Applying to a university

Ex. 1 Make up sentences, matching the suggested parts.

Ex. 2 Read and translate the newspaper article from “Life in Britain”

K eith and Mary are expected by their school to pass their A-level examinations and so qualify to go to university. But entrance is not automatic. They have to apply for a place. They need help from their teacher to decide what to study, where t o study, and how to fill in the application form.

Applications are made to the Universities Central Council for Admissions – known as UCCA.

Keith and Mary will be advised by their teachers, by a specially appointed tutor or by a careers counselor at their school.

Keith has received her UCCA form. She fills in her first choice of university – and then adds four more, in case she is not accepted by the first. She also has to give details of all her interests and activities; for example, she plays the trumpet in the school orchestra and enjoys games, particularly cricket. These details could be very important when she is being selected for interview. Her headmaster writes a detailed report about her which goes with the form back to UCCA, to be fed into the computer. If a university is interested in her application she will probably be called to an interview even before she has taken her A-level exams. Oxford and Cambridge colleges may ask her to do their own written exams before considering her for an interview. One university may require higher A-level grades than another; the requirement depend on the particular department of the university.

Ex.3 Find the English equivalents for the following Russian phrases

Сдать экзамены повышенного уровня сложности, получить право на поступление в университет, поступление; подать заявление; заполнить бланк заявления о приеме; консультант по вопросам профориентации; университет, в который кто-либо хочет поступить; отбирать кандидатов для собеседования; подробный отчет (от успеваемости); занести в компьютер; вызвать на собеседование; сдавать письменный экзамен; отделение.

Ex. 4 Imagine you are a school graduate, fill in the application form.

Ex. 5 Having an opportunity to choose any 5 universities in Britain, which one would you like to enter. Why? Prove you choice to be the best one.

College life

The meny-go-round of college life is something that one never forgets. It's a fascinating, fantastic, fabulous experience, ir­respective of the fact whether one is a full-time or a part-time stu­dent.

Who can forget the first day at the university when one turns from an applicant who has passed entrance exams into a first-year student? I did it! I entered, I got in to the university! A solemn cere­mony in front of the university building and serious people making speeches. Hey, lad, do you happen to know who they are? Who? The rector, vice-rectors, deans, subdeans... and what about those la­dies? Heads of departments and senior lecturers? Okay. Some of them must be professors, some — associate or assistant professors, but, of course, all of them have high academic degrees. And where are our lecturers and tutors? Oh, how nice...

The monitors hand out student membership cards, student record books and library cards — one feels like a real person. First celebra­tions and then days of hard work. So many classes, so many new subjects to put on the timetable! The curriculum seems to be devel­oped especially for geniuses. Lectures, seminars and tutorials. Home preparations; a real avalanche of homeworks.

If one can not cope with the work load of college he or she im­mediately starts lagging behind. It is easier to keep pace with the programme than to catch up with it later. Everyone tries hard to be, or at least to look, diligent. First tests and examination sessions. The first successes and first failures: "I have passed!" or "He has not given me a pass!" Tears and smiles. And a long-awaited vacation.

The merry-go-round runs faster. Assignments, written reproduc­tions, compositions, synopses, papers. Translations checked up and marked. "Professor, I have never played truant, I had a good excuse for missing classes". Works handed in and handed out. Reading up for exams. "No, professor, I have never cheated — no cribs. I just crammed".

Junior students become senior. Still all of them are one family — undergraduates. Students' parties in the students' clab. Meeting people and parting with people. You know, Nora is going to be ex­pelled and Dora is going to graduate with honours. Yearly essays, graduation dissertations, finals...

What? A teacher's certificate? You mean, I've got a degree in English? I am happy! It is over! It is over... Is it over? Oh, no...

A postgraduate course, a thesis, an oral, and a degree in Phi­lology. The first of September. Where are the students of the fa­culty of foreign languages? Is it the English department? Oh, how nice...

1. Say a few words about your university: say what it is called, speak about its faculties and their specializations.

2. Would you compare college life with a merry-go-round or with some­thing else?

3. What do you think of the first months at the university?

4. They say that it is a poor soldier who does not want to become a gen­eral. Name the steps of the social ladder which a student must pass to climb up to the position of the rector. Use the words from the list below, placing one word on one step.

Dean, assistant lecturer, head of department, vice-rector, asso­ciate professor, assistant professor, subdean, professor.

Translate into English.

1. Она поступила в университет прошлым летом и закон­чит его только через четыре года.

2. Лучше не пропускать занятия, а то можно быстро отстать от группы. Хорошо известно, что нагонять всегда сложнее.

3. Все студенты в группе получили зачёт по языкозна­нию. Это было серьёзное испытание.

4. Мой любимый предмет, конечно же, английский. А ещё мне нравятся страноведение Великобритании и США.

5. Я не очень люблю писать диктанты и изложения, но понимаю, что это необходимо для приобретения на­выков письменной речи.

6. Расписание составляется таким образом, чтобы лек­ции чередовались с практическими занятиями.

7. Староста нашей группы получила стипендию от Бри­танского Совета. Она будет учиться в Лондонском университете и одновременно писать дипломную ра­боту.

8. Не думаю, что, готовясь к экзаменам, имеет смысл всю ночь не ложиться спать. Эффект от такой подготовки может быть обратный.

9. Больше всего я боюсь провалить экзамен по психо­логии, поэтому стараюсь всё выучить почти наизусть.

10. В штате преподавателей у нас три профессора, четыре доцента, пять старших преподавателей и семь ассис­тентов.

11. Проверяя контрольные работы, преподаватель отме­чает ошибки на полях.

12. В эту сессию будет один письменный и два устных зачёта, а также четыре экзамена.

13. В начале года в деканате всем первокурсникам выдали студенческие билеты и зачётные книжки.

14. Когда я начинаю делать домашнее задание, то долго не могу сконцентрироваться на работе — меня постоян­но что-то отвлекает.

15. В обучении ему не нужно прикладывать никаких уси­лий — он всё хватает на лету.

Discuss college life in this country. Use these questions as a guide for your discussion.

1. What do students wear to college?

2. How do students get to college?

3. How do students know which class to go to?

4. How do students greet the teacher?

5. How does the teacher greet the students?

6. How do students address the teacher?

7. When does the term begin?

8. How long does it last?

9. How long is the college day?

10. Who decides what a student will study?

11. Who decides which students will attend college?