Thank you for taking a moment to talk about your studies and work.
Is the knowledge and experience of working as a nurse useful in being a mother?
I should answer this question perversely – being a mother is useful during internships in the hospital, but also in college. A series of experiences – here I must add that I am a mature student who in England they call “Mature student”, negotiation skills, persuasion (the hidden, clever), caring, time management and planning, as well as assertiveness, consistency – these qualities are undoubtedly useful .
How do you cope with your daily chores? When do you find time to study?
Will I encourage prospective students if I say I don’t know how I find the time? To be honest, I must admit that it’s not always easy. Especially when it is necessary to spend 12-hour shifts in the hospital, take into account the commute and somehow magically conjure up an additional missing few hours for housework and sleep.
The period of internship in the hospital is certainly a challenge and there is no doubt about it. It can also be stressful. Fortunately, I don’t spend more than 3-4 days a week in internships and usually no more than 3 days at the university. The hours of lectures allow me to leave after 8, and return to 6 pm. It is worth adding that, apart from my studies and duties, I still manage to work extra.
You are a freshman in Nursing at the University of Winchester. What were the formalities related to the application for studies?
I am currently finishing my first year. To apply for a place at a university in the UK, you need to create a profile and complete an application form on the UCAS website. From there, you can apply to any university in the UK. The process itself is not difficult as long as you already have the documents ready. After the application, only waiting for the results is left. This is done in a similar way to applying to Polish universities.
You used the help of Motivation Academy. Where did you find information about us and what prompted you to contact us?
From what I can remember, I did a Facebook search for “student advisor”. Originally, I had contact with another advisor, but I was not satisfied with the help offered. The information I received was also not reliable and the contact was limited. Later, I found Kasia, whom I personally recommend, especially considering my inquisitiveness.
What was the communication with Motivation Academy and all formalities? How do you rate the entire process?
As for communication, as I wrote above, I have no objections, and even recommend it. Initially, we communicated via Facebook, then on WhatsApp. I could ask questions or contact Kasia by phone. The whole process, in retrospect, was not difficult. The most difficult part was considering and making decisions about the next stages of education.
Do you think Motivation Academy’s help was useful? Who can benefit from this type of service? Who would you recommend them to?
Definitely useful. Not because you can’t do it yourself. First of all, no time is wasted. I learned a lot and I also used this knowledge, I could count on the suggestions and creativity of Kasia, who tried to help me make the best possible decision. I can recommend Motivation Academy to anyone who is potentially interested in studying in the UK.
Anticipating the question, would I use it again? Yes definitely. It was a great help.
However, getting into college is not enough. Our friend, Katarzyna Jankowska, helped you while applying for funding, i.e. the so-called student finance. How was this process, in short? How was the cooperation?
Yes, it is possible to get additional help when applying for student finance. I used it. The whole procedure went very smoothly, without major turbulence. I didn’t have to use any help when applying for the next year. Nevertheless, tips from joint activities were useful to me for the future.
When you got accepted into college, you started at year zero. On what basis did you apply – passed high school diploma or work experience?
It’s true, I was just applying for “foundation year” in Medical Bioscience. I started it with the help of Motivation Academy. I applied on the basis of the secondary school-leaving examination. I also graduated from the chemical technical school, which later helped me a bit in preparation for the exams.
This year zero is actually the equivalent of an incomplete first year of studies or if it makes it easier for someone to classify – A level.
How do you rate this “zero year” in terms of the difficulty of studying? Was there a lot of challenges?
In fact, I admit that it was very difficult. Studying in a different language was quite a challenge for me at the beginning, especially considering the fact that it was a science. I had 4 subjects: biology, chemistry, biochemistry and science. Strangely enough, chemistry turned out to be the easiest one, because it does not require knowledge of a foreign language (laughs).
Initially, my brain had to switch to learning and listening to lectures in a foreign language. It looked like that after half an hour of listening, I couldn’t even make out simple words. It took maybe 2-3 weeks, then there was a gradual progress.
For people who have no experience with the education system, I can say that this zero year was very important to me and I would not be doing so well in the current field of study without such a basis.
In the meantime, you took the Functional Skills course and applied for your first year of study in Nursing. Were you nervous, will they accept you?
I was doing Functional Skills in mathematics and English in parallel with year zero. The second level of these qualifications is the equivalent of a well-passed matura exam in the UK, i.e. GCSE. The condition for admission to the University of Winchester was to pass the exams and achieve good zero-year results.
I had no problem with math, but I had to flex a bit in English because college qualified me two levels lower than I needed. I must admit that it was also a challenge. Was I nervous? I am a person who likes to set goals and achieve them. So I could answer that I really cared, I spent a lot of work and effort to get where I am. Yes, sometimes I felt stressed about it
How do you rate the cooperation with the university? What should you know about studying at the University of Winchester? Would you provide any suggestions for future students?
Year Zero was mostly based on online learning. In Winchester, it is mostly stationary, so it looks basically similar to the Polish reality.
It is difficult for me to answer this question unequivocally, because there are many factors that may be composed of an answer, and these are very individual. Certainly, if anyone is interested in this university, I will be happy to answer detailed questions and suggest as far as I can.
What opportunities do you think will open up for you after graduation? Or maybe some have already appeared?
It all depends on the chosen direction of course. On the other hand, what’s cool about England is that potentially completing a nursing degree can open the way to medical studies that last an additional 4 years. In addition, the very fact of obtaining such a professional qualification in English opens the door to finding a job in any English-speaking country. In addition, the direction itself offers development options in a huge number of specializations.
You are an energetic and self-confident woman. What drives you to act?
First of all, curiosity, the willingness to explore various fields, test your abilities and move your barriers.
What are your long term plans? How do you see yourself in the future, e.g. in 5 years?
I certainly see myself as a happy and self-realizing person. Professionally – it is difficult for me to define myself clearly, but I must admit that there are many possibilities. After graduation, I think I will consider moving to another English-speaking country for a while.
Maybe he will decide to study medicine, maybe also a master’s in a different, but correlated field … or maybe a specialization in some specific field of nursing. Time will tell.
We wish you nothing but success, achieving your goals and making your dreams come true!
Thank you very much.
