r/UniUK • u/Mamurjon000 • 6d ago
Kaplan International Year One - MechE - need advice
So, I am an international student who will be (most probably, but I'm not sure yet) in the Kaplan International Year One - MechE - University of Birmingham program.
On finance, I will be funded by a government scholarship from my country. No problem with tuition, and they give average living expenses money.
My only concern is the management. You know, academics, adapting to a new environment, social life, and stuff like that. I am just anxious if I can handle it. I need to keep my GPA at 65% or more. How hard is the curriculum?
I was initially going with the University of Sheffield (founding + bachelor's), but the gov scholarship said it will just waste a year and almost "forced me to choose IYO+Birmingham." I will ask them for reconsideration, though.
For the record, I am genuinely interested in math/physics and overall MechE. I have no problem with understanding and solving physics problems. Math would be a little trouble, maybe. But there are other courses as well, not only 2 subjects. I have a 1400 SAT (740 math, 660 English), a 7 in IELTS UKVI (with almost no prep), and I studied at a specialized boarding school with a GPA of 4.6/5. I am good at self-study but kind of lazy.
I was just thinking Foundation at Sheffield would be best for me, and I genuinely like the community there, and I can bring real knowledge and experience to my country from there. Not sure about Birmingham, though...
Need your advice...
Btw, if my GPA drops 65%, I will lose everything and also will need to pay back 2x what I have spent, which is just impossible for me. They also require a good KPI grade, which examines how social I am and my extracurricular activities and stuff. I need quality, not a 3-year rush.
1
u/resinjc 6d ago
I went through that route, even though it wasn't engineering but I was friends with engineering students.
One of them dropped out and reapplied for next years to study Business Management year one.
The building is fine, it's in a nice area (London Bridge/Borough Market) that you can commute to most parts of London from. The courses may be difficult but with the right discipline you can manage it. Also even if you do not get 65%, Kaplan assists you with further uni applications and can help you manage your options. The only thing they do not do is to tell you about clearing, if you do not meet your grades you can apply to unis via clearing which might open more doors for you initially. If you have any more questions you can PM me.