More room for creativity

"I found the transition to be quite wonderful, actually! I studied in the United States, and found the education system to be quite strict and cookie-cutter. There was very little room for creativity, individuality, and expansion. Here at Queen's, studying at university level, I feel I have the space to breathe, explore my authentic interests, and blossom in my academia as fearlessly as possible."

Brittany Marasciulo-Rivera, MA Creative Writing, New York, USA

Teaching staff help with the transition

"It was night and day! I came from the Republic of Ireland, so I did the Leaving Certificate - I didn’t realise until I came to university how spoon-fed I had been by my teachers in secondary school, and I really struggled with the independent nature of university. It’s not impossible, however, and by semester 2 of my first year I had got the hang of it! The teaching staff I had were very helpful and made the transition from secondary school to university a lot easier!"

Grace Nelson, LLB Law with Spanish, Donegal, Ireland

Greater emphasis on referencing and academic writing

"It wasn’t easy at first. The grading system is so different than the one I was used to in Latin America, and the way we have multiple lectures for the same module takes some adjusting. Also, there’s a great emphasis on proper references and academic writing from the very first day, it can be a little overwhelming at times. However, everyone here at Queen’s is so friendly and helpful that after just a few weeks you feel right at home, and there are so many resources to enhance your skills, get help with assignments and lectures - you’ll always find support for your queries!"

Miguel Ruiz Reyes, BSc Psychology, El Salvador

More opportunities to learn and grow

"I started my undergraduate studies during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, even with the restrictions, Queen’s made my transition from secondary to tertiary level very smooth. Queen's offers a lot of opportunities and resources to learn and grow as a student while supporting students both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. While completing my undergraduate studies, I was paired with a tutor and an International Student Mentor in my course which helped with the transition.

There is a Queen's Language Centre which offers language lessons both online and offline to suit the busy student schedule. I personally really enjoyed the Mandarin Language lessons, it enabled me to network with other students with similar interests and was I awarded a certificate upon completion."

Priscilla Jeyaraj, PhD Medicine, Malaysia

Self-discipline is important

"It’s a whole different life. In secondary education, your education is all provided to you through past year papers and textbooks. In university, a lot of self-reading and critical analysis is expected of you (certainly for Law in my case). Much more discipline is needed to succeed in university."

Keith See Choy Xing, Law, Malaysia

Academic skills classes make the process smoother

"Coming from a different academic system, I initially found the transition to university-level education challenging. However, Queen’s offers a wide range of resources that made the process much smoother. The Learning Development Service (LDS), for example, provides academic skills classes covering essay writing, referencing, presentation skills, and note-taking. As an international student, I had access to weekly two-hour sessions where academic tutors engaged with us in a meaningful, respectful, and insightful way.

Additionally, students also have the provision to book one-to-one appointments to discuss assignments further, or even just to have a chat around the areas where they are struggling. Such delightful support offered by Queen’s, made the transitional process from secondary school to university less difficult, more manageable, and even enjoyable!"

Natasha Charles, Anthropology and English, India

Chatting to course mates can help

"At first, the transition from secondary school was tougher than I expected. The teaching style at university was completely different to what I was used to, and at the beginning I worried it was because coming from a high school rather than a grammar school put me at a disadvantage. Initially, I thought having less class was a perk, but when assignments started piling up I became a bit overwhelmed. I worried I was the only one who was struggling but after chatting to course mates helped I realised many of us felt the same. We began supporting each other, proofreading assignments, and sharing advice. With time I have learned to manage my time and workload better.

Now, I honestly couldn’t imagine myself going back to the secondary school structure. I love being able to choose modules and focus on content I am genuinely interested in."

Chloe McCann, BA English, NI

Find out more

A Guide to Support Services at Queen’s

Our Students Share Their Top Revision Tips

My Experience of Writing My First Assignment

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