UQ Program: Bachelors of Business Management/Laws
As clichéd as it sounds, going on exchange was the best decision I ever made. I can easily say that the last 6 months have been the best of my life and I guess clichés do exist for a reason!
Exchange has afforded me the opportunity to travel extensively and I managed to do a month of travelling before semester started because the start date was not until early September. Moreover, due to the accessibility of England, I was able to visit many other places on weekends during Semester – Madrid, Lisbon, London, Dublin, Edinburgh and Berlin to name a few! The university semester in England also ends conveniently in the middle of January which allowed me even more opportunities to travel.
I did not give too much thought into my university choice but was incredibly lucky to have chosen such an amazing university. Nottingham is top-ranked for law and it definitely shows – the lecturers are all top-notch with my Foundations of International Criminal Law lecturer telling us once that it would take her awhile to get back to us because she was ‘hunting down war criminals in Uganda’! Nottingham was extremely contact-based and so, at first, it was difficult to comprehend attending a tutorial class held in a tutor’s office with 4 other students when I was so use to giant lectures and tutorials. Law subjects are usually assessed by way of 100% assessment which can be daunting. The staff are very accommodating to exchange students and are there to assist if you have any issues. Nottingham University was also a great social university and Nottingham was a great student city. There was a club night almost every day of the week and the Freshers’ Week at the start of term was unlike anything I had ever seen before!
In the 6 months, I met amazing people travelling and at Nottingham. Other exchange students and the English students made my experience unforgettable. Personally, exchange gave me more confidence and independence (and the ability to make great small chat!) Most importantly though, exchange showed me that there was so much more outside of Australia and I enjoyed soaking up all the different cultures of the countries I visited. In fact, I enjoyed Spain so much that I plan to take Spanish lessons when I get back to Australia and am already planning my next trip back! Above all, exchange also allows you to appreciate Australia and your friends and family a lot more when you get back.
I would highly recommend exchange to anyone that is thinking about it – it was sincerely the best experience of my life and all the paperwork, saving up, visa stresses, anxious waits was worth it!
Top tips:
1. Try to get as many courses approved as possible during the subject approval stage – many subjects were not offered when I went to sign on for them at Nottingham.
2. Get a Young Person’s Railcard IMMEDIATELY! I saved enough money (and then some) to buy the card on my first trip to Edinburgh and continued to save every time I used the train.
3. Subscribe to the mailing list of budget airlines like ryanair, easyjet and bmibaby. Nottingham University is located conveniently close to East Midlands Airport and so weekend travels were extremely affordable – for example, I managed to get tickets to Dublin for 6 pounds return!
4. Try and go in 2nd semester if you can help it - our 2nd semester is their 1st semester and this is when all the big Freshers’ week activities start and when everyone in the halls is just meeting for the first time and getting to know each other.
5. Don’t say NO to anything! Take every opportunity that is thrown your way and make the most of your experience. You don’t want to be back at home regretting NOT doing something.