University Student life is THE best time of your life. Waking up and rolling out of bed, crawling across the campus to fall asleep in your lecture…the best period ever.
On many courses in the UK, you can in fact spend one year or one semester of the course abroad. This could be in another university learning similar modules but experiencing a different school atmosphere; or in a workplace, gaining valuable onsite knowledge and experience.
Spending a year at an overseas university though will provide an amazing opportunity and give you with invaluable experience.
You will improve your language skills, meet like-minded students and make new friends, experience differences between student life in the UK and overseas, demonstrate your ability to adapt to a new study environment to potential employers and show that you can work with people from different cultural backgrounds.
Exchange universites are partnered across the globe, in countries like Spain, Cananda, Belgium, France, Germany, Finland and America.
Whichever country you are moving to, packing can cause a problem, especially if you are living out there for a whole year. Most airlines restrict the amount of luggage you can take with you with a weight limit, but with all your books and clothes that are necessary items that you must take, it can cause a particular dilemma.
Here is a general guideline to what you should take;
- Clothes
- University books
- Passports (and a copy)
- Student Visa (if needed)
- Toiletries
- Money (pounds, euros, credit/debit card)
- Map/guidebook
- Camera
- Paperwork (for hostels and transportation)
Leave expensive clothing, jewellery or accessories at home. Don’t ruin your experience by having something lost or stolen, avoid any potential incidents that result in being upset, simply don’t take it.
Save space by rolling clothes and condensing your items. Put a couple of pairs of socks into your shoes and fold your t-shirts up to make them as flat as possible.
Amy Bentley, a Journalism student who studied in Canada for a semester, said: “When I found out that I was going travelling abroad the college I was going to sent me an email with the names of the people I would be staying so I looked these people up on Facebook and we were able to talk before I actually flew over there. So this was a good idea to give me an idea of the sort of people I would be living with.”
She also gives these top tips:
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Before you leave ensure you let your bank now that you will be abroad.
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Take a pen drive with all your work on from your home university you never know when it may be useful whilst studying abroad.
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Take your favourite chocolate bars and snacks with you nothing tastes better than some Cadburys chocolate when you are away from home.
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Get Skype on your laptop, it is a great invention for talking to your friends and family back at home and its FREE
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Take things that are personal to you with you, then you can them in your room to make it homely, i.e. photos
Robinsons International Removals are experts in overseas removals, with a dedicated International division which focuses only on moving overseas. Students moving abroad can be confident that they will always get expert advice from specialists who are highly trained in all aspects of
International removals.
For a limited time only Robinsons will provide packing materials and professionally pack your overseas shipment absolutely free of charge.
