My experience of joining the University of Bath

Posted in: First year, Freshers' Week, International students

On the 21 of September 2019, I boarded the plane from Dubai to London Heathrow. I was leaving behind my homeland Dubai, where I was born & brought up for the last 17 years and heading to a foreign land to fulfil my dreams. It felt surreal that the UK would be my home for the next 3 years and I would be a student at the University of Bath.

My parents accompanied me which was really exciting as I wanted them to be around when I officially join university, especially my mother since she had not seen the campus yet. My father and I visited Bath in May 2019, to have a look at the campus before I made my final decision. It felt just right when I selected Bath as my firm choice, owing to the in-person experience I had at the University.

We spent a night in London and headed to Bath the next day. The bus ride was one of the most scenic routes I had witnessed, with meadows of greenery and clear blue skies. I certainly had a warm welcome with the sun shining bright on my face! Bath was so beautiful and I couldn’t wait to go to the university the next day!

The next day- 23 of September was the first day of Freshers’ Week. I had a whole range of activities lined up, from picking up my BRP (visa), to attending the welcome week talks and participating in the society taster sessions. I started the day off by clicking a picture with the iconic staircase on the parade😄 (Managed to sneak one in amidst the crowd of students)

Picture by the main staircase of the university

Throughout the day I learnt so many things about the campus (discovering all the buildings from East to West) and met so many people. Fun fact: I met a fellow course-mate during the welcome week talk and she is one of my closest friends to this day!

Over the next few days, I got introduced to my faculty of School of Management and my course - Accounting & Finance. I met my Director of Studies who further ignited my enthusiasm for studying this course at Bath.

Setting up my room in the Quads accommodation is also one of my fond memories as that was going to be my room for the next whole year. I had to ensure it reflected my personality and felt like home. My parents helped me in doing that and I also got to meet my flatmates. The best part about living in a huge flat was the diversity, with students from India, Hong Kong, the UK, Malaysia, France etc

Towards the end of Freshers’ Week, it was time for my parents to leave. That day was quite emotional as I had never lived away from my parents. They surprised me with a farewell gift and gave me their words of advice that I always keep with me. Saying bye to them was tough but I knew I would call them frequently and meet them soon.

The first couple of days before classes started was tough as I was already feeling homesick but participating in activities like the Bath Indian Society Bollywood taster, Skyline walk etc made it better.

30th of September marked the first day of classes and I started off on my journey as an Accounting & Finance student at the University of Bath and couldn’t wait for all the amazing things to come!

Posted in: First year, Freshers' Week, International students

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