The biggest mistakes Indonesian students make when applying to UK universities

When Trifty Qurrota Aini first stepped foot in the UK in 2016, there weren’t a lot of guides to help her navigate her new life abroad. Finding her place in uncharted waters was a challenge on its own. Today, this former journalist is a thriving influencer and country manager at the University of the West of England, using her platform to empower other Indonesians to study abroad in the UK too. 

In this episode, we uncover her extraordinary journey from Indonesia to becoming the study abroad guru for aspiring students back home. 

Listen below, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

 The transcript below has been lightly edited for grammar, spelling, and clarity. 

 

Maryam: Hey guys, welcome back to the Extra Credit Podcast. To all first-time listeners tuning in, this is a series where we discuss the beauty, perks, and essential how-tos of studying abroad with fellow international students, graduates, and professors worldwide. 

I’m Maryam, your host. Today, we’ll be focusing on one of history’s most popular study destinations, the United Kingdom, home to nearly half of the world’s top 10 universities like Oxford and Cambridge. Joining us is someone who’s been there, done that, and is now making it her life mission to help aspiring international students achieve their own dreams of studying in this country. 

Trifty Qurrota Aini began her study abroad journey as a master’s student in mass communications management in the UK. This life-changing experience has then led her to many career opportunities like becoming a news producer and presenter for multiple TV stations, a guest speaker on the UK’s British Muslim TV, an education influencer, and now the Indonesian country manager for the University of the West of England. 

That’s quite a full circle journey, huh? Trifty, welcome. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us today. How are you? 

Trifty: I’m good. Thanks for having me. 

 Maryam: That’s so lovely hear. All right, let’s dive right in with some of our burning questions. Okay, you’ve built such a huge fanbase, especially on Instagram with over 56,000 followers through creating such fun, insightful content about studying abroad, especially in the UK. Tell us, has the UK always been your dream study destination? 

Trifty: Yeah, so from the very first stage of dreaming to study [in] the UK, our study route, I chose the UK as my, uh, country destination because it doesn’t take a very long time to study there. It was only one year to take my master’s degree in the UK, and I feel like the UK is a very safe place for international students to study. And I also feel like there’s a multicultural environment in the UK, so everyone from any background is welcomed. 

Maryam: So, I have to say, like, now we all know that for most people, studying abroad is about getting quality education, learning from the world’s best teachers, and gaining access to world-class facilities. But we can’t ignore, you know, as you said, that a huge draw for students to want to study abroad is also the thought of getting to explore new environments, meet new people from other countries, and yeah, to immerse ourselves in, you know, many different unfamiliar cultures. So, tell us, what was that experience like for you? Were you able to adjust to life in the UK easily? 

Trifty: Yeah, so when I was living in the UK or studying in the UK, I met so many friends from different cultures, from different backgrounds. And that experience has given me insight [into] how to perceive life in many perspectives. And also from that experience, I gained so [much] knowledge engaging with international people. So that’s kind of like [an] interesting experience for me. 

Maryam: Did you face any challenges while settling in? 

Trifty: So, the only challenge I felt was about the weather because I come from a tropical country. I come from Indonesia. So, I had to adjust myself to [the] cold weather. And the other big deal was about the food. So, I was used to, you know, like Asian foods. And, um, but, you know, like, however, the UK offers so many Halal shops and Asian shops. I wasn’t really struggling to find Halal and Asian shops in the UK. 

Maryam: I think that also speaks to how diverse the current UK population is and also the current student population is as well. 

Trifty: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

Maryam: So, um, while you were at uni doing your master’s in mass communications management, did you feel that the resources at UK universities differed from the ones at universities back home in Indonesia? 

Trifty: Yeah, there is a huge difference between studying [in] the UK and in Indonesia. In the UK, I didn’t have exams at all and I feel like the education structure at UK universities is very compact. And my marks were taken from essays, presentations, and dissertations. But of course, it depends on the course you’ve taken, right? But in my course, I didn’t have any exams. And yeah, another thing is obviously, UK universities do not have [a] GPA system, but Indonesian universities offer a GPA system. That’s something interesting, between universities in the UK and Indonesia. 

Maryam: Could you tell us a bit more about you know the teaching styles and classroom environments in the UK? 

Trifty: So, my classroom consists of around 25 students and half of them are international students and half others are UK students or home students. And we had, like, practical lessons. But in Indonesian universities, you will have more than 25. Like, it’s kind of [a] small class, but I had also a big classroom. Yeah. 

Maryam: Ah, so I’m guessing it’s more personal. 

Trifty: It depends on the course you take, actually. But in my course for [the] master’s degree, it was around 25 or 30. But on other days, sometimes I had another lesson which included [a] big number of students — [that] consist of students from different courses, like, learning in one module together, something like that. 

Maryam: Did you enjoy any of the classes? 

Trifty: Yeah, yeah, I enjoyed it. And I feel like I learned, uh, cultural things as well in the classroom because people came from different countries. Like, even international students, um, we had, like, a big diversity there. I was [the] only Indonesian there. I had one Malaysian friend in the classroom, but the other international students came from Poland or Vietnam or any other countries. So, it wasn’t only, like, studying mass communication, but I learned more about cultural things from my classmates. 

Maryam: Could you elaborate on your course structure and walk us through what your master’s programme was like as a Mass Communications Management student? 

Trifty: Yeah, sure. So, because at the time I went to the UK, I also worked as a journalist at some TV stations in Indonesia. So, mass communications is also like sending messages to [the] public, right? That was related to my previous job. So, I learned something related to broadcasting in the UK context because the university also, uh, invited me and my classmates to BBC Television.  

Maryam: Oh. 

Trifty: Yeah, we had a chance to learn broadcasting at BBC TV station. So, that’s more about how to make information [be] delivered to the public and something like that. 

Maryam: How was that onset experience like? The BBC is a big deal, right? 

Trifty: Yeah, BBC is very famous and well known all over the world. And that was great that we had a chance to visit the TV station. And I found [that] the equipment at the TV stations in the UK and in Indonesia is quite different. So, I was kind of like, getting new knowledge, how it works in [the] international context and in the UK. So, once I came back to Indonesia, I was trying to apply it at the TV station here. 

Maryam: Did you face any challenges during your course? 

Trifty: I think, I believe the only challenge I had was only understanding British English or [the] British accent. That was because in my entire life, I learned American English at schools in Indonesia. So, British accent or British English, it’s not that common in Indonesia. I had to adjust myself for around one month to understand how it works. But it wasn’t really a big deal for me because now I work for a British institution and it’s not a challenge anymore for me. 

Maryam: Of course, like, you know it takes a matter of getting used to the accents. Basically, at some point, it will come naturally to you, right? 

Trifty: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.   

Maryam: Yeah. So then in 2018, you graduated with your master’s degree and then you went home to Indonesia, and you landed many different opportunities, one of which was a role as a news producer at SCTV, which is an Indonesian television station — to the listeners. While this wasn’t your first time working in journalism or as a presenter, as you said before, you gained a lot of technical and practical experience when you visited the set of BBC. Do you think that your time abroad in the UK has benefited you or changed the way you approach your job? 

Trifty: Yeah, so journalism or being a journalist was actually the reason why I went to the UK, why I took mass communication management. That was the…the reason actually. And when I came back home, I got a chance to work at other TV stations again. And, as I mentioned before, when I was studying in the UK, I got a chance to study broadcasting at BBC Television. And I found that there’s something interesting there, the equipment, the software they used to broadcast news and stuff. So, I was learning more about broadcasting in [the] international context. 

So, when I came back to Indonesia, I feel like all the experiences at BBC Television and in the classroom helped me to work better, to work in understanding broadcasts and newscasters even better. Yeah. 

Maryam: Can you let us know or share, like, an example of how you applied some of those skills you learned in UK broadcasting versus Indonesian broadcasting? 

Trifty: So, what I saw at BBC Television, it’s actually a little bit [of a] technical matter. So, below the table of the presenter, there was kind of like [a] monitor or online or something that newscasters can read below the table. They can read through the table. But in Indonesia, I couldn’t see something like that. So, when I came back to work as a journalist in Indonesia, I could just tell everyone about that, and maybe the TV station can adopt the same system, something like that. Because in Indonesia, most of the time, the newscaster can only read something in front of them, not below the table. It was just like a new thing for me. Yeah, that’s a little bit technical, actually. 

Maryam: And then, not long after your stint at SCTV, you then became a guest speaker for the Single Muslim Programme on British Muslim TV. Can you tell us how this came about? Was this an opportunity that popped up through experiences you’ve gained in the UK? 

Trifty: So, at the time, the British Muslim TV team contacted me on Instagram and invited me for an interview. At the time, I was still working as the World Hijab Day Ambassador, actually. And the topic was about the hijab portrayal in Western media. It was all related to Islamophobia or “hijab-phobia,” something like that. And because while living in the UK, I was part of Islamic organisations and I worked very closely with [the] British Muslim community, and I totally understand how it feels living as a Muslim in UK.  

So, during the interview, I could answer all questions with full comprehension. Yeah. 

Maryam: I’m glad that that turned out really well for you as well. And then, okay, in 2020, now comes a full circle moment, yeah? You linked up with the University of the West of England, or UWE for short, as their Country Manager. And today, you helped build bridges between UWE and universities back home in Indonesia. You also help Indonesian students prepare for their studies at UWE. So, can you tell us what inspired this career switch from journalism and presenting to education? 

Trifty: Yeah. So being a UK graduate, obviously you will have more chances to work with international institutions because you’ve gained so [much] experience and engaged with international people. And now you have, like, a global mindset. So, working as a journalist, the point of working as a journalist was actually giving or making [an] impact on Indonesian society. Uh, life is too short and you know, like, we only have one life. I do not take my life for granted. I want to use my life as much as I can to make contributions [to] my society. 

So, I find the core value of my duty at the University of the West of England aligns with the core value of being a journalist. Like, most of the professions help people to build their dreams. So, my duty as a Country Manager at the University of the West of England or UWE could help [the] young generation in Indonesia to build their future life. 

Maryam: It’s great that you’re helping more people back home also achieve the same dreams that you did. Can you tell us a bit more about your role as Country Manager at UWE? 

Trifty: The main point of my duty here is helping Indonesian students to go to the UK because UK is quite famous as [a] study destination in Indonesia. So, I help them to gain information about the requirements and what are the steps, and something like that. 

Maryam: So, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the UK is the fifth most popular study destination for Indonesian international students, as you know most of them prefer to study in countries like Australia, Malaysia, the US, and Japan. You know, for you, as someone who works closely with Indonesian students, could you share some insights on common challenges or pain points they’d face that could discourage them from making the UK their first choice? 

 Trifty: So, the common pain point is about…they don’t know how to start. They don’t know how to start to study in the UK. They don’t know what are the requirements, the steps, so this is why I’m here. This is why I’m creating an online platform community to help [the] Indonesian generation, young people here to get information they need, what to do, before going to the UK, what they can do in the UK after the graduation, because I was in their shoes actually. I was at the time where I didn’t know the information, and at the time in 2016, social media was not developed yet, so I depended on, you know, blogs, articles, something like that. 

So, I’m making…I’m trying my best to make myself accessible for my audience to get information, something like that. 

Maryam: Ah, so basically you’re saying that, as a content creator, vibrant, informative social media content that you produce about the benefits of studying in the UK and also the tutorials and tips you share about how to study there, how to pass your IELTS exams, how to land a job in the UK, all of that is just an extension of, you know, your current, role at UWE, right? Rather than a side project. 

Trifty: Actually, I started to share all of the things like study abroad, IELTS, and stuff in 2016. And I joined UWE in 2020. So, I started all of the things a few years before joining UWE Bristol. So, it’s kind of like a coincidence that my passion to build a social media platform informing about study abroad aligns with UWE Bristol. But since joining UWE Bristol, I post about UWE Bristol as well to give my audience an option where to study in the UK. But actually, all of this started way before I joined. 

Maryam: When creating content like this, do you, like, read the comments and let questions that you might have received through your DMs or direct inquiries from, you know, your viewers and Indonesian students sort of inform the type of content you put out? 

Trifty: Yes, of course. Actually, I have received a full scholarship from [the] government to study in the UK in 2016. That was the main reason why I share about study abroad because people wanted to know, how did I get the scholarship? So, I shared the information about study abroad as a student before, not as, you know, someone who works for UWE Bristol. So, this platform was created because I was there as a student, actually. Yeah. 

And ah yeah, about answering people’s question as a content creator, you have to answer it. And that’s why, the platform or my social media is kind of like a community for people to learn. It’s not all about me, but it’s all about what people need. 

Maryam: So, as an expert yourself on this subject, what are your top dos and don’ts for students who want to secure a spot at a UK university? 

Trifty: Yeah, the top dos is, uh, you should do deep research about what you want in the future, what’s your passion, what you want to do in five years, 10 years, and choose any course or a university that matches with your needs. That’s the most important part. 

Maryam: And what should you not do? What’s the biggest don’t? 

Trifty: So, the biggest don’t is, do not make university rankings as the only reason to go to the UK. So, just do not make the university ranking as the only way to measure how good a university is. So many things you can consider. 

Maryam: Okay, lastly, last but not least, for our listeners who may still feel unsure about taking that leap of faith and chasing their study abroad dreams in the UK, what’s your advice for them? 

Trifty: If you can dream it, you can achieve it. If you choose being brave [rather] than being afraid, your life will be brighter. That’s all from me. 

Maryam: Beautifully spoken. And I think that resonates with me and with a lot of international students as well. 

Trifty, thank you so much for sharing your experience and insights with us. I think there’s a lot to take away from them. All right, guys, if you’re interested in listening to more cool stories from fellow international students and grads, don’t forget to check us out at www.studyinternational.com  

You can also connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. We can be found across these platforms under the username Study International. Until next time.