3rd term optional modules and some tips for MSc candidates in Finance

Last week I took exam for CFA exam at London. According to CFA Institute, there were 9,000 candidates in London for this exam. My course MSc Investment Analysis covers many subjects of CFA curriculum Approximately 4 subjects out of ten. One of our professors already passed this exam fully and charted member. So he not only recommend students take these exams but holds some seminars during the 3^rd term. Personally, I didn’t attend these seminars but my classmates really satisfied with the quality of teaching for these seminars in spite of optional modules. It shows that Aston’s Faculty really cares about our students to be highly employable and be competitive in job markets.

Some tips for MSc candidates in Finance 

If you are considering Aston University for studying MSc course in Finance, you should choose between Finance & Investment and Investment Analysis. The big difference is that Finance & Investment requires students to write dissertation the other one needs to finish project. If candidates are intending to have further studies such as Ph.D. Finance & Investment course could be ideal choice due to the nature of course structure and Dissertation requirement.

Approaching the end of academic year at Aston

Personally I really enjoyed my life at Aston University (I divided three main factors)

Location

As a second largest city in the U.K, Birmingham is a great place to live as an international student. From Aston University, you could easily go (it’s walking distance! Less than 15 mins)  Shopping centre, Cinema, Open markets, restaurants and attractions. More importantly, living costs are much cheaper than London.  According to UKBA Agency, they stated minimum of 800 pounds per month for living expense (based in London 1000 pounds). The amount could vary depending upon individual lifestyle but you could certainly save your huge amount of money by benefiting of advantages of Urban Settlement.

Excellence of faculty

One of the most important factors could be academic excellence of faculty regardless of undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Aston University provides quite practical taught courses and subjects for students. When I attended first term modules, I was quite surprised that Aston recruits many practitioners as faculty to deliver up-to-date knowledge. Although some tutors don’t have PhD, they give latest industry insights.

Opportunities for scholarship and career

Aston provides variety of scholarship schemes for prospective students. http://www.aston.ac.uk/international-students/finance/internal-scholarships/

Also, I have experienced excellent supports from career advisors. Students can get detailed advice regarding job-seeking on a one to one basis. Furthermore, Postgraduate Career Advisor hold career session ever weekday afternoon at 2^nd floor. So students get quick questions about their queries without appointment. Additionally, Career service at Aston provides latest job market information and a variety of job fairs

Secured placement for Summer Internship in London

London is one of the most ideal places to start your career if you are considering working in finance industry.  Approximately, the market size is estimated US$ 1.2quadrillion(20 times the size of world economy) and talented practitioners would not only inspire you but also give you better business insight in this field.  Personally, I secured my internship by benefiting from my language skills Korean, Japanese and English plus my professional qualifications. Although they are not guaranteed permanent position after my internship, they are willing to hire me if my performance of placement reaches their expectation (they hired intern for permanent position last year).  Internship could be quite good opportunity for me to broaden my horizons.

Some useful tips for international students

From my own experience, I replied from most of universities regarding my applications before Easter break.  By the time now, you should consider not solely on selecting a university but living in the U.K seriously. In practical terms, I strongly recommend you to open bank account after your arrival. To do this, you need an official bank letter from the school to confirm your student status. Generally, majority of banks accept HTS(Highly Trusted Sponsor) institutions’ bank letters without any problems(you should consider that some universities could be excluded from HTS list such as London Metropolitan University). After you open a bank account, literally you could do flawlessly about transferring your home country’s bank account into U.K contracting Mobile phone (usually 24months), TV licensing and proceeding Monthly payments regarding your purchases etc. Personally, I changed my phone by changing ownership, if you interested in I will reply it in detail.

If you arrive earlier than 1^st semester, definitely you should consider going travels for other famous cities such as Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh. Luckily, 16-25 Railcard allows you save 1/3 on standard fees. Although you are above 25, you are still eligible to get this as a full time student by getting confirmation letter from a University. In Aston, we have a specialized department to help international students(HUB). If you request specifically about your needs(Bank letter or Confirmation Letter) earlier than your visit, you will get it less than a minute!

After finishing 2/3 of my course...

This Friday i had my final exam for 2nd term. Probably i can't wake up without the help of my personal alarm clock(Pic below)..

Personally, i really wanted to hold good grades by getting good results in 2nd term, i just slept two or three hours in exam week..;However, without my personal alarm clock, i could have missed the final exam in the morning(he or she knocked my window,,, just before starting the exam 30 mins)...
Anyway, after the exam, i did go Millennium Point. this fancy building is not only the closest Movie theatre from Aston University(it takes less than 3 mins) but has a fabulous trail. When i felt depressed   or tired due to an assignment or exam. i usually visit this place. Although this Millennium Point is the closest movie theatre,  majority of students do not aware of this place. it's quite lucky to have this kind of place near the campus!! :)

Many opportunities to participate events at Aston

Aston University is regarded as a well recognized academic institution in Birmingham.

So students can easily get opportunities to go variety of events such as Career Fair, Events and seminars. Personally, i check Aston Business School's website and career website to get up-to-date information of events. 12/Feb/2014, Transforming the West Midlands series kicked off with presentations from one of the most famous faculties in Aston, David Bailey and Executive Director of Jaguar Land Rover. It was quite interesting because Birmingham's car manufacturing industry seemed to need the great idea about major reconstruction. After informative presentation,various professional participated debate. If you came to Aston, you can just submit brief application for the event. If you want to participate famous events, Probably you need to book your place as soon as possible to secure your place. As i mentioned earlier, The event is normally held in a conference room at Aston Main Building. So, you could be relatively convenient to get involved events compared to others.

About Food Shopping and Recent issues(Exam Results)

      As I mentioned previous posts several times, the location of Aston University is excellent due to the closeness to the city centre. Spontaneously, it will tremendously reduce your worries about foods. If you really like quality foods, you could go Marks and Spencers(it takes less than 10 mins from the campus VIA walk). Although M&S is relatively expensive Compared to other superstores in city centre, you could find really fine processed foods. Personally, I go there just before close because M&S offers huge discount for Bakery approximately less than half prices due to their one-day display policy for Bakery.  As a student, the foods expense could be a huge concern in long-term perspective. So I strongly recommend to use ASDA Delivery service. Basically, ASDA is quite far from Aston University(it takes 20 mins via TAXI) so it could be difficult to go there and get it your place by yourself. Door to Door Delivery Service charges 15 pounds every three month. However, you could share this service with your flatmates ☺. I can guarantee that you could hugely save your money because of reasonable prices of ASDA.  Additionally using indoor and outdoor markets in Birmingham could be also one of the best ways to save your money ☺. 

    Provisional Results of Assessment for business school has been released this Friday. Surprisingly, the gap between lowest and Highest grades are so huge! (One particular module I got 84!!) So I could tell you that you should do the best efforts because you could get probably better or lower than you expected..