You will hear two people discussing an extramural course.
Fill in the information you hear on the application form below.
First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 6.
Now, here is the conversation.
Hi Jenny, what are you doing down here?
Oh, hello Steve.
What?
Well, I'm trying to fill in this form, but I'm having a bit of a struggle as I sprained my wrist playing tennis yesterday.
Don't worry, I'll do it for you.
Let's have your pen.
Right, fire away.
Let's see.
I want to do the drama and theatre studies.
I'd like to get the certificate.
The course number is 60201.
No, sorry, 202.
It seems to be...
It seems to be on Thursday at 7.30.
Yes, well, we don't have to put all that down.
Now, I suppose we can call you Miss.
Don't be funny.
And spell my name right.
Hmm. Well, if you'll have a name like Jenny Macpherson...
Let's see, it's M-A-C.
No, big M, small c, no a.
Right. M-C-P-H-E-R-S-O-N.
Yes, OK.
And don't forget it's a capital P, Macpherson.
Now, what's your address?
Well, I've just moved, so it's 6 Westway Avenue, Longford.
Hang on, don't go so fast.
6 Westway Avenue where?
Longford.
What's next?
Your phone number, daytime and evening.
Well, I've only got one. As we can't have calls at school in the daytime, so put down the evening one.
6-0-5-4-8-2-9.
4-8-2-9, OK.
And you're a teacher. How old are you, 29?
Hmm, wish I were. No, 32.
Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 7 to 10.
Now listen and answer questions 7 to 10.
Do they want my date of birth?
No, don't seem to, just age.
How about educational qualifications?
Well, I've got a degree in English Literature and a diploma in Media Studies.
Media Studies, right.
Now, have you ever done any of these extramural courses before?
No, don't think so, although I did do something on psychodrama once. But no, it wasn't extramural, was it?
That seems to be it, except for the fee.
Yes, well, that's the same for all the studies. I've done all the central courses, I think £25, I suppose I have to include it with this form.
Looks like it.
Do you want me to write the cheque out for you?
But you'll have to sign it.
That is the end of part one.
You now have half a minute to check your answers. You will now listen to the second part of the conversation.
Look at questions 11 to 14.
Now listen and answer questions 11 to 14.
How are you getting on, Zoe? Feeling at home yet?
Well, more or less. There are still some things I need to buy and I haven't found my way to all the facilities yet, but I really love the campus and I've already made a few friends.
Fantastic. Now let's see what we can do to get your studies off to the right start too.
You're on the Foundation course, so you can take up to...
What we advise is that you take four modules in the first semester and, assuming everything goes well, four in the second.
Have you decided which you want to take in this semester?
I haven't made my mind up yet. I can't decide whether to take Principles of Marketing or Introduction to International Trade.
Well, that depends on your career goal. You're planning to work in the biotechnology sector, aren't you?
Er, well, that's my present thinking.
But I guess I might change my mind.
Right. Well, marketing is a broad general subject that you will find really useful in a number of careers.
International trade, on the other hand, is more specific.
That's fine if you're sure it's the sort of work you want to do. A lot of students start off thinking about that option because it seems glamorous, but marketing can also be an exciting career and there's a wide choice of jobs.
Maybe you ought to wait until your career ideas are a bit more definite.
Yes, I see. I could take International Trade next year, couldn't I?
Sure. You could do International Finance as well.
So, in your first semester, you've got Principles of Marketing, Introduction to Economics, Banking and Finance, and, let's see, Principles of Financial Accounting. How do you feel about that as a package?
It's OK, I think.
Before the broadcast continues, look at questions 15 to 20.
You will now listen to the second part of the talk.
But I'm a bit worried about the maths. There'll be some statistics to do, won't there?
Basic statistics, yes, but nothing more difficult than your last year of school maths.
I know, but our maths syllabus was a bit old-fashioned.
Mostly algebra, geometry, trigonometry and stuff. Hardly any stats.
Right. Well, it sounds as if you could do with the maths brush-up course.
Can I arrange for you to attend just the classes on statistics, if you like?
That'd be great. I didn't want to do the whole of maths again, but the stats classes would make me feel much more confident, thanks.
Hang on a minute. There's one more thing. You're English.
Now, you know you have to reach a satisfactory standard in English by the end of your first year to be allowed to go on to the main BSc course?
Yeah. Now I'm in an English-speaking environment, and I have to speak English all the time.
You're right.
It certainly helps, but speaking isn't everything.
You'll have to get your reading up to the standards where you can understand the books on your course reading list quickly.
To get the information and ideas, you need to write your essays.
That means you have to develop a high level of comprehension skills.
You'll never get through the course material if you try to read the books intensively from cover to cover.
That's why our Language Skills Development Programme gives you a series of graded academic texts to study and answer questions on.
So, you need a lot of practice.
That's the main thing.
And you'll probably find it difficult to work on a lecture on a limited time.
You'll probably find it hard at first having to work against the clock without a dictionary.
How can I improve my skimming and scanning skills?
Good question.
For that, you'll have to do a range of specially designed exercises.
Sometimes, these will be from a transparency because it is often how the lecture material is presented.
Sometimes.
I think I'll never learn all the vocabulary.
English is the biggest language ever, at least 350,000 words.
Even Winston Churchill only knew 60,000, so they say.
But as an academic student, you can get a lot of help from the academic word list by Avril Coxhead of Victoria University.
That's in Wellington, New Zealand.
I've studied word lists, of course, but how does this one help?
The academic word list is based on a survey of 3.5 million words of academic text.
It contains 570 families of the words most commonly found in academic texts.
Well, that's apart from the 2,000 most useful words in English. They come in a separate list. You can see copies of both in the library.
You said word families. Do you mean words that are similar?
In a way, yes. It means that all the different grammatical forms of a word are listed together, so you can see the nouns, verbs, adjectives, forms with prefixes and suffixes and so forth.
It'll be clearer when you look at it.
Anyway, Avril Coxhead gives you really great hints about how to learn the words, so it shouldn't be too daunting.
The trouble is, I tend to forget the words I learn.
Well, there are two ways you can tackle that.
First, always try to learn the words in a context.
Either learn a whole sentence using a word, or learn a phrase that the word typically comes in.
We call phrases like that collocations.
That's a new one on me. Collocations.
Collocations. I'd better make a note of it.
You do that. You can find collocations in most modern dictionaries.
Anyway, as I was saying, there's a second study aid I recommend for vocabulary learning.
When you get an assignment, take a sheet of paper and write four headings.
Words I can use, words I can recognise but can't use, words I'm not sure of, words I don't know.
Don't bother with the simple words, of course.
Then go back after two weeks.
And look at the list again. Can you move any of the words into a better column?
That is the end of part two.
You now have half a minute to check your answers. Now turns to part three.
Josie goes to talk to her academic advisor.
First, look at questions 21 to 23.
Listen carefully.
Josie, come in. How are you?
I'm good.
Can I get you a coffee or anything?
No, that's okay. I can't stay long, but you said you wanted to talk to me about that course I'm doing this semester, Music 103?
That's right. Actually, I was a bit confused because I thought you were majoring in music.
I thought you were majoring in math.
That's right. I am. I'm doing four maths modules this year, but it's an optional course.
You just choose it if you're interested, and you can do it whatever department you're in.
Why? Are you thinking about doing it?
Well, I'm not sure. What are the requirements?
What?
The course requirements. I mean, what do I need to know about music to be accepted on it?
I do listen to a lot of music, everything from hip-hop and rap.
To classical. And I can sing, sort of.
Well, for a start, one special thing about this course is that it's distance learning.
You don't actually have to be at the university to do it, and you don't have lectures.
So you've got to be able to work on your own without someone telling you what to do all the time.
Oh? Oh. No, that should be okay, I reckon.
I'm more worried about the actual musical stuff. Like, I don't know how to read music.
Okay.
It doesn't matter. They don't assume that. You'll learn as you go along. How's your maths?
Not too bad.
Right. Some of it's quite mathematical, so you really need to be strong there.
But you play the violin, don't you? I don't play anything.
You don't need to. What about computer skills? You're okay there?
Yes, reasonably. Does that matter?
Yes, I'd say they're essential. Like I said, it's all distance learning, so it's computer-based. Before the conversation continues, look at questions 24 to 30.
Now listen to the second part of the discussion.
What about lectures?
You don't attend any. It's all online. So lots of the students aren't here in Canada at all.
They're studying from home all over the world.
We've got someone from my group in Jamaica and a couple from Taiwan. Oh, and some from Hong Kong as well.
So how does it work?
Oh, well, there's a multimedia course.
There's a course website on the Internet where you can listen.
You can listen and watch at the same time.
And, of course, you can do it at your own pace.
So if you don't understand something, you just go back.
Or if you want some more examples of the music, there are links there to things that you can listen to.
There's quite a lot of theory, but it's all done through musical examples, so it's practical at the same time.
Like in the last module I did, we looked at a bit of the music from the movie Star Wars.
The Darth Vader theme.
You know...
Dum, dum, dum, dum, da-dum.
Yeah.
Then we looked at a theme from Wagner's Tristan and Isolde.
Do you know it?
Written in the 1850s.
And we could see there were all sorts of parallels between them.
And that's a feature of the course.
We often look at modern Hollywood themes to illustrate concepts in classical music.
It sounds really interesting.
Do you have a course book?
No, we don't use one.
We're given a software program called Notability Light.
And what it does is it presents what we write, the music we write, really clearly.
And it also allows us to play back any piece of music on our computer at home.
But that's not all.
We can write our own music.
Quite complex stuff for various instruments.
And the program plays it back to us.
Plays the actual music?
Yes.
So it means that your computer is actually your own musical instrument.
And we can even submit our finished pieces to our tutor by email.
So you do need your own computer.
Obviously.
Yes.
With at least 64 megabytes of RAM.
That's okay.
I've got 128.
And a CD-ROM and a sound card, of course.
No problem.
So how long is the course?
It's six months.
There are two a year.
So you could actually enroll for the next one if you wanted.
It starts in January.
I started last September and I finish in February.
And how many credits is it?
Three.
In order to pass, you've got to do six assignments.
I'm just doing my fourth one now.
And take a final examination.
Anyway, why don't you call around sometime and I'll show you the sort of things we do.
You can even listen to some of my music.
That would be great.
Well, thanks, Josie.
Now, are you sure you don't have time for that coffee?
That is the end of part three.
You now have half a minute to check your answers. Now turns to part four.
You will hear a talk about the pitfalls and pleasures of being a postgraduate student.
Look at questions 31 to 37.
Postgraduates are about as easy to define as catching steam in a bucket.
Courses can be vocational, for training, as research, as a preparation for research, or a combination of these.
Also, you can choose between full-time and part-time.
Increasingly, the approach to postgraduate study is becoming modular.
The vast majority of postgraduates are doing short, taught courses, many of which provide specific vocational training.
Indeed, there has been a 400% increase in postgraduate numbers in Britain over the past 20 years.
Current figures stand at just under 400,000.
People undertake postgraduate study for many reasons.
These may be academic, vocational, or only vague.
It is essential that you determine the reasons you want to become a postgraduate.
If you have clear goals and reasons for studying, this will enhance your learning experience and help you to remain focused and motivated throughout your course.
Where you study should be based on much more than the course you want to do.
For some courses, you are likely to be there for several years, and it is important that you are happy living there.
Check also what type of accommodation is available, and whether the institution provides any housing specifically for postgraduates.
Choosing an institution and department is a difficult process.
To determine quality, do not rely on the reputation of an institution, but find out what the ratings are from the most recent assessment exercises.
Find out about the staff, their reputation, competence, enthusiasm, and friendliness.
Visit the department if possible, and talk to existing postgraduates about their experience, satisfaction, comments, and complaints.
Be very careful to check how they feel about their supervisors.
Also, check what facilities are available, both at an institutional level, and in the department.
Everyone will have their own priorities here.
I am always anxious to check the computer support available, and regard it as slightly more important than library access.
Your working environment and the support available to you plays an essential part in making your work as a postgraduate a positive experience.
Life as a postgraduate can be very different to your other experiences of education.
Things that can distinguish your experience are the level of study, independence of working, intensity of the course, the demands on your time, and often the fact that you are older than the majority of students.
These factors can contribute to making you feel isolated.
However, there are several ways you can make sure that this is either short-lived or does not happen at all.
Many student unions have postgraduate societies that organise social events and may also provide representation for postgraduates to both the student union and the institution.
Departments can also help to create a sense of identity and community, and often have discussion groups available.
Don't be afraid to talk to staff about any difficulties you might be having.
Of course, universities provide counselling services, but we have found that the best advice comes from talking to other postgraduates who may have faced similar difficulties. Look at questions 38 to 40.
What is financial planning?
Financial planning is essential since the government excludes postgraduates from student loans and it can be difficult to maintain your student status with banks. This has implications for free banking and overdraft facilities.
Do not underestimate your living costs, including food, accommodation and travel. And be careful not to budget for everything except a social life. Funding a course is one of the most challenging things people face when considering postgraduate study. Most postgraduate students finance themselves. They pay often very large fees to the institution and receive no maintenance income to support their study. Make sure you know exactly what your costs will be. Institutions often hide extra fees, like laboratory costs, behind the headline fee rate advertised. Funding can come from various sources. Research councils, charities, trust funds, institutional scholarships, local education authorities and professional bodies and organisations all offer various levels of funding.
That is the end of part four.
You now have half a minute to check your answers.
你将听到两个人讨论一门课外课程。
根据你听到的信息填写下方的申请表。
首先，你有一些时间查看问题1到6。
现在，开始听对话。 嗨，珍妮，你在这里做什么？
哦，你好，史蒂夫。
什么事？
嗯，我正在填这个表格，但有点困难，因为我昨天打网球扭伤了手腕。
别担心，我来帮你填。
把你的笔给我。
好了，开始吧。
让我看看。
我想学戏剧与戏剧研究。
我想获得证书。
课程编号是60201。
不，抱歉，是202。
好像是……
好像是星期四7:30。
是的，嗯，我们不需要把这些都写上。
现在，我想我们可以称呼你为“小姐”。
别开玩笑了。
把我的名字拼对。
嗯，如果你有像珍妮·麦克弗森这样的名字……
让我看看，它是M-A-C。
不，大写M，小写c，没有a。
对了，M-C-P-H-E-R-S-O-N。
是的，没错。
别忘了它的P要大写，麦克弗森。
现在，你的地址是什么？
嗯，我刚搬家，所以是6 Westway Avenue, Longford。
等一下，别写得这么快。
6 Westway Avenue在哪里？
Longford。
接下来是什么？
你的电话号码，白天和晚上的。
嗯，我只有一个。因为在学校白天不能接电话，所以请写下晚上的那个。
6-0-5-4-8-2-9。
4-8-2-9，好的。
你是老师，多少岁，29岁？
嗯，真希望是。不是，32岁。 在你听到对话的其余部分之前，你有时间查看问题7到10。
现在听并回答问题7到10。 他们要我的出生日期吗？
不，似乎不需要，只要年龄。
那么，学历呢？
嗯，我有英语文学学位和媒体研究文凭。
媒体研究，明白了。
那么，你以前参加过这些课外课程吗？
不，应该没有，虽然我曾经参加过一次心理剧的课程。但那不是课外课程，是吧？
就这样了，除了费用。
是的，所有课程都是一样的。我参加过所有的中央课程，我想是25英镑，应该包括在这个表格里。
看起来是这样。
你想让我为你写支票吗？
但是你得签字。 第一部分到此结束。
你现在有半分钟的时间检查你的答案。
你现在将听到对话的第二部分。
查看问题11到14。
现在听并回答问题11到14。 怎么样，佐伊？感觉像在家里一样吗？
嗯，差不多吧。还有一些东西我需要买，且我还没找到所有的设施，但我真的很喜欢这个校园，已经交了一些朋友。
太好了。现在我们来看看怎么才能让你的学业顺利开始。
你在基础课程上，所以你可以选最多……
我们建议你第一学期选四门课程，如果一切顺利，第二学期再选四门。
你决定这个学期选哪些课程了吗？
我还没决定。我不知道是选《市场营销原理》还是《国际贸易导论》。
嗯，这取决于你的职业目标。你打算进入生物技术行业，对吧？
嗯，好吧，这是我目前的打算。
但我想我可能会改变主意。
嗯，市场营销是一个广泛的学科，对许多职业都有用。
而国际贸易则更具体。
如果你确定这是你想做的工作，那是可以的。
许多学生一开始选择这个选项是因为它看起来很有魅力，但市场营销也是一个令人兴奋的职业，而且有广泛的就业选择。
也许你应该等到你的职业想法更明确一些再做决定。
是的，我明白了。我可以明年选国际贸易课程，对吧？
当然，你也可以选国际金融。
那么，在你的第一个学期，你有《市场营销原理》、《经济学导论》、《银行与金融》，还有《财务会计原理》。你觉得这些作为一个组合怎么样？
我觉得还行。 广播继续之前，查看问题15到20。
你现在将听到对话的第二部分。
但我有点担心数学。会有一些统计学的内容，对吧？
基础统计学，是的，但没有比你最后一年的学校数学更难的内容。
我知道，但我们的数学大纲有点老派。
大部分是代数、几何、三角函数之类的，几乎没有统计学。
嗯。看起来你可能需要参加一个数学补习课程。
如果你愿意的话，我可以帮你安排只参加统计学的课程？
那太好了。我不想重新学整个数学，但统计学课程会让我更有信心，谢谢。
等一下，还有一件事。你是英国人。
你知道你必须在第一年结束时达到一定的英语水平，才能进入主修的BSc课程吗？
是的。现在我在英语环境里，我得一直讲英语。
你说得对。
这当然有帮助，但光会说英语还不够。
你得提高你的阅读能力，能够快速理解你课程的参考书。
为了获得信息和写作所需的思想，你必须发展出较高的理解能力。
如果你试图从头到尾密集地阅读书籍，你根本无法完成课程材料。
这就是为什么我们的语言技能发展项目会提供一系列分级的学术文本，让你进行学习并回答相关问题。
所以，你需要大量的练习。
这是最重要的。
而且，你可能会发现很难在有限的时间内处理一门讲座。
你可能一开始会觉得很难在没有字典的情况下与时间赛跑。
我如何提高我的略读和扫读技能？
好问题。
为了做到这一点，你需要做一些专门设计的练习。
有时，这些练习会来自幻灯片，因为讲座材料通常就是通过幻灯片呈现的。
有时。
我觉得我永远也学不过所有的词汇。
英语是世界上词汇最多的语言，至少有35万个单词。
即使是温斯顿·丘吉尔也只知道6万个单词，听说是这样。
但作为学术学生，你可以通过维多利亚大学的艾弗瑞·科克斯黑德所做的学术单词表获得很多帮助。
那是在新西兰的惠灵顿。
我当然学过单词表，但这个是怎么帮助我的呢？
这个学术单词表是基于对350万学术文本的调查。
它包含了570个单词家庭，这些单词最常出现在学术文本中。
嗯，除了2000个最有用的英语单词，它们单独列出。你可以在图书馆找到这两个单词表的副本。
你说的是单词家庭。意思是类似的单词吗？
某种程度上，是的。它意味着一个单词的所有不同语法形式都会列在一起，你可以看到名词、动词、形容词、带前缀和后缀的形式等等。
看了它之后会更清楚的。
总之，艾弗瑞·科克斯黑德给了你非常好的学习单词的建议，所以不应该觉得太困难。
问题是，我总是忘记我学过的单词。
嗯，你可以采取两种方法来解决这个问题。
首先，尽量在上下文中学习这些单词。
要么学一个包含该单词的完整句子，要么学一个该单词通常搭配的短语。
我们把这样的短语叫做“搭配”。
这是我第一次听说搭配这个词。
搭配。我得记下来。
你记下来。你可以在大多数现代词典里找到搭配。
总之，正如我所说，我推荐你在学习词汇时使用第二种学习方法。
当你得到一个作业时，拿一张纸写下四个标题：
我可以使用的单词、我能认出来但不能用的单词、不确定的单词、不知道的单词。
当然，不要管那些简单的单词。
然后过两周再回头看。
看看你能否将其中的某些单词移动到更合适的分类中。
这就是第二部分的结束。
你现在有半分钟的时间检查你的答案。 现在进入第三部分。 你将听到乔茜与她的学术顾问的对话。 首先，查看问题21到23。 仔细听。 乔茜，进来吧。怎么样？
我很好。
要不要我给你来杯咖啡什么的？
不用，谢谢。我不能待太久，但你说过你想和我谈谈这个学期我正在上的课程《音乐103》？
没错。其实，我有点困惑，因为我以为你是主修音乐的。
我以为你主修的是数学。
没错，我是。我今年在学四门数学模块，但这是一个选修课程。
你只要有兴趣就可以选，哪个系的学生都可以选。
怎么了？你考虑过参加吗？
嗯，我不确定。这个课程有什么要求？
什么要求？
课程的要求。我是说，我需要了解什么音乐知识才能被接受呢？
我听很多音乐，从嘻哈、说唱到古典的都有。
而且我能唱歌，算是吧。
嗯，首先，这门课程特别的地方在于它是远程学习的。
你实际上不需要到大学去上课，而且也没有讲座。
所以，你得能够独立工作，而不是总有人告诉你该做什么。
哦？哦，嗯，应该没问题吧，我觉得。
我比较担心的是实际的音乐内容。比如，我不会读乐谱。
没关系。这个课程不要求你有那个基础，你会边学边掌握。你的数学怎么样？
还不错。
好。课程里有些部分涉及到数学，所以你真的需要数学方面的基础。
但你会拉小提琴，不是吗？我可什么乐器都不会。
你不需要。那你的计算机技能怎么样？可以吗？
嗯，还行。那重要吗？
是的，我会说很重要。正如我所说，这是一个远程学习的课程，所以完全基于计算机。 在对话继续之前，查看问题24到30。 现在听对话的第二部分。 讲座怎么办？
你不需要上任何讲座，都是在线的。所以，很多学生根本不在加拿大学习。
他们都在全球各地的家里学习。
我的小组里就有一个人在牙买加，还有几个在台湾。哦，还有一些在香港。
那这课程是怎么运作的呢？
哦，课程是多媒体的。
课程网站就在网上，你可以边听边看。
而且，当然，你可以按照自己的节奏学习。
如果你不理解某些内容，你可以回去重新听。
或者，如果你想听更多的音乐示例，网站上有链接可以让你听。
这门课程有很多理论，但都是通过音乐示例来学习的，所以它既有理论也很实用。
就像我上一模块学的那样，我们看了一些《星球大战》里的音乐。
达斯·维达的主题。
你知道的……
噠，噠，噠，噠，噠。
对。
然后我们看了瓦格纳的《特里斯坦与伊索尔德》中的主题。
你知道吗？
那是写于1850年代。
我们可以看到它们之间有很多相似之处。
这也是这门课程的特色。
我们经常通过现代好莱坞电影中的主题来解释古典音乐的概念。
听起来真的很有意思。
你有课本吗？
没有，我们不用课本。
我们得到了一款叫做Notability Light的软件。
它可以非常清晰地呈现我们写的音乐。
它还可以让我们在家用电脑回放任何一段音乐。
但不仅如此。
我们还可以写自己的音乐。
写一些相当复杂的，适合各种乐器的曲子。
然后程序会把它们播放出来。
播放真正的音乐？
是的。
所以，这就意味着你的电脑实际上就是你自己的乐器。
而且我们甚至可以通过电子邮件把完成的作品提交给导师。
所以你确实需要有自己的电脑。
当然了。
是的，至少需要64MB的内存。
没问题，我有128MB。
还需要CD-ROM和声卡，当然了。
没问题。
那这门课程要上多久？
是六个月。每年有两期。
所以你如果想，也可以报下期的课程。
下期课程在一月开始。
我去年九月开始的，二月就结束了。
那这门课程有多少学分？
三学分。
为了通过，你得做六个作业。
我现在正在做第四个作业。
还要参加期末考试。
不管怎样，为什么你不来我这里坐坐，我给你看看我们做的东西。
你甚至可以听一些我的作品。
那太好了。
谢谢你，乔茜。
现在，你确定你没时间喝杯咖啡吗？
这就是第三部分的结束。
你现在有半分钟的时间检查你的答案。
现在进入第四部分。 你将听到关于研究生学习的困境与乐趣的讲座。 查看问题31到37。 研究生的定义就像是试图把蒸汽装进桶里一样难。
课程可以是职业导向的，培训性质的，研究性质的，或者是为研究做准备的，或者是这些的结合。
此外，你可以选择全日制或兼职。
目前，研究生学习的方式越来越模块化。
绝大多数研究生都在上短期的授课课程，其中许多提供特定的职业培训。
事实上，过去20年，英国的研究生人数增加了400%。
目前的数字接近400,000人。
人们选择攻读研究生的原因各不相同。
这些原因可能是学术性的、职业性的，或者只是模糊不清的。
你必须确定为什么想要成为一名研究生。
如果你有明确的目标和学习的原因，这将有助于提升你的学习体验，并帮助你在整个课程中保持专注和动力。
你选择的学校不仅仅应基于你想上的课程。
对于某些课程，你可能会在那里待好几年，因此重要的是你能喜欢住在那里。
还要检查一下学校提供的住宿类型，看看是否有专门为研究生提供的住宿。
选择学校和系部是一个艰难的过程。
要判断质量，不要仅仅依赖学校的声誉，而要了解最近的评估结果。
了解一下教职工的声誉、能力、热情和友善。
如果可能，亲自去参观一下系部，和现有的研究生谈谈他们的经历、满意度、评论和抱怨。
特别小心了解他们对导师的看法。
同时，检查一下学校和系部提供的设施。
每个人在这里都有自己的优先事项。
我总是特别关注计算机支持，并认为它比图书馆的访问更加重要。
你的工作环境和你获得的支持在很大程度上决定了你作为研究生的工作体验是否积极。
作为研究生的生活与其他教育经历可能会有很大不同。
可以区分你体验的因素包括学习的水平、独立工作的能力、课程的强度、对时间的要求，通常还有你比大多数学生年长这一点。
这些因素可能会导致你感到孤立。
然而，有几种方法可以确保这种孤立感只是短暂的，或者根本不存在。
许多学生会有研究生社团，组织社交活动，也可能为研究生提供代表权，向学生会和学校表达意见。
系部也能帮助创建一种身份感和社区感，并且通常会提供讨论小组。
不要害怕和教职工谈论你可能遇到的困难。
当然，大学提供辅导服务，但我们发现，最好的建议往往来自于和其他研究生交谈，他们可能也遇到过类似的困难。 查看问题38到40。 财务规划是什么？ 财务规划至关重要，因为政府不提供给研究生学生贷款，这也使得保持学生身份在银行系统中变得困难。这对免费银行服务和透支设施有影响。
不要低估你的生活成本，包括食物、住宿和旅行。并且小心不要把所有预算都花在除了社交生活之外的东西上。
资助课程是人们考虑研究生学习时面临的最大挑战之一。大多数研究生都是自费的。他们通常需要支付很高的学费，但没有维持学习的生活费。确保你完全了解你的费用。
学校经常会把额外的费用，如实验室费用，藏在广告的头条学费中。
资助来源可以是多种多样的。研究委员会、慈善机构、信托基金、学校奖学金、地方教育部门以及专业机构等都提供不同级别的资助。
正如我之前所说，政府不向研究生提供学生贷款，因此，寻找其他资助来源至关重要。
银行也提供职业发展贷款。
关于资金的最佳建议是要主动、坚持，并保持耐心。
英国的研究生社区是多国籍的，拥有丰富的生活和工作经验，并且目标多样，既有职业的也有学术的。
成为一名研究生应该是一个富有成效和充实的过程，你将成为一个多元化和充满动力的社交群体的一员。
这就是第四部分的结束。
你现在有半分钟的时间检查你的答案。 |
