Muhammad Muazu studied the Advanced Level Foundation before winning a place to study Aeronautical Engineering at Loughborough University. We met up with him on his university campus to get his impressions of university life so far.
Hi Muhammad. What is university like so far?
It’s quite different from Kings. I remember at Kings I had a teacher called Roy, and Steven too, and they said university would be more intense — I thought they were just scaring me into doing my work at the time, but when after just few weeks in uni I realised they were right!
The foundation was probably quite intensive too though?
Yes it was, it was good preparation! The CSS (Communication and Study Skills) module especially.
"I had to adapt to people from different parts of the world, it was nice."
What modules do you do at university?
I do 13. At the moment they are all compulsory but next year I’ll have more choice. Now I’m doing some modules that are introducing me to new things I’ll do next year, like drawing modules — how to use CAD, programming, Thermodynamics, Engineering mechanics, Fluid mechanics Aircraft design etc.
Looking back at your time at Kings, did you enjoy it?
Yes I did because I met lots of different people. There were only a few Nigerians at Kings so I didn’t have a lot of people I could relate to at first, so I had to adapt to people from different parts of the world – Russia, Angola, South Korea, France, Belgium, Hong Kong. It was nice. It has been helpful in knowing how to approach people.
"My UCAS counsellor made me really research my choices, to look at the rankings and the campuses, which helped me in deciding what universities I would choose."
What help did you get from Kings in identifying universities and applying to them?
A lot. My university counsellor really helped me. I didn’t rush the UCAS stuff — she made me really research my choices, to look at the rankings and the campuses, which helped me in deciding what universities I would choose.
Did you always know you wanted to study at university in the UK?
Not really, but I knew I wanted to study Aeronautical Engineering and in Nigeria there are very few good universities that do it, so I knew I’d leave Nigeria for university.
