Westminster

Image via here

The premise behind this blog is talking about my journey applying, getting in and going to grad school in London, so I thought it would be fitting to actually talk about the school I am applying to.

After researching some schools, I decided that the University of Westminster was my first choice to apply to. They not only had a Master's program in Tourism, but were also located in central London, which were two of my must have's for a school. I had found other schools who also had tourism related programs, but were 30+ minutes outside of central London via the tube, and decided that those just were not options for me. I wanted somewhere where I could immerse myself in the hustle and bustle of central London and truly experience city life.

Westminster's main campus is located on Regent Street, however the campus I would be attending would be their Marylebone Campus, which is located right across the road from Madame Tussauds. I love that the campus is literally steps away from Regents Park. I can totally imagine myself sitting in the park catching up on some reading I have to do for class.

Another thing I like about the school is that the tuition is one of the cheapest out of all the schools I researched. With the pound versus dollar exchange rate, keeping tuition costs as low as possible is imperative. In fact, the tuition even with the exchange rate in U.S. dollars costs half of what the tuition would be if I went to graduate school where I am currently attending in the U.S.

I also like that on my program's page, they outline what classes you need to take and provide class descriptions so I can plan out what class I want to take as well as knowing exactly what the class is about and what I'll be learning. 

I also researched Westminster's postgrad housing options as well before deciding on it as my #1 choice. I liked that they provide housing strictly for post grad students as being 25 when I attend I am not interested in living with 18 year old freshmen. At first when I researched, Westminster had only 1 post grad housing option available. It is a beautiful Victorian building on a quiet street, funnily enough in the borough of Westminster, 10 minutes walking distance from Buckingham Palace! With that seemingly being my only option, living so close to the Royal Family was a-okay with me. 

Recently, though Westminster has opened a brand new housing complex for post grads near Kings Cross Station. Everything is brand new, but it's not in such a prestigious area and is more expensive than the other option. Each complex has pros and cons, but I'd be happy in either one. The fact that I quite liked each other Westminster's housing options was a plus in my book, too.

As it stands right now, there really isn't one big thing that I don't like about the school. Obviously calculating how much it will cost in the end was painful, but compared to other schools I've researched is could be a lot worse.

I'm almost done with my application. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm n the midst of writing my personal statement (the hardest part I think) and have to get my two references, then I can submit. After I submit, I will send my transcripts over to them to review, and then the waiting begins...