Studying Abroad

Former Member · August 2006

Heya,

Has anyone had experience of studying abroad for part of their degree? Which year did you do it in? How long for? Where did you go? Or anyone else having thoughts of doing this?

Just been reading up on my new uni im transfering to into second year, apparently I could study in Spain with my course. Sounds like it could be a great experience. Would love to get out of the country for a while. Getting sick of it.

Former Member · August 2006

I don't have any experience of it, but my course offers a similar chance, which I'd love to take as I enjoy travelling & I'm currently learning a couple of languages on top of the ones I learned at school. I'm thinking second year would be best though - first year you're still settling into your 'actual' uni & third year you've get final dissertations/assingments, etc. I plan on staying the whole year if possible - apparently if you do that you don't have to pay the fees for your UK uni (anyone know if that is true? I read it in several books about studying abroad & in prospectuses for a couple of the unis I applied to, but it sounds too good to be true *paranoia*).

I'm thinking of either Germany (I go there a lot for gigs anyway so I know my way around a bit & can speak the lingo OK) or the Netherlands (got several friends from there & all the Dutch people I've met on my travels have been really friendly, & I'm trying to learn to speak that as well).

To up the stakes a bit I'm planning on taking a year out to do work experience & I'd love to do that in a different country as well, though I don't know if that would be possible.

Former Member · August 2006

I studied in Russia. It was a reet laff.

Former Member · August 2006

me too! I was in Moscow for 9 months. Had a great time....would recommend it. Finding it hard to adjust to English prices for cigarettes and beer

Former Member · August 2006

i studied in France and it was so much fun. its basically like first year at uni where you meet loads of new people and party a lot. it also improved my french loads too. i knew loads of spanish over there and they're such a laugh.

go for it!

Former Member · August 2006

PinkFeatherBoa wrote:

Moscow

The last bastion of true decadence. Where else can you watch a turtle race in a club whilst having your drink served to you by Cubans wearing nappies and rent out a midget upon whose head you may rest your drink? What a city.

Former Member · August 2006

Go for it! My degree was in History with German so I spent my 3rd year at the Historisches Seminar of Hanover University and I loved it...met lots of new people and learnt lots of new things. Even though what I did counted towards my final mark at Bristol, making it occasionally quite stressful, as I had to write 20 page Hausarbeiten auf Deutsch (although one of my flatmates did a stirling job at proof-reading) it was a fantastic experience. The history dept taught many things that I would never had a chance to do at Brizzle (reading archive documents from 17th century witch trials, anyone?!) and one of the units I did there gave me the inspiration for my PhD proposal a few years later - for which Sheffield Uni gave me a studentship

On the social side, beer was very cheap, the beer gardens were fantastic, the international centre at the uni threw great parties and I went on a fabby weekend trip to Berlin for the princely sum of €25 with the Jusos (youth arm of the Social Democratic Party) and had my piccy taken with Gerhard Schroeder, hehe.

So yeah, grab your opportunity to go to Spain with both hands, it won't all be easy, but it'll give you memories you'll never forget :cool:

Former Member · August 2006

As the others have said, it is a great experience. One down-side to remember is that you'll miss a year of being with your English uni friends and may end up doing your final year after they've graduated.

Former Member · August 2006

Yup, but in my case, I was able to pop home for the history ball to say my goodbyes anyway. Doing a langauge meant I still had my German department peeps in the final year.

Kimono · August 2006

I did Hispanic Studies and spent a year in Granada - beautiful university town with quite a lively student/international scene. I did a dissertation while I was there, so didn't exactly study...

Former Member · November 2006

I'm currently studying in Dijon, France. It's great. I have been actually dreading it since I applied for UCAS and even more so just before I left, I didn't wanna leave friends , was scared of not being able to speak any French etc. But I have met so many cool people from ALL over the world, Lebanon, Canada, Norway, Russia, Australia, Senegal...as well as all the cool French people. my language has improved soo soo very much. There is no way my French would be this good without coming here so I really do recommend you spend a year abroad. Not just that but because I'm living in an International Residence I've also picked up some Spanish and Arabic phrases too as well as learning the German national anthem!!:yippe:

Former Member · November 2006

Years abroad are awesome!

Hiya, :wave:

I'm spending my second year of uni in Colorado, USA. Its awesome :yes: I've met loads of cool people, done loads of cool stuff. Really enjoying it. :yippe:

Downsides:
Homesickness - I've been ok, but I know other people who are seriously quitting this year. And other people dropped out of my course before even applying to American unis because they didn't wanna leave home.
Going home for holidays - semester finishes quite late, so I'm flying into England Dec 23 so will probably be jet-lagged on Christmas Day! lol, but not a major problem, so meh.
Uni friends may graduate before you - I know ppl who are going home early after this year cos they wanna go to their friends' graduations. But I'm lucky - mine's only a 3-year course so will graduate along with everyone else. Yay for Lancaster.
Drinking age in USA - since I'm only a 2nd-year and 19, I'm underage over here. You can't drink in pubs or clubs, but you can definitely drink at house parties!

The cops are pretty strict on it, but just be sensible & you'll be fine. But most English people doing a year here are in their 3rd year so they're 21 anyway, so not a problem for them.
Workload - you do get more work here, but you get better grades (they mark nicer) which makes me feel better about it. The workload's a bit of a shock after a 1st-yr in England, but you get used to it quickly.
Can't think of any more problems.
Basically, its a great opportunity. Go for it! :thumb:

"I plan on staying the whole year if possible - apparently if you do that you don't have to pay the fees for your UK uni."
I'd be suspicious about this. Personally I'm paying half my tuition fees in England & no tuition fees here (thank god cos they're bloody expensive) but every uni's probably different, so speak to your international office about it.

Former Member · November 2006

Fairy wrote:

Heya,

Has anyone had experience of studying abroad for part of their degree? Which year did you do it in? How long for? Where did you go? Or anyone else having thoughts of doing this?

I did a semester in Canada at the start of second year. It was great and the best time I had while at uni. I found the work was easier but the workload was alot more, but they also marked easier so i ended up doing better than i had back home, despite socialising more!

Puss-in-boots wrote:

I plan on staying the whole year if possible - apparently if you do that you don't have to pay the fees for your UK uni

In my case if you were there for just a semester you paid your UK fees like normal and then didn't pay any tuition fees to the exchange uni, but if you were there for a year then you paid the fees to the exchange uni, which would have been a lot more expensive as in Canada and the States it costs a lot more to go to uni.

I would definately recommend it though as I had an amazing time and it also looks great on your CV!

Studying Abroad

Comments