ICEF Class of 2024 – Now Master’s Students at Warwick Business School
Sofia Salyamova: “ICEF made me believe anything is possible”
Sofia Salamova comes from Gus-Khrustalny, Vladimir Region. After she and her parents attended ICEF Open Day in 2018, Sofia decided to get into ICEF because she felt it was her best fit college. The reasons were several: international academic standards, possibility of earning the UoL degree, course contents, and inspiring teachers. “When students have as teachers people as inspiring as here, they are just bound to push their academic and personal boundaries,” says Sofia.
How was your journey as an ICEF student? What was its hardest and the easiest parts? Which courses did you enjoy the most?
It wasn’t an easy journey I must say. As a student of an ordinary school in Gus-Khrustalny, Vladimir region, I entered ICEF with a level of training that put me quite a way below my classmates, many of whom graduated top lycea or gymnasia. And because I hadn’t studied economics and finance before, my first year in ICEF was very hard indeed. There was a lot to learn outside the classroom in order to patch the gaps in my knowledge. And to top it all, all classes were delivered in English. But ICEF’s programme has a design allowing its first-year students to go up a level or two to get on par with higher performing classmates.
The teachers were always willing to help. They hold office hours, when a student can have a one on one with the professor. I think it was thanks to those office hours that I was able to cope without seeking private tutoring.
With my active study strategy and the help from the teachers I was able to enter the top ten students list already in the end of my first year. But with each new year the programme posed more challenges as its courses were getting more and more hands-on, expanding my store of knowledge and making it easier to assimilate new portions of material.
I consistently topped the rating throughout my third and fourth years. It came as a surprise to many in my class that the student from an ordinary school in a small place, who never topped in any of the national academic contests, was able to lead the ICEF student rating.
What is your most important takeaway from ICEF?
ICEF made me believe in myself and that anything is possible. You can’t expect to take on new challenges without a few slip-ups along the way. Dust yourself up and try again. And another thing: Ask questions. One unasked question can lead to a huge gap that may be difficult to patch.
What attracted you to England’s Warwick?
I chose England because it is the world’s financial hub. My journey to Warwick Business School started at ICEF Career Services. Its manager Victoria Pralich gave us all the details of applying to graduate schools abroad. I first sat GMAT and IELTS, then I wrote my resume and cover letter, and obtained letters of recommendation. When choosing a graduate school, I basically looked at its rankings and programme contents, as well as teaching staff. Warwick Business School and its MSc in Finance seemed a perfect choice as leading the rating of pre-experience Masters.
I hope you like it a lot in Warwick. How has your experience been so far?
It’s a highly intensive study programme. There are five core courses to complete before the end of December and two more plus three electives between January and late June. My thesis is due by the last week of August.
Employer-led events are regular at WBS, taking place every week. We’ve already met people from Citi, Bank of America, Barclays, and JP Morgan. WBS boasts a strong alumni community, and many of its former students landed jobs in the world’s leading financial service companies. Warwick Business School is one of the most sought-after schools in England. There’s a whole arrays of career events to attend here, including skill sessions, CV writing, cover letters, effective networking, etc.
The learning process is in many respects similar to that in ICEF. We have as lecturers professors from Italy, Great Britain and other countries. Seminars are given by the lecturers themselves and involve solving of assignment problems by the students prior to their start.
MSc in Finance offers a variety of activities. At the end of March, our Ethics course is taking us on a week’s trip around Portugal. And there’s a wealth of entertainment on offer at WBS, one is a go-karting event next Saturday.
You referred to the learning process at WBS as being similar to ICEF’s. But how does it differ?
At WBS you spend more time self-studying. We don’t get homework here as we know it. What we get is chapters to read and videos to watch before each lecture, because lectures are intended to explain the difficult parts. But basically, it is the same international standards at WBS that ICEF trains us according to.
What struck you most about the campus? It’s architecture? Layout?
Its size. And the beauty of its architectural design. There are stores, coffee shops, a cafe, a restaurant, a theater and a cinema on campus. WBS has many student societies covering a wide range of interests, so there is bound to be one for everybody. All the students in my class are very friendly.
Do you live in a dorm? What comes in it?
Yes, I live in a dorm near the campus with all kinds of facilities. I even have a kitchen to cook my own meal. Food in Britain may not be to everyone’s taste, and many students, unfortunately, live off fast food. Eating out is expensive, so cooking meals at the dorm is almost always the lowest cost option.
The facilities are, indeed, many. There are multiple study places, a gym, a volleyball court, a TV room with PlayStation, two rooms with kitchens for friends’ meetups. Every week there’s yoga and cooking workshops.
Daria Kostenkova: “I feel my world expanding”
Moscow-born Daria Kostenkova has had a passion for finance since she was a school student. Little did Daria know that the course she’d like best, Corporate Finance, would turn out her biggest challenge. Committed and goal-oriented, Daria coped fine, feeling grateful to ICEF for “making me a better time manager and teaching me the value of discipline.”
Daria, why did you choose the University of Warwick?
Just as ICEF attracted me by its truly international education, The University of Warwick promised to be my next step towards internationalization. I was looking to be a student of a highly-ranking school, and Warwick fits this definition by being highly spoken of among employers.
What are you studying now?
The same courses that we did at ICEF – Asset Pricing, Corporate Finance, Research Methodology, Investment Management. My teachers are awesome.
Tell us about the people in your class.
We are a highly international class, unlike Warwick’s other programmes. My classmates come from different countries and backgrounds, and communicating with them is what inspires me most. I feel my world expanding.
About half of the people in my class are from China, and there are students from India, Italy, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and England itself. We are a class of about a hundred.
How is your campus life?
The campus is just huge. It has a dining area, but I don’t really like it there. I’m in Vita Student – the private student residence just 15 minutes away from WBS. There’s a big supermarket right across the street where we buy groceries. I haven’t even tried English food because we always cook our own meals.
We are soon going to Portugal. The trip is fully covered by Warwick and a part of the year-long course Ethics. There’s a lot going on on campus now and there are many challenges ahead.
Anna Bogomazova: “I’m thrilled about everything at Warwick”
Anna Bogomazova, too, considered ICEF as her only option because it offered a double-degree and English-taught courses. She didn’t apply to any other schools.
Was your dream college, ICEF, academically challenging enough?
I can’t say I struggled. The only thing that did pose challenge was mathematics. I had some difficulty learning it at school, but I had no choice but to learn it.
One course I really liked was Macroeconomics. I don’t know why but I loved it from the start. Never had any trouble learning it and Banking and Asset Pricing. These two latter courses are quite interesting in themselves and were easy for me to learn.
What is your most important takeaway from ICEF?
Stop leaving everything until the last moment. Although I sometimes still fail to follow this golden rule. But I’m working to improve myself.
Did you have any passions you pursued before entering ICEF?
I had many. Swimming, figure skating, dancing, singing, stage acting. I appeared in several films. But I think about most of them more as my childhood hobbies.
Did you appear in any films while an ICEF student and how is your acting career going now?
No, I didn’t appear in any films while a student. Nor am I doing movies now. Don’t know what turn my acting career may take in the future, but I might appear in a couple more films.
How did you arrive at the idea of studying at Warwick? Why Warwick? Tell us about your application experience.
Warwick wasn’t my first choice option actually. The first choice one was London or a similarly big place. I needed the fast-paced life I got used to over my 21 years of living in Moscow. Campus life was definitely not for me, I though. But when I read the student reviews of Warwick I changed my mind. Warwick is a very good business school, and the prospect of small town living started to look a new experience. I decided to apply and was admitted. The application process was entirely online and not too hard. Warwick was fast to answer all my questions. They confirmed my enrollment quite fast and sent me the enrollment letter.
What has your academic experience been after your first few months as a master’s student?
My programme offers six core courses. It’s a one-year programme with four electives to take in the second semester. Lectures are given by international professors, while seminars don’t have fixed teachers and it’s a different academic every week. But sometimes the seminars are given by the lecturers themselves, which I personally find to be more productive because lecturers tend to be better at explaining things.
Unlike in ICEF, you can’t join classes intended for other student groups. They check the names of the attending students against the list.
In what way do you think studying at Warwick differs from that at ICEF?
Here, they strictly monitor attendance. But this is more because we are here on a student visa. And, compared to ICEF, there’s much more study-hours to do at WBS. While for ICEF students to pass exams successfully they just need to attend lectures/seminars and do homework, the students of WBS will have to self study.
The students get weekly assignments instead of regular homework. Most of the times it’s a couple of videos to watch.
How do you feel about WBS? Do you like the campus life? You said it wasn’t your first choice option.
I have never lived on campus before, so I’m thrilled about everything. It’s like a small, self-sustaining town with new, modern buildings. The only drawback is the lack of eating places to go to during breaks. There is one café and the only things it serves is rolls and sandwiches, which is quite sad.
Have you been anywhere outside of Warwick?
Oxford. I spent my last weekend there. And I’ve been a couple of times to Coventry and Leamington Spa. I’m going to Birmingham next weekend and have a plan to see London one day.
Are you good with British food? Or do you miss the food you normally eat home?
I can’t say I have many English dishes in my diet. I eat the food I cook for myself. But what I really miss here is dumplings. They don’t sell them anywhere around here. I go Polish or Romanian stores to get them.