Alumni Success: From South Africa to Durham

Charlotte’s journey from South Africa to Durham with NCUK

Why did you choose to study with NCUK?

I chose to pursuit the NCUK pathway because it offered me a chance to not only get into a UK university, but a great one at that. NCUK presented themselves as highly supportive of their students throughout every step of the process from the application to arranging flights, visas and accommodation. They also prided themselves in the geographical flexibility of their course which allowed me to study from almost anywhere in the world. I chose NCUK because it gave me the best chance of achieving my dreams of attending a Russell Group university despite coming from a third world country.

How has your NCUK experience helped you to get to where you are today?

My NCUK experience helped me tremendously and greatly aided me in my pursuit of studying at a UK university. NCUK allowed me to demonstrate to UK universities that I can excel in subjects that I normally struggled in during high school such as Mathematics and Biology. Thanks to NCUK I now attend one of the top universities in the UK both in general and for Criminology, without the NCUK pathway I don’t think I would have otherwise had this opportunity.

What are your goals for the future?

I am aiming to graduate from Durham University with a first class, and eventually pursue a career in either Intelligence or in Behavioural Analysis and Profiling. I would also love to study a Masters degree in criminal behaviour or criminal psychology.

Do you have any advice for future NCUK students?

My advice to future NCUK students is to trust the process because in the beginning it can feel a bit chaotic and overwhelming due to most university application deadlines being set so early in the year. However, NCUK is highly supportive of students and will walk you through the entire process from writing your personal statement to deciding which offer to accept – my experience of the application process was streamlined and seemingly very stress free.