International Foundation Business and Technology and BA International Business Management 2026, Mexico, Student
“I'm from Mexico, so I had no idea what universities in England existed, and what ones would be good for me.”
“I worked with an agent that helps you through your uni selection process and suggests which universities to apply to.”
They recommended Durham, Warwick and Oxford Brookes and I visited all three. I chose Oxford Brookes because I fell in love with the city of Oxford. Also, I love their sports programmes and really value that there are lots of sports opportunities to get involved in. They also have really good business programmes and offer the opportunity to do extra short courses in the summer.
“It was hard at the beginning because I didn't know anyone who was at the university.”
A new country, new people, and a new accent. It was quite hard for me at first to understand the British accent. I understood about forty percent of what people said. So I joined the Shooting society, where we shoot clay pigeons and I made friends there. Shooting became my group, my friends, my community. It helped me to get more involved in university and the culture. I'm now the president of the Latino society and I've been rowing since the beginning of September, I'm also a student trustee. You have to get to know as many people as you can; because of the societies, I've met one of my best friends.
“Oxford is quite a small city compared to my home city of Mexico city”
Even though it’s small, I’ve never finished discovering it and there's always new things to discover. Today I’ve just returned from a pub that I didn't know existed, and it was great. I'd recommend the Rusty Bicycle. There are new pubs and new people to discover every time. Every year I meet new people that show me new pubs, new restaurants, new societies, new everything.
“The SPARK programme and the Work and Voluntary Experience Services (WAVES) team have really cool opportunities.”
Now I'm studying BA International Business Management and I’m really enjoying it. I've thrived. I've done the SPARK programme and I've applied to WAVES for this summer. My cohort is good and we have working groups with really great ideas. I’d say seek opportunities for yourself; the Business School is huge and has extra opportunities like the SPARK programme and the WAVES team. So just do the extra stuff, a little extra and you will progress and develop more than you realise. You’ll learn new things, build your experience, and develop relationships with your tutors.
“I'm graduating next year and I'm planning on doing a master’s.”
I’m looking at London, and I think living in London will be good for my employment opportunities. I wish I could stay in Oxford forever, but I feel I need to seek new ventures in a different place to further grow as a person. So I will probably study my master’s in London.