Sri Lanka

The university and its student union ensure that diversity is celebrated. Hence, there are multiple events daily, providing students with abundant opportunities to try new things such as celebrating worldwide festivals, being a part of clubs, sports teams, and volunteering. Colchester is a pleasant city that has everything you need and it’s a close commute to London and other coastal towns which are great to visit. I stay at the University Quays, it’s a quaint place that’s very spacious. It’s a few minutes away from the University but I love walking so it’s a positive for me. The location of the Quays is very convenient as its very close to the stores, bus stop and fast-food restaurants. My flatmates, however, make my experience at the Quays the best! My course is great, they teach you everything you need to know as a Speech and Language Therapy student. My department actively teaches us updated and recent evidence-based practice along with setting expectations of what to expect when we become newly qualified practitioners. Overall, I have been enjoying my two years here and grown to love my field. The Masters in Speech and Language Therapy programme is regulated by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and Health Care Professions Council which establishes the standards of practice within the University. In addition, I also received an academic excellence scholarship for my first year of study which helped me immensely.

My economics teacher at home told me what I should expect about coming to the UK and also advised to study at Essex. At university you are more independent so you have to get used to doing more things on your own but I met lots of people quickly, including other Sri Lankans, and that helped me settle in university quite quickly. Essex is a very international university and I've met so many people from all parts of the world.