I’m an international student from Russia and after graduating from a Russian high school, it came down to the question of choosing a university. Since my chosen major was management, UK universities were the most prioritised options, as concepts of private equity and capitalism originated here. One of the requirements from top universities’ is that international students complete an International Foundation Programme or take A-levels, thus at that time, my only option was to complete IFP.

The University of Warwick was my final choice due to many reasons: the convenience of the campus university, the vast majority of sports clubs and societies, Warwick being second after Oxford in Management and having a large number of international students (40% international students in 2021-2022 academic year).

I loved the idea of living on campus and being surrounded by motivated students, which would motivate me to study, ease communication and the process of making friends. Moreover, being surrounded by other international students would make me feel less stressed about the imperfections of my own language. Looking ahead, my forecasts were correct. Since I had wished to further obtain a bachelor’s degree and study at Warwick, Warwick IFP was the most logical decision, as it provides a conditional offer to study at the University of Warwick. The last but probably the most significant reason for my decision to choose Warwick IFP was my older sister graduating from it. I’ve never regretted this choice. Business Management IFP was my chosen course since it provided an opportunity to then apply to Management at Warwick (Progression Routes are provided on the Warwick IFP site).

My favourite parts of studying the Business Management IFP:

• Plenty of group work, mentored by teachers.
• Teachers are very supportive, caring, dedicated to their job, and ready to answer any questions and to have a one-to-one session with you.
• Formative assessments (the results don’t affect the final mark) and feedback on them allowing you to check your knowledge, understand the structure and what to further emphasize or change in Summative assessment.
• Assessments’ formats being similar to an undergraduate degree.
• Attending Global Economy Support seminars, where we had group discussions to understand complicated themes.

However, the real highlight of my academic year was the presentation of the IRS project and preparation for it, which included conducting research for almost 5 months and creating a poster. I cannot describe the excitement I experienced on the day of presenting the project I’d been working so hard and knew so much about.

Since I had one extra year being a student at Warwick, I was eager to explore new opportunities of being part of the student community. Therefore, I joined the cheerleading club (though I never did cheer) and became a marketing executive and photographer in the Think Tank society, while being a member and visiting events of other academic societies. As an executive member, I helped organise events and posted creative content on social media, applying my management and marketing skills. Moreover, I also represented Warwick in a national Cheerleading competition and my team took 3rd place. I’ve never been a part of something that big and significant before and I definitely enjoyed being a part of a team both in Think Tank and Cheerleading. It has enriched my communication skills and made me feel more comfortable speaking a non-first language.

I would definitely recommend the Warwick IFP, especially if you are planning to obtain a bachelor’s degree at Warwick, since you get introduced to networks (Library, Moodle, Tabula), campus life and gain good relationships with teachers and students. Warwick IFP is a great opportunity to enrich your knowledge, improve your English and gain confidence while trying yourself in different sport clubs, societies and finding new friends there. Campus creates a study-oriented and friendly atmosphere, where you are surrounded by thousands of familiar people, each of them having something in common with you. It might terrify you at first but then you will not want to leave it. Now, being a first year student in Warwick, I’m going to dive into this atmosphere and learn more about myself, gain new skills, knowledge and friends.