| As I said earlier, |
| there is, I think, at Rexford, an excellent combination of physical and geographical advantages - |
| as well as having a rural setting and still being close to central London, |
| something that will certainly be of interest to you |
| is that Rexford is just 35 minutes from London Airport. |
| At Rexford we have a strong research capability. |
| We came 7th out of 101 universities in last year's research assessment, |
| carried out by a government body |
| and did particularly well in your particular subjects, engineering and science. |
| Actually we got a top research grade of five for engineering, geography and computer sciences. |
| One further point - and I know from talking to you individually |
| that a number of you may be looking for some experience in industry after the course - |
| is that all our science and engineering research departments |
| have unusually close relationships with industry in the area. |
| Anyway, that's enough sales talk from me... |
| I'll just take a sip of this coffee that's just arrived, thank you, |
| and then I'll say something about what actually happens when you apply. |
| Right... Now if you do decide to make an application, |
| what you do is send it directly to me in my department. |
| I will then immediately send confirmation and the application process begins. |
| I'd like to say at this point that you shouldn't worry if this process doesn't work all that quickly - |
| I mean occasionally there are postal problems, |
| but most often, the hold-up is caused by references - |
| the people you give as referees, |
| shall we say, take their time to reply. |
| Anyway, it's absolutely normal for this process to take three to four months. |
| What I do in this period is keep in touch with you |
| and reassure you that things are moving along. |
| One of the ways we've devised to help you decide about applying |
| as well as later when you've been accepted... hopefully... |
| is to put you in contact with, if possible, a student from your own country |
| who is at present studying with us. |
| What you can do is phone them up - |
| we will, of course, liaise between you |
| and discuss your concerns with them. |
| That way you can get an objective opinion of what you can expect |
| if you come to live and study at Rexford - |
| not only the academic atmosphere |
| but important details like what the leisure facilities are like |
| and whether the English weather and food are really as awful as everybody says! |
| If you decide you can face it, |
| the contact can also help you just before you leave, |
| with tips on what to pack and that sort of thing. |
| At the moment I think we've got two second-year students |
| and one postgraduate from this country. |
| Now to move on to the other concerns you expressed earlier. |
| At a UK university - as I'm sure you know - |
| you will be in an environment where independent learning is the norm, |
| which takes most students a while to adjust to, |
| and at a time when you will be separated from your normal surroundings |
| and, in most cases, your family. |
| This can be a difficult time. |
| But remember that something like 25% of our student body |
| are international students like yourselves, |
| and that there are several organisations in the university and city |
| whose main purpose is to offer help |
| and ensure that your time with us is enjoyable and useful. |
| One or two of you touched on the subject of accommodation earlier. |
| So I'll just add a few points: |
| it is the University's policy to give priority in the allocation of residence places to three categories, |
| and those are: visiting students, exchange students and new postgraduate students. |
| However, demand exceeds supply, |
| so there is still a need to put your name down early for campus accommodation, |
| particularly if your family is accompanying you. |
| This means that the earlier you decide whether you want to study with us... |
| and so get the procedure moving, the better it will be for everybody. |
| Erm... Yes? |
| What if you would prefer to live outside the university? |
| If you're planning to live off-campus, you've got to sort things out even earlier. |
| As with everything in short supply, |
| the good accommodation gets snapped up months before the beginning of term - |
| in other words, if you're starting in October, |
| you need to be thinking about it in June or at the very latest July, |
| So you do need to think very carefully about what you need, |
| how much you can afford to pay, well in advance. |
| What you can't do is leave it until a few days before the start of term. |
| The agencies in town are pretty good - |
| it's just a matter of contacting them in good time. |
| Of course, we have a full-time accommodation officer available to help all students. |
| She'll get in touch with you when you're accepted - |
| she's got plenty of contacts in the town and will deal with the agencies on your behalf. |
| One or two of you asked me earlier about your level of spoken English. |
| Obviously most of you have already achieved a lot - |
| I wish I could speak your language half as well. |
| Having said that though, |
| I'm afraid the lecturers will make little or no allowance for the presence of non-native speakers in the audience. |
| So, anything you can do to improve your spoken English - |
| even beyond the pretty high levels most of you have already reached - |
| will help make your stay with us that bit more fun for you. |
| Some extra practice before you arrive is worth more than... |
| for example private lessons afterwards, when you won't really have time. |
| Oh... and one last thing before I invite further questions: |
| it's very important... |