Travel Writer David McCarthy offers their advice for prospective year abroad students, highlighting the support on offer throughout the application process
My own experience when applying for my year abroad was hectic to say the least. I was so late in deciding that I wanted to do a year abroad that I had only about 48 hours to: research all the potential places I could go, apply to switch my degree from History and Politics to History and Politics with a year abroad, and to write my statement of research (essentially, the year abroad application).
Yet, despite this rather stress-inducing start to my year abroad experience, I can confidently say that my year abroad in Italy was the best year of my life – so far. And, I cannot recommend doing a year abroad enough. It offers a fantastic opportunity to travel, experience a new culture, make friends from different countries, and maybe even pick up a foreign language. One aspect which is not often mentioned is the valuable experience of studying your subject in a different environment, with lecturers (and fellow students) who might approach issues with a completely different mindset – it was eye-opening at times.
[Doing a year abroad] offers a fantastic opportunity to travel, experience a new culture, make friends from different countries, and maybe even pick up a foreign language
It is (sadly) very unlikely you will ever have another opportunity in your life where you can just move to another country for a year, and travel freely, immerse yourself in that country’s culture, and improve your language skills, all whilst having relatively few actual responsibilities. But I understand that a year abroad, and especially the application process, can seem like a daunting prospect. So, I am here to offer some top tips for how to handle the year abroad process.
Firstly, do not do what I did and wait until the last minute to apply. If you think you might want to do a year abroad, now is the time to start looking into it. You do not have to fully commit yourself but, for example, going to the Go Global (the team at UoB who deal with year abroad arrangements) fair on the 23 October (happening in the Great Hall in Aston Webb) would be a great way to explore if doing a year abroad would suit you.
Secondly, try to talk to previous year abroad students who could help answer any questions that you have. You can, of course, do this at the Go Global fair on 23 October, where there will be returning year abroad students. But also, you could email your personal tutor, or your school’s exchange tutor (if you look up ‘exchange tutors’ on the UoB intranet and you will find a list of them), to see if they can put you in contact with someone from your own course who has done a year abroad.
Thirdly, start improving your language skills now. I found having a basic knowledge of Italian made my year abroad in Italy infinitely easier. Everything from traveling, dealing with the endless bureaucracy, to food shopping, becomes much simpler if you have just a basic grasp of a language. Plus, it will make you stand out when applying for places to go for your year abroad. You do not have to do any intensive language courses, but even just spending the next year doing your daily Duolingo will put you in a much better position for when you go abroad.
Everything from traveling, dealing with the endless bureaucracy, to food shopping, becomes much simpler if you have just a basic grasp of a language
Finally, and most importantly, do not stress too much. While the whole year abroad application process might seem time-consuming and challenging at first, I can assure you that it is not actually that difficult. There are lots of people, from your school’s exchange tutor to the team at Go Global, who will be there to support you throughout the entire process. And, if your circumstances change, you can always change your mind and back out at any time. So, I would really recommend taking some time to investigate the opportunities and consider doing a year abroad; start by attending the Go Global fair on the 23 October – it will give you an excellent introduction to what a year abroad is like, and the application process. Doing a year abroad is probably one of the best opportunities offered by this university, and it is definitely worth considering.
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