York St John University Study Abroad (8)

By | October 28, 2021

York itself is a beautiful little town in the north of England and definitely worth a visit. There are a lot of shops, pubs and bars in the city center and many historical buildings, squares and streets have been preserved. If that’s not enough, there are also direct bus and train connections from York to Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Durham, London and Edinburgh. Anyone who decides to study in York is therefore very well advised.

York St John University

York St John University takes very good care of the international students and helps with every little thing. There is a study office especially for international students to solve any problems that arise. In the first week at the university, the so-called “Freshers Week” takes place, in which all organizational matters are regulated. There are also additional offers to get to know the university, the campus, the library and the “Societies”. At the university there is a “Students Union” which has its own small building with a café, a shop and a bar. Inexpensive alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, billiard tables, music, live sports, etc. are offered here. The Students Union also organizes inexpensive trips to cities (e.g. to Whitby or Lake Disctrict), museums and theaters. A semester at York St John costs £ 4,500 and is one of the cheaper universities in England. Compared to Germany this is of course very expensive and the financing is the biggest obstacle first.
The university also has a few cafes and a cafeteria. There are reasonably priced drinks, sandwiches and lunch here. It is worthwhile to get a QuickPay Card in the cafeteria during “Freshers Week”, as it gives you a 10% discount on everything. The card is loaded on site at the cash registers.

I applied for a Auslandsbafög and received around 1300 € a month. Since the maintenance costs in England are expensive, you probably need around 1000 € a month to pay for your apartment, living expenses and other events. The £ 4,500 tuition fees must be paid in one fell swoop in the first week. This is a bit annoying and you have to think about how to get the money together because the student loan, for example, is only paid monthly. So I paid the tuition fees in full and then covered my daily needs from the student loan. Fortunately, I was able to take out a loan from relatives for the tuition fees.

Accommodations

There are several student residences at York St John University. You usually have to pay the costs for the students’ accommodation at the university all at once, but I asked the Financial Office if I could split the payment and it worked in 2-3 installments. The clerks at the university are generally always very polite, nice and courteous. So very different than at German universities. I was at Limes Court and can recommend these apartments there. In general, the standards in England are probably not as high as in Germany, so you have to accept thin walls, internet via cable and old furniture. The mattress was very old and in bad shape, so I always used two fitted sheets. The university also provides pillows, blankets and bed linen. I had another set of bed linen myself. Limes Court is a 20-25 minute walk to the city center and university and it is actually worth buying a bike. There are several cycle shops or you can search online at gumtree. The other Students’ Accomodations are much closer to the university. The accommodations at The Grange, for example, seemed fine. I’ve been there a few times and they had very nice apartments, but also some that didn’t look so good. The international students were actually mostly accommodated in the nicer apartments for some reason. The positive thing about the Grange was that there is WiFi, but there are also a lot of freshmen living there. I can’t say anything about the other dormitories, e.g. City Residence or Lord Mayor’s Walk.
It is also important to know that you have to buy electronic devices for the kitchen as well as pans, pots, cutlery and crockery yourself. You can get these things cheaply at Argos in York, but the quality is not very good. It is therefore worthwhile at least to buy a higher quality pan and a good kitchen knife at Sainsbury’s, for example. Supermarkets are easily accessible from every dormitory, but overall more expensive than in Germany.

Culture and Cuisines

According to toppharmacyschools, York offers many opportunities to spend wonderful afternoons. There are numerous museums such as the National Railway Museum, where you can see the Hogwarts Express, and historical places such as Clifford’s Tower. You can easily find out about York’s offers on the Internet, but you can also get numerous flyers from the university. There are also plenty of cafes and restaurants in York that offer great food and drinks. I can recommend Café Gillygate 68 as it is relatively inexpensive and has a student discount. It is close to the university and is also very cozy. If you want to use delivery services, you should always order several and look around for meal deals, otherwise it is really very expensive.

Pubs, Bars and Party

If you want to go out in York, the first port of call is the Students Union. There are cheap alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, pool, open-mic evenings and live sports. You should also have a stylish pair of shoes in your luggage for the weekends, as sneakers, trainers, etc. are often not permitted in bars and clubs. On weekdays, however, footwear is not a problem. In York, a distinction is made between pubs (until 1am), bars (usually until 2-3am) and clubs (until 4-5am). In general, it is advisable to plan the evening according to special offers. For example, every Thursday at Keystones there are pints for 1.50 and long drinks from 2.00 with 1 entry. Otherwise, the offers vary weekly, but enough flyers are also distributed here. I personally can recommend The Habit and Dusk pubs.

York St John University Study Abroad 8