I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday, it’s so nice being able to relax.  I feel like every time I go home (HK), there’s always something new and I am constantly rediscovering my city.  Since I just got back, there is not much to talk about University life wise but I do want to share why I chose Surrey.  The other day I checked my exam timetable and listed all the things that I will have to do and it really stressed me out.  I feel like sharing my own thoughts on why I chose this University would be a great reminder of how blessed I am and how many things I am grateful for.

University is no doubt a great University, at least from the ranking which is what people tend to focus on.  It has great potential to climb even higher up in the list!  But I fell in love with the facilities and how modern it is constructed, I did not know much about this University at first, I did not even know it was close to London.  But I think the environment can really make a difference when you need to study and the library is a great facility for that.  Over the last summer break, some changes were made and now there are more places for students to study, whether that is group studying or silent study.

Unlike most people, I did an extra year called International Foundation Year in order to get in and I had no idea what I wanted to do, what degree to choose.  My electives were Chemistry and Biology during high school so the logical choice would be to do science but at the same time, I was dying to try something new and see what it is like to write tons of essays instead of doing experiments.  So I chose another pathway during my foundation year and did Economics, Business and Law instead.  The university of Surrey offers a wide range of options and if you really cannot decide on one course, they also have a Major/Minor degree.  This was very important to me, knowing I have a lot of options from arts, social science to engineering.

Another thing that I loved was the amount of support the university provides.  From career to mental health and obviously your studies, whatever you need help with, there’s a 90% chance they will have it.  This was crucial because as an international student, you don’t really know what to expect in lecture or tutorials, is it like the movies where students can leave half way to fight crimes? Or is it like what your grandparents told you where the teachers are really strict?  I did not know what to expect and knowing that there is someone I can go to when I needed help, in a way, made me feel safer and less anxious.