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Secondly, it is a great chance to master the English language and learn more about British culture by experiencing it firsthand.

Before I came to the UK I had to gather information about UK’s education system and entry requirements for international students. The internet was the most useful tool in my research, and after trawling through hundreds of websites I found two of the most useful sites to be www.ucas.com, www.britishcouncil.org.

Courses in the UK differ from each other in respect of the quality of teaching, the location (Wales, Scotland or England), entry requirements and prestige.

The studies leading to the awarding of the first academic law degree usually last for three years, while in Poland majority of law courses last for five years. In order to become a lawyer (Solicitor, Barrister or other legal professions) you must accomplish the practice course, which in Poland takes from three to five years.

To be considered for admission to an undergraduate program in a British university I had to meet minimum eligibility criteria. For Polish students this included:

Successful completion of the Matura, with good grades in relevant subjects. My Matura was assessed on individual merit, together with my academic performance from the Polish university I attended.

In addition, I had to submit official transcripts of my Matura translated into English and showing the subjects and grades obtained so I assume this must be the same for other qualifications from other parts of the world.

The next stage was to satisfy the University's English language requirements. In my case TOLES [Test of Legal English Skills] Advance was taken into account.

For many students, the costs of studying are very important. These include; accommodation, living costs and tuition fees.

The standard tuition fee for England is around £3,000 for the academic year and the majority of students who come to study in the UK pay privately. There are many other ways of funding like tuition fee loans, grants or scholarships.  Full-time EU (non-UK) students can defer their tuition fee payment by applying to the Student Loans Company for a tuition fee loan. The loan allows you to defer the payment of your tuition fees and means that you do not need to pay fees whilst studying.

Non-EU students should expect to pay in the region of £5000 -£15,000 per academic year and it should also be noted that getting funding as a non-EU national can be particularly difficult, but the British Council should be able to give you some advice.

Before travelling to the UK I had to have all my financial arrangements, including living costs and accommodation, sorted. The reality is that living in the UK is very different to Poland. The first thing I noticed were the transport costs; bus and train services are much more expensive.

In general prices of simple services and food are far more expensive than in Poland. On the other hand, you can take advantage of many student discounts in high street shops, cinemas and other places. In order to do that I had to obtain NUS card from Students Union.

There are many differences between Polish and UK Universities. The UK Universities have a long tradition of welcoming international students and make a special effort to make them feel at home.

I have found that the educational approach is focused more on practical issues rather than theories of particular subject. In Poland students have to read and memorize thousands of paragraphs from the code of law, but they do not have ability to use this knowledge in a working environment. The aim in the UK education system is to prepare student for successful professional career after they have graduated.

Wojciech Joseph Kolodziejczak

LLB student University of Chester

President of ELSA (European Law Students Association) UK

01-10-2009