A typical week at City for me is two one-hour tutorials a week, along with four two-hour lectures a week. As an international student, my attendance is taken so the university can ensure I am attending classes and adhering to the requirements of my Tier 4 visa. My personal tutor also checks in with me once a semester, and I also attended a mandatory Tier 4 visa session in October.
In regards to work and volunteering, because I am limited to working 20 hours a week as an international student, it was difficult to secure part-time work outside the university. Unitemps, City’s in-house temporary recruitment agency, is an attractive option for students as it has the needs of students in mind. I have been lucky enough to secure work with Unitemps for a short period. In terms of volunteering I am an online peer mentor, where I respond to enquiries from young people about higher education. I also volunteer with the Blackfriars Settlement, a legal advice clinic, with a time commitment of only two days per school year. I also regularly sign up for events through the Careers Portal, which can consist of information sessions from law firms. Recently there was a full-day mediation training session I attended, which resulted in a certificate and allowed for socialisation with other students.
In my course, there are only final exams in terms of summative work. There is one optional formative assessment for each class, therefore course work does not take up too much time. On the other hand, readings can take up to 10 hours a week, between the five classes to do the required reading. If you plan on doing the optional readings I would estimate adding another five hours to your reading time for these. Doing the questions for tutorials and participating when you are in the tutorial is helpful in facilitating memory, and helps you focus in on the more important sections of the readings if you are having issues deciding what is important.
