Need help!!!!

[vickie86]

Hey

So Im going to medical school in London in two weeks.... Because of one program getting cancelled and getting accepted to a different one took so long, Im really in a crunch.

So I need major help...

What is my next step?
What do I do for funding? (should I get a loan here, or apply over there)
Do I need a visa?

Any help... advice... anything I need to do that I need to know and need to do soon?

Please help!!!

I didnt think it would come down to the wire so soon so any help is super appreciated!!!

[K Dilla]

Hey Vickie,

Thought I'd offer a little help because I can't imagine being in your situation without anyone to guide me. That being said... not to scare you or anything, but there is a lot you need to do to prepare.

1) Does your school require Criminal Background checks and Health checks? The former could take anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks to obtain, plus the time needed to ship it over (if you're sending it by snail-mail, it'll take something like 7-8 days... i would suggest just bringing all that over when u fly over, and giving it to them by hand). And also you'd need to obtain both from Canada.

2) Get your loan here, banks in the UK won't help you out. Go to TD, Royal, and BMO first. You'll need a parent (or two, depending on parental income) to cosign your loan agreement. But if everything looks in order, it shouldn't take you more than a week to obtain. I would call one of these banks ASAP (or better yet go in person) and get the process started immediately.

3) This is the tricky one... yes, you need a VISA to study over there. Check the UK Border Agency website for the "Points based system, Tier 4 (General) Student" form. You need to fill this out ASAP and then go in person to the Toronto UK Border Agency office (near the Eaton Centre... I'm assuming u live in Toronto) to submit the form, get your fingerprint data taken... but you can't do this until you've completed the Personal Profile form online through that website, and once you've done that, it takes a week to get an appointment. It sounds complicated, but if you sit down and read what u have to do, it'll all make sense. The only thing is, Personal Profile + waiting one week to get your in-person appointment + 1 week for them to ship you your visa (at best) will be cutting it really close to when you have to leave.

4) I sincerely hope you have a place to live already. If not, check out Student Accommodation in the UK from UNITE and Opal Student Accommodation, student homes and student flats for student housing. Hopefully you can find somewhere to live in time.

I hope this helps. I think I've done my good samaritan deed for the day. Good luck!