EU student seeking entrance to UK uni

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Hi everyone,

thanks a lot for this forum. I would appreciate if anyone can share your student life experience as nursing student. I have a dutch nationality and am planning to study nursing in one of the unis in Scotland. Is it difficult to get admissionto uni in Scotland even though I have and EU nationality? I am drafting my personal statement, but find it very hard to write but I am getting there. Any tips are welcome. Thank you very much.

Specializes in Advanced Practice, surgery.

Hi there, I am not sure how difficult it would be but because your not UK citizen I wonder if you are going to be considered as an international student. IF so I think it could be quite difficult and expensive, you are going to need to contact the university to find out

sharrie i had 2 RoI students in my cohort

they had eu status got their fees paid but no bursary.

and scotland is degere only so the bursary is smaller anyway.

Specializes in Advanced Practice, surgery.

Thanks Ayla, that's really good information to have, I wasn't sure if it would be different for EU students

Hi Sharrie, thanks for ur reply. I already contacted 3 unis: The Abertay Dundee, Robert Gordon and Glasgow and all three are still open and welcome EU applicants. When I called the admission office they seem very friendly and helpful. What I am a bit worried about is how competitive is it? I am wondering if anyone- EU students who got admission to these unis. what did you do to get in. what it's like during the interview, what questions they asks? thank a lot for all your help.

Specializes in Advanced Practice, surgery.

there is a bit of a wait in some universities but Scotland because of it's geography and population may be slightly different to the rest of the UK

The sort of questions you may be asked

why you want to be a nurse,

what qualities you think you have to offer,

do you have any experience of caring either paid or unpaid

what do you think it means to be a nurse

what do you think you will be doing as a nurse

what are your good points / bad points

why do you want to train in the UK

do you intend on working in the UK when you qualify

You may also have to write an essay on the day of the interview ( I know some universities asked for this a few years ago, not sure if it's still a requirement. When my sister had her interview she was asked to write about what nursing meant to her

Hope this helps, Ayla has qualified recently so she may be able to add quite a bit to this as well

Please let us know how you get on

Thank you very much for the interview questions. i think i will also include some of it in my personal statement. What worries me a bit is that I don't really have a direct experience in health care but i did most of the time give care through listening and provided emotional support in my previous job, does is count?

nursing is a balance between science and ability to proces sthe information and problem solve on sometimes limited information. and the art of treating human beings in the health/illness contiubiun, and i have leanred this includes how you manage the resources around you escpailly support staff.

personal statments may inculde you academic crediantals inculding science but even more so are caring or postions of authoirty or voluntering you may have.my interview questions were not that hard they weren't out to make us sweat. they seemd to focuss on a defintion of nursing and how would i deal with a uncoperative pt needing a bed cahnge due to being wet/soiled. so it was about pt consent, my safltey knowing to back off and come back to the pt. and finally knowing ur part of a team.

to be honest uni are looking for students who should appuitued and the right attuitude they don't exoect you to know it all.( a lesson i had to learn over again for my band 5 interview)

Good luck hope you get an interview and on a course at times being a student nurse is hard with essays/exams and placments mentiors and staff that don't always make u feel part of the team. however the academics gave me the knowledge and placments gave me experinces and when i was included fully it was great.

Specializes in Advanced Practice, surgery.
Thank you very much for the interview questions. i think i will also include some of it in my personal statement. What worries me a bit is that I don't really have a direct experience in health care but i did most of the time give care through listening and provided emotional support in my previous job, does is count?

The university will not be expecting you to have direct experience in health care as most nursing students won't, but being able to demonstrate a caring nature may be of help, so yes listening and emotional support definitely will count. The questions will be trying to find out about you as a person and as Ayla has said your attitude towards life and people.

They want to know about you as a person, and again as Ayla said they will not be trying to give you difficult questions.

Hi Alya, thanks, u mentioned you had 2 two EU students in your cohort before, can u recall or if they share anything about getting into Unis in the UK, would appreciate to know more. I expect it cost me more as I have to rent a room but I am willing to spend my savings as this is really what I wanted to do. What is important for me is to calculate my chances of getting into the Uni so that I can think of another options. thank you so much for all your helpful comments.

I think they applied through NMAS (nurse and midwifery admission service )like the rest of us but i think its now just UCAS like all other 3rd level courses.

So apply though UCAS you get to pick 4 courses

what kinda nurse to to want to be as we train by branch and specialized ealry Adult, Child. mental health, or learning disability(LD). This limits were you apply as there are more course and thererfore places in adult and mental health and less in child and LD.#

Would you get a grant from the netherlands for 3rd level study?. Or i know the two EU students wored as support workers in the hospital like most student nurses.

Hi Sharrie and Ayla, thank you very much for your insights. No unfortunately, i won't be getting any support from the dutch government as I don't qualify due to the age limit and I believe 35 is not too late to study nursing. I have modest savings from my previous jobs which I plan to use the only thing that bothers me and makes me still undecided is, after reading lots thread from this forum, it made me realise that I have tiny chance of getting into Uk uni.s In this case, I need another of your valuable insights, my last option is to study in the phil. do you think it's the easiest possible way to get a degree (of course setting an exam is no easy matter), pass NLE, get a year of experience & come back to Europe and apply for registration to NMC, IB-group in case of the dutch regulating agency. here you are not required to have 1 year of experience but you have to pass nursing related exam aim for foreign educated nurses, since the exam is very practical related it is common sense to have a certain amount of experience. Probably someone might ask why not just do the nursing training in Holland as to make things easier. Dutch is not my mother tongue. I leave my job because i want to become a nurse. I am very motivated so I give a try to learn the language for a year now. After receiving the disappointing result for my dutch exam the thought of going to UK univ might be a good idea (not considering the cost). Here, most hospitals recruit nursing students depending in which types of hospital, for academic hospital, they recruit nursing students in their 3rd year and pay everything(books, tuition) except cost of living but you receive a practical training, maybe the same as clinical placement but you will receive a minimum salary, also depending on your age. For the non-academic health care insti. they recruit first year incoming students place students as dual student, it means you are working and studying at the same time. you get a one day lecture/week at ur school and 4 days guided practical. In terms of payment the same applies. This is my answer to Ayla's Q, if gov't give bursay or student financial support or busaries, yes, but with age limitation and government, it doe not matter what type of study everyone get the same, same hold thru to EU students and more good news they don't have a 'tested residency" as long as you have EU citizenship, you get a student financial support, but of course why would you like to study here if you don't speak dutch and u r not interested in dutch studies. my apology, i am out of topic now, there are lot of english courses here too, Physical therapy for instance, but it is not really what I want.

Back to my question, do you think it is wise to study in the phil? I already read status of nursing and nursing controversies in the phil. in this forum/site. but i want to hear the perspectives of EU experienced nurses. Do you think I would not encounter too much trouble other than the usual requirements. I will really appreciate any objectives thoughts, insights that would help me arrive to a well informed decision. And besides I really do want to start this year as I can no longer afford to miss another year by just learning dutch though at the moment i have 3 different health care related voluntary works to prepare me to enter into nursing program

Please do shed some light, and thank you so much.

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