Student experiences

USA and Canada

Amelia Lunnon, North Carolina State University

"My study abroad experience in North Carolina State, was extremely rewarding and challenging at the same time. It was definitely the opportunity of a lifetime that I will never forget! I challenged myself to try something new, so I learnt how to sail by joining the sailing club where I met and made friends for life."

Read Amelia's full story (PDF)

Eddy Battaglia, North Carolina State University

"Best choice I ever made."

Australia and New Zealand

Nadar Abdalla, Victoria University of Wellington

"Time flies! It’s hard to believe that my six months as an exchange student have come to an end. Studying abroad is not an easy decision and that is exactly why we need to do it. I encourage you to do what is difficult and step out of your comfort zone. It is a once in a lifetime experience. I have laughed until I cried, and I have cried until I learned to laugh. I really wish I could get a chance to stay here for another year. I want to say thank you to my friends who made my experience so unforgettable and I have made friends for life."

Chelsey King, Virtual study exchange with University of Wollongong​

"While I believe the most valuable take away from my study abroad would be the more global outlook I’ve gained, I am also incredibly thankful for the people I met during my exchange... If you are debating whether to undertake a study exchange, I would highly recommend it; whether you will be completing it remotely or in-person, the experience will be valuable."

Read Chelsey's full story (PDF)

Europe

Megan Tomlinson, L'Université Catholique de Lille

“While studying in Lille, I made some amazing friends and I got the chance to travel to Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Bruge, Nice, Monaco and Barcelona. Best 10 months of my life!”

Vicky Hill-Chalmers, Stockholm University

“I would recommend the experience to anyone- I made some stellar friends and had an amazing time on my year abroad.”

Sharna Piercy, Universidad de Cádiz

"There are so many things that I took away from this experience that will continue to help me in the future, but the biggest takeaway has to be my increased self-confidence. This experience proved to me that I can solve problems independently in a completely different context to what I am used to as this is what I was most nervous about before travelling. Now I feel even more confident to put this into practice in other areas of my life."

Read Sharna's full story (PDF)

Vickie Houlihan

Study exchange at Otto-Friedrich Universität in Bamberg, Germany and Copywriter and Content Assistant for VeryChic in Barcelona, Spain

"Exploring new countries, increasing my language knowledge, and making friends for life has made me a more open-minded and independent person, with the confidence to tackle new challenges from a place of enthusiasm, not fear."

Read Vickie's full story (PDF)

Valentina Lopez-Yanes Redivo, University of Bologna​

"Studying abroad is an experience like no other. It is an adventure that makes you get out of your comfort zone and push you to your limits!"

Read Valentina's full story (PDF)

Sam Moffoot, University of Copenhagen

"The foreign setting forced me out of my comfort zone and to not rely on the usual support systems I would at home, as a result, I was led to learn many useful but often overlooked life skills such as budgeting, registering a business and completing taxes as I undertook work alongside my studies. Secondly in the academic sense, the learning environment and subject content of the University courses pushed me to apply myself to be the best I could, learning valuable academic lessons, enhancing my competency in research methods and apprehension of political theories which I can apply to my ongoing studies at Surrey to accomplish my academic goals."

Read Sam's full story (PDF)

Asia

Alisa Kurtcenovskaia, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

"My exchange semester in Hong Kong has been one of the most rich and amazing experiences in my life. I have learnt a lot, not only in terms of academic studies, but also about building personal connections and different cultures."