My Exchange at King’s College London
I first found out about the 360 exchange programme in my first year of Global Studies when I was strongly encouraged by Hilary – the past Global Studies coordinator, to take part in my exchange in my second year of university so I could bring back what I learnt overseas and apply to the course Global 300.
When I first arrived in London, I was so excited to have the opportunity to live in one of the best cities in the world for six months. Apart from taking a while to learn how to use the tube, I settled in pretty quickly thanks to my amazing flatmate who had already been studying at Kings for two years. The campus at Kings is also amazing, its right in the heart of central London and is only a ten minute walk away from Soho, Convent Garden and Chinatown – which was perfect for uni lunches.
Unfortunately, accommodation at KCL was not guaranteed for exchange students so I had to find a flat to join. I would recommend first trying applying for Kings accommodation though as soon as rooms are released as this would have saved me a lot of stress and worry about finding somewhere to live for when I arrived. If it happens you do miss out like I did, I would try finding something on the ‘KCL flatmate finder’ page on Facebook – that’s how I found my flat. I would also not stress to much if something seems quite far from campus – the tube and buses are amazing so you’d have no problem commuting in and would probably save a lot of money compared to living somewhere close to campus. Elephant and Castle was a big student area for flatting when I was there. Also, expect to pay double what you’d pay in Auckland for half the size of your room, London accommodation is notoriously expensive but in my opinion, it was worth it for the lifestyle over there.
The courses and teaching style was a lot more intensive than what I have ever experienced at UoA. You would never get away with not doing your readings for your tutorials at Kings but the support your tutors give you is amazing, they are really invested in helping you and having the motivation to do my readings really paid off in the end. My tutorials were also heavily discussion based you can tell at Kings they really want students to become confident to talk about and argue the content we had learned in lectures. As a student of international relations I had such a wide variety of courses to pick from, which made me really enthusiastic to learn as most of the courses I took are not offered at UoA. Another thing I would recommend is enrolling in classes straight away as they fill up extremely fast, I think I had to give Kings about ten different options when I was only taking four courses which seemed extreme at the time but turned out to be worth it as most of them had already filled up by the time I submitted my choices.
I loved being based in London as it was the perfect location to be able to travel around Europe. The transportation is so excellent you could hop on the Eurostar at Kings Cross and be in Belgium an hour later. London itself was also amazing, its definitely a city you’ll never get bored in, I felt like every weekend I was going to see a new museum or art gallery. I also lived very close to Borough Market which I definitely recommend going to for a mid-week lunch – it’s the best market food you’ll eat in your entire life. Apart from the food and museums, you’ll never be lost trying to find a pub to go to for a pint with your mates after a long, hard day of classes. I would even go as far to say going to the pub in London is a part of their culture, they even get so full there will be people standing outside with their drinks in the middle of winter. Something I also miss about London is how much is always going on, especially at Christmas time. There was so much to do whether it was ice skating right next to the Kings building, or having a night in Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park (think Rainbows End but ten times bigger).
I won’t say much about the cost of living except to expect to pay double for pretty much everything you would in Auckland – eating out, rent etc. The public transport is definitely worth it though, so at least you’ve got that and the prices of drinks and groceries are about the same price if not cheaper.
Another thing I loved about Kings was the amazing sports culture. I joined the social netball team for the semester I was there and got introduced to so many people that way. The exec would also organise socials every week that you could go to whether that was a wine and paint night or going out for dinner. All the sports teams at Kings also go to the student bar on Guys campus every Wednesday night which puts Shad’s to shame.
I loved the whole my exchange but if I had to pick my highlight it would definitely be the opportunity I got to travel so much around Europe. I was lucky enough to travel before and after my exchange so both in summer and winter. At one stage I ended up island hopping in Greece for two months at the end of summer, then fast forward four months later and I’m skiing in Swiss Alps. The opportunities of how much culture and different countries you can expose yourself to seem endless, even after all the time I had there my bucket list has just seemed to have gotten longer. Travelling is also an amazing way to meet people – when I was in Turkey I met two girls from Aussie and we all got along so well that they came and stayed with me in London a couple of months later and at the end of the year I’m going to go visit them in Sydney.
Despite the good times there were also some challenges along the way. I think the biggest hurdle I faced was missing my friends, even though you instantly make friends with other exchange students and people you meet travelling sometimes you just want to be around people who know you and you are close to. But saying that, once you remember what an incredible experience you are being exposed to it helps put the way you’re feeling in perspective.
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
The variety of courses offered, and being exposed to so many more things I was interested in made me more passionate and motivated to learn.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
Yes! I would recommend joining a social sports team, it’s a great way to meet people and holds you accountable to stay active.
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
1. Apply for things as soon as they open (courses, accom etc.)
2. Find a good routine to stay on top of your studies and be active
3. Say yes to every opportunity that comes your way
How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?
I budgeted about 10k on top of my rent, for four months worth of travelling and another three months of living costs when I was living in London. It just depends on what kind of experience you want to have, if travelling isn’t a priority you obviously won’t need to save as much. For me, I got to do all the things I wanted to and stayed within my budget. The only recommendation I have is to save money where you can like cooking for yourself. Personally, I also think you have no need to take ubers or taxis in Europe because the public transport is so good unless its for your safety e.g. landing in a new city in the middle of the night.
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
I think the biggest I learnt, especially when travelling was that I went into it being super cautious and not trusting people and even though it’s important to have your wits about you when travelling, the reality is that most people in the world are good and are happy to help to you.
Tags: 2022, Global Studies, Report