UQ Program: Bachelor of Biomedical/Mechanical
Nottingham is a great student town with great pubs, excellent clubs and awesome people. Staying on campus in Derby Hall meant non-stop fun: ‘dossing’, going to town and of course participating in the great English pastime: foozball. I really recommend staying in a hall, it guarantees a great semester and the forming of many lasting friendships. A word of warning though, most halls are full of first years with minds geared towards having a great time rather than academia so your study can become less than consistent, especially if you’re approaching the end of your degree.
On the academic side, getting settled in can be quite difficult. I’m in my third year of a dual degree BSc (biomedical)/BE(Mechanical) and this made getting subjects sorted quite difficult. Nottingham Uni is a little behind UQ in terms of signing onto classes, you have to find the office of each lecturer to sign on and this was a little difficult. It took more than a few days to track them all down. Thankfully, the lecturers were exceptionally helpful and made the whole process a lot simpler.
When the other UQians and myself arrived we could not believe how cheap things are in the UK. On campus accommodation, taxis, take out/junk food, drinks; everything a student needs was cheaper than Australia. I can’t advise how big your budget should be because this depends on what you get up to whilst there. I highly recommend getting an OS-HELP loan as you’ll be glad to have the money when you have Europe on your doorstep. I recommend the Uni bar ‘The Mooch’ and ShakeAway; a milkshake bar in the city centre. Also don’t buy too many warm clothes before you leave, it’ll be much cheaper if you buy them in the UK.
The study abroad experience has been amazing; I formed so many lasting friendships with both Poms and Europeans and had so many memorable experiences. I had the time of my life abroad and I learnt so much about the world.