The lecturers and the seminar tutors and everyone who works at Warwick are very friendly. I look forward to every in person seminar or online lecture. Discover Gaetana's journey at Warwick and what led them to apply for the BA Politics, Philosophy and Law.

How did you find out about Warwick?

One of the admissions officers came to my previous school and gave a presentation about the university. I also spoke to one of my friends who is currently in year 2 at WBS.

Did you consider studying anywhere else? What made you choose Warwick?

One of the reasons I chose to study at the University of Warwick is for its prestige as it is ranked in top 10 UK universities. I was also considering the connections Warwick has with employers and how much help is offered to students to choose their career path. As myself am still not entirely sure about my future career, I felt this was a very important factor. In addition, one of my priorities in choosing a university was to live on campus, and I just fell in love with the campus here at Warwick. There is so much to offer from leisure to academics and I knew I would be feeling great here. Finally, the University of Warwick is one of a few universities which offers a combined degree of Politics, Philosophy and Law and once I learned more about this degree, I knew this is what I wanted to study. This option of combination is not available only for my degree, which I found really interesting. Even if you choose to study maths, you can also study a language. As long as you don't go over your CATS limit, you can choose to study practically anything.

How did you feel to be awarded a scholarship?

When I found out that due to Brexit I would have to pay more than a double amount of what I would have to if the UK was still in the EU, I felt really upset. I was worried that I would not get the possibility to study here, so when I was awarded the scholarship I don't even know how to describe my feelings with words. I felt very lucky and grateful to be given this opportunity and I definitely want to make the most out of it.

Who was the first person you told when you received the news about your scholarship and how did they react?

I did not tell anyone I was applying for the scholarship because I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up, but when I received the news about my application being successful, the first person I told were my parents, who are my biggest supporters. Both of them started laughing and felt really proud.

How did you apply and did anyone help you with your application form and visa application?

I first heard about the scholarship from my previous school, who was helping all the students with their UCAS applications and personal statements. Once I read more about it, I decided to apply. What is considered are both the UCAS application, and a various supplementary questions. As I already mentioned, I didn't tell others I actually applied for the scholarship and I didn't spend too much time thinking about the supplementary questions. I answered them based on how I was really feeling at that moment and I listened to my instincts and it paid off.
About my visa application, the only think I have to say is that anyone applying for the student visa should really read carefully all the questions and take time answering them because since it is not written in your native language, it is very easy to misunderstand something and make mistakes. Once a mistake is made (depending on the seriousness of the mistake/s) the whole application is invalid and you will have to do it again.

What was your first impression of Warwick when you first walked around campus?

Well to be honest, my first impression was not that great :D Due to my visa being delayed, I arrived to campus a few days later than most other first year students, and on that day was horrible weather. I flew to Birmingham and from there I took a taxi to campus because I had two heavy bags and it was pouring rain. When I finally arrived to campus, which was quite late, it was still raining pretty heavily and I didn't have an umbrella. So, imagine, it was raining, I had two heavy bags that I had to carry by myself and I had no idea where to go to get my keys because I didn't imagine the campus being that big. When I finally found my way to get the keys to my flat, I then got lost trying to find that flat :D So I got really wet, I was tired and so far not so good. I didn't even pay attention to the campus as such because it was dark and raining and I couldn't see much. But then when I arrived to my flat and got to know my friendly flatmates, everything started to get better. The next day I got lost again on my way back from Tesco, so I had something like an unintentional campus tour, and so when I saw the whole place in a daylight I felt like in a movie.

What is the best thing about Warwick?

So far, there is a couple of things I really like. First, the campus and the atmosphere. I don't even know how to describe it. It is something you would understand if you saw it. It is great to have everything in one place (groceries, teaching classes, gym, etc.) and when you feel like going on a walk there are so many routes you can take and the nature is just splendid. Plus, if you have bad orientation skills like me, there is a campus map on the MyWarwick app which all students have access to, which shows you where you are and how to get back where you want. So far I found this super helpful. Also, the lecturers and the seminar tutors and everyone who works at Warwick are very friendly. I look forward to every in person seminar or online lecture because I am not afraid of asking any question since the tutors are always ready to help without making you feel like this question is too simple that doesn't belong here and so on. To be fair, I don't feel that I am actually that far from home due to all the kind members of the Warwick community.

What is the worst thing?

The weather is not the best :D One minute it looks like it is going to be sunny and the next minute it starts raining out of nowhere.

How is your accommodation?

I live on campus and I didn't get my first choice. At first I was scared of the idea that I would be living in accommodation with shared bathrooms, but the flat is actually quite small, so you don't have to walk long distances to get to the bathroom. Almost anyone who you would speak with would actually tell you that in the end they fell in love with their accommodation even though it was not necessarily their first choice, and I am no different. I love my flat and am happy that I am living here. Most importantly, when applying for accommodation there is sort of like a questionnaire and based on the answers, students roughly of the same interests and living style are allocated together. So basically if you have a nice group of people around you, you win.

Are you a member of any societies?

Yes, I joined the PPL society, the investing society, international relations society, the careers society and am thinking of joining the Warwick barbell society. So far I have only joined a few virtual events of the careers society (eg. Speaking with former members of the UN) and one in person event organised by the PPL society about the future of liberalism.

What are your plans when you graduate?

I think I will continue studying somewhere else in Europe, but we will see what the future brings me.

What would you say to someone considering applying for an Undergraduate Global Excellence scholarship at Warwick, what would it be?

Take time on your UCAS application, which will not be only useful for the scholarship, and then answer the supplementary questions without too much thinking of what you think someone wants to hear, but really based on your true feelings.

What one thing about Warwick makes you happy?

Having the opportunity to study what I love.