restaurants nearby, cafe, car park, transportation)

UCL is located in bloomsbury which is very central and convenient. There are loads of restaurants nearby which starts from around 6 pounds. 

 

School

he uni arranges some but i don't find any of them useful. I think best place for career networking is through society which in my case I join UCL Bloomsbury Fund, which is a student-run fund. Many of the alum from the club go to work in buy-side and some even have their own investment fund.

 

accommodation/ renting

First year go join uni accommodation, you will make a lot of friends. Second year I think finding flatmates should be about who you think will have the least hassle staying with, rather than who would be fun to stay with. Generally, try renting in more underrated area like paddington or marylebone which can be quite a value for money. 

 

My study experiences

What seems like an eternity has finally come to an end. It definitely was not a smooth sailing for me…there was a lot of hard times and difficult moments. The whole journey had made me question both my own judgment and the point of higher education. I thought I had chosen a perfect degree for me, Maths wasn’t hard in GCSE and it wasn’t hard in A-Levels so why would uni be any different. Obviously, I was wrong…it turned out to be a lot harder than expected and it definitely stretched me in ways I least expected. Maths helped me grow to become more persistent problem-solver, to question rigorously and to sometimes try things you aren’t certain of. I remembered very well the conversation I had with Dr. Watson about choosing a Maths degree, he said "A mathematician is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat which isn't there.”, a quote which he thinks best described a mathematician. I suppose I have become somewhat “blind”, more accustom to the dark room and ever still hoping to achieve the impossible. It was a hell of a ride and I think it was worth it at the end. Thank you, everyone, for supporting me especially close friends and family. Thank you, mom and dad, for instilling your fearlessness in me and for teaching me that nothing is impossible. Hopefully, now you guys will be relieved that all the late-night calls and revision Skype will come to an end. Some people say that being away for such a long time has made people grown apart, but that definitely isn’t the case for us, so few more years in Singapore should be fine right? Without your support, everything would have been a lot tougher and I don’t think I will get to where I am without you. Singapore here I come! #UCLGraduate2017

 

Cost (living cost, school fee and so on)

As usual, living cost in London is incredibly expensive. I cook most of the time which definitely helps especially when there aren't too many good western food at a good price. 

 

Environment (city/town/takeaway restaurants/club/shopping/sports etc.)

I would say that london is definitely one of the best city in the world, especially so for transport. The food scene here is quite interesting specially if you enjoy fine dinning.