Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

FAQs (by Ah Mok, credits to him please)

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Since I just study at SHU for 3 months, do I need a visa?

There are two types of visa which are applicable to us who going to study at SHU for the summer top-up degree. (1) Student General Visa – chargeable and this only valid for the length of the course you study in UK, you are allowed to work 20 hours/week and usually paid at minimum wage which is around GBP5.70/hour. (2) Student Visitor Stamp – this is FOC and you will be given this stamp on your passport once you arrive at the UK Immigration, get ready your visa letter (given by SHU), unconditional offer letter (given by SHU), bank drafts, x-ray, student card, etc.

When I need to pay the balance payment to SHU and what are the payment methods?

You will need to pay to SHU during the first day of your orientation and the payment method is only via bank draft made payable to Sheffield Hallam University. Receipt will be given on the spot once you made full payment. There will be no invoice given to you but you may refer to the offer letter for the amount that you need to pay.

When I reach Manchester airport, if no one is there to bring me to SHU, who can I contact?

SHU will have coach at Manchester airport to fetch TARCians unless you reach UK earlier than 4^th June 2010. You are highly advised to stay in a crowd because the chances of leaving a crowd behind are lower and seniors in SHU will usually have a name list to double check. It is always good to have all SHU contacts in hand so that you can refer to it in case of emergency.

Is anyone from SHU will bring me back to the Manchester airport when I am leaving UK?

Most of the time, students have to settle their own transportation from Sheffield to Manchester airport. In my year, we did not told that there are transportation and I think this is because you had been familiar with UK for at least 3 months and different students will leave UK at different time. So, it could be hard to coordinate, hence, the transportation is not provided.

Can I choose my own tutorial group and also assignment group?

Tutorial group will be allocated according to alphabetical order. Thus, you are not allowed to choose your own tutorial group. However, you may still have some flexibility in choosing your assignment group member unless your tutor chooses for you.

Can I choose my own hostel mates?

You can choose for your own hostel mates. There are no specific procedures you need to follow or do to stay with your own friends. However, you do not know is there anyone else still staying in the hostel unit, thus, if you are planning for 6 persons a unit and there is no more such unit available, then you guys has to break up and go for different units. It is nice to have plan before you reach UK but you also need to remember that things might not go as planned. The hostel management does not allow you to reserve rooms for others, so if you want to stay together with your friends, it is best if all of you can reach UK at the same time to avoid any hassle.

Do I need to do a health screen before leave Malaysia?

I will advise you to do some health checks before you leave Malaysia as the medical expenses in UK are very expensive. If you knew that your Hepatitis-B immune is not sufficient, then you might want to inject it before you leave Malaysia. It will be best if you can take an x-ray to confirm that you do not have TB in you. The UK Immigration has the rights to ask you to go for x-ray to verify whether you got any TB or not and the x-ray fees is borne by you. So, do keep x-ray with you when you clear UK immigration and it is best if you could have a medical certification from doctor on your health condition to avoid any immigration clearing problem. If you are on medication, ensure that you get enough supply of medicine before you leave Malaysia as you might not able to find the same prescriptions in UK and the medicine there is quite expensive as well.

What food can I bring over to UK?

Try not to bring any food that is raw and uncooked. Packaged food like spices, bak kut teh, etc is acceptable. However, if the UK Immigration asked you to dump it, then you have to follow their instructions. Having said that, you are still allowed to bring but what you can do is share the burden with your friends so that you won’t keep all the food in only your luggage which increase the chances of get spotted by the UK Immigration. Just be steady when you clear Immigration and don’t need to panic unless you have illegal items like drugs with you. Usually, if they don’t allow you to bring the food over, then just dump it at the airport, no big deal.

Should I buy textbooks before leaving Malaysia or buy in UK?

This depends on how you view on this matter. If you 100% confirmed that the book reference list given by SHU is correct when you are still in Malaysia, then you can get a copy here in Malaysia and it will be cheaper as well. However, if you get in UK, you can then 100% buy the correct books but it will be much expensive. Usually each second book costs around GBP20 and above while new books cost around GBP30. You can still get some second hand copy from Amazon.com or some other bookstores and they usually provide delivery to your doorstep. In my last experience, I am not given a correct book list and the only book I brought from Malaysia to UK is used to a very minimal and the lecturer changed to another core textbook. Also, it is not so easy to get those UK textbooks here. You will noticed most of the time those TARC core textbooks are from US and not UK. So, I leave it to you guys to decide. Bear in mind that photocopy textbooks are not popular and encouraged in UK and the photocopy shop owners might restrict you on doing that. Photocopying it within SHU's library is even worse. Don't get caught and tarnish TARC and Malaysia reputation.

One of the seniors said there is a shortcut walk to SHU which only takes 5 minutes. Is it true? If yes, do you mind to show me?

I personally did not experience any path to SHU which takes only 5 minutes. FYI, I would strongly encourage you to walk to SHU 30 minutes before class started. Walk slowly and enjoy the scenery. However, to have some feel on how Sheffield looks like, you can go to Google Maps and enter the postcode of SHU at S1 1WB or Bramall Court at S2 4UF. You will noticed on the left of the map will have the zooming scale and a small human, drag the small human into the road and you will be able to see the real road at UK.

How much do I need for daily expenses like food and school stuff excluding entertainment for 3 months?

First of all, this is a very subjective question. Bear in mind that this is subject to the variation of everyone on how big-eater you are and how luxurious your food is. Being a smart consumer, you should know where to get your cheapest ingredients to cook for your meal. In overall, prices in Netto (nearest to Bramall Court) should be the most affordable. You shall look at GBP50 per week and this should be more than enough. In my experience living together with my other 3 housemates, we spent merely GBP15/month for dinner and you should be able to control yourself and having a good planning only then can achieve it. It is always encouraged to cook in a group (ideally 3-4 persons), so that you can have more savings.

After the course end, how long can I stay in UK?

The length that you can stay in UK depends on which visa you are holding. If it is Student General Visa (chargeable), then you will have to refer to the expiry date stipulated in the visa. If you are holding Student Visitor Stamp (FOC), then you will be able to stay up to 6 months.

How long can I stay at SHU hostel?

You are required to leave the hostel once the course period is end (10^th September 2010). No idea on they will charge you any extra if you stay up any longer but it is not advisable as this will tarnish and worsen TARC reputation.

After exam on 10.09.2010, can I go back? Do I need to stay in UK to wait for result?

After the exam ended, you either can stay in UK or go to Europe for sight-seeing before coming back to Malaysia. You are not required to wait for the result in UK as it will only released in October. If unfortunately you failed one of the paper, then you can always resit in TARC. So, you can come back once after the course end if you are not deciding to go for any trips.

When should I book for my return ticket going back to Malaysia?

Logically, you should book as early as you can once you finalized when you are going to come back to Malaysia. There are no hard and fast rules saying that you need to book by when, but do remember that airlines are not only catering for you. So, it is subject to the availability of seats. Make sure your air ticket having an open-ended return date so that you can change it once you know the date.

How should I book my return ticket?

The travel agent indeed charges you some fees for providing you services. Thus, you are advised to utilize them in booking your ticket. Somehow, they are much faster and more professional in handling this compared to you yourself taking the risk to call the airline directly to book it.

Can I use my Malaysia SIM card? Or do I need to buy a new card in UK?

You are able to use Malaysia SIM card when you are in UK. However, roaming charges are imposed and the charges are not cheap. If you still wanted to use it, do ensure with your service provider that your number is roaming-enabled. I would advise you to hold two handphones when you are in UK so that you can keep your Malaysia number active just in case of emergency. There are plenty of mobile service providers in UK namely Vodafone, Nomi, Lebara, etc. You may need to check which provider gives you more benefits. Nomi and Lebara are mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in UK, thus, they are able to offer you cheaper IDD rate calling from UK to Malaysia. Do your own research to determine which service provider gives you most benefits.

How can I bring my money to UK and how much should I prepare?

The common methods are by cash or bank draft of traveler cheques. It is not encouraged to bring all your living expenses by cash because it is quite risky and it may be hard for you to clear Malaysia Immigration. The new rules say that you need to declare if you are bring more than RM10,000 out from Malaysia. For living expenses, I would suggest you to bring GBP300 in cash and the balance in bank draft made payable in your own name and open a UK bank account to deposit the bank draft.

Traveler cheques will be best if you intend to go for Europe trip. You can buy the traveler cheque in Malaysia under Euro currency and withdraw at money changer in UK. You can still use your GBP to change to EUR but you might have to lose a little bit on the commission charges. If you want to change GBP to EUR, go in a bunch of you so that you can have some bargaining power and get preference rate.

I am not sure how much one should bring over but I think at least GBP1000 for living expenses. I would suggest you open a HSBC account in Malaysia that denominated in RM so that your parent can bank in money to you in case you need it. You can always withdraw money from HSBC ATM in UK for only a transaction cost of RM5 and subject to the exchange rate on that day.

Do I need to open a Bank Account in UK and transfer my money there later?

SHU will provide a bank letter for you to open UK bank account. It depends on you whether you need a bank account or not. If you are bringing most of your living expenses in bank draft, then you will need the bank account to clear the bank draft. If you think HSBC is good enough for you, then you can choose not to maintain a UK bank account. When you have a UK account, your parent can also transfer money to you from Malaysia but then the charges is not cheap (charge on your parent and your UK account) and you will not be able to have the money in your UK account immediately. As compared to HSBC, if your parent bank in cash into your HSBC account, you will see the amount in your account immediately and you can withdraw it right after that.

Can I work in UK for 1.5 month since last day of my ticket is on 31^st October 2010?

Usually students will be buying air ticket with 6 months validity period, your course period will end in September and you have around 1 month plus to stay in UK. If you are holding a Student Visitor Stamp (FOC), then you are NOT ALLOWED to work in UK. If you are holding Student General Visa (chargeable), then you can work only within your visa given period. In most cases, the UK immigration will only grant the period for as long as your course period. Thus, you have to come back to Malaysia once your course end, and I do not know how you are going to work in UK. UNLESS, you are telling me you work ILLEGALLY.

Is it easy to get a job in UK?

For a LEGAL worker, it will be much easier to get job compared to you are an ILLEGAL worker. The companies in UK will always want to get a legal one because the penalty of hiring illegal is very severe and they will not take such risks. You judge for yourself whether you are the legal or illegal. Even the legal workers will probably only get jobs like waiter or washing dishes. Just imagine yourself is a foreign worker in Malaysia then you will know how would it be when you are in UK. UNLESS, you are very bright or lucky and being recognized by someone in UK that can bring you some other better jobs.

Is it expensive or convenient to book a local London Tour Package?

I do not know the prices of booking local tour package but it will be quite convenient to book because most of the thing in UK is Internet enabled. This means that many transactions can be done through online. There will be seniors from SHU working part time with London tour company and you will get to know them when you are there.

Is it convenient to buy bus ticket in UK?

Buying bus ticket can be done through online or counter. If you are buying via online, verification code will then sent to your handphone and you only need to show your message to the bus driver. Also, the bus schedule is very accurate. In most of the time, the bus will only reach the destination earlier or on time.

How safe is the tap water in UK to be consumed?

You may need to verify this with relevant authorities. However, I was briefed that the water in the toilet is not consumable while those in the kitchen is consumable. Only the cold water in the kitchen is consumable as I was told that the hot water is heated together with some chemical.

How is the culture in UK like?

The most basic thing I knew about this is on the courtesy. My friend told me that she got an experience when buying cooking ingredients in the market. The seller asked her, can you say "PLEASE"?? This is to tell you guys that UK people is quite concern  on this. So, whenever you asked them for help or even wanna buy things from them, add on a "PLEASE" for them just to please them. For example, can you give me two cabbages, please? Or when they asked you, do you want a cup of coffee, you probably need to answer, Yes, please. You might feel that this is stupid but this is their culture. So, just adapt to it when you are in other people land. 

(Source: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dg4k5439_7fw8396fd )