Courtney (Sem 2, 2023)

My Exchange at The University of British Columbia

I found out about the 360 international exchange during O-week when was in first year and since then I planned on doing an exchange. Arriving in Vancouver it was really exciting to be in a city where no-one knew me, which was also very scary. Luckily through the 360 pre-departure sessions I knew a couple of New Zealand students who were also going to UBC so they became some very close friends that I ended up becoming very close to. 

I found the courses at UBC significantly easier than UoA and I really enjoyed the campus life. With all my friends staying on campus it was really fun to live life together even when we weren’t in the same classes. Everyone in my classes were very nice and I made some lifelong friends and met my boyfriend in my UBC classes. The hall I was staying in was very nice and everyone was really friendly. 

The food was really expensive, even more so than Auckland which was a struggle trying to budget for that. But the food was good quality and really conveniently located on campus. There was a student run food mart which sold food for the wholesale price and that was the place that I shopped for food. I highly recommend for any student going to UBC to check out the grocery store in the sustainability building.

I really enjoyed how there were so many places close by to travel to and this was the highlight of my exchange, travelling with my friends around the west coast. It was so convenient how close USA was and how easy it was to drive across the border. There were so many cool things to see in the area and it was so much fun having the flexibility to be able to go places on any given weekend. 

A challenge of my exchange was homesickness which I felt really strong in the first month. I would say I overcame this by calling my parents, family and friends frequently when I felt homesick, and remembering that the exchange was just for a time. In the last 2 months this changed into the realisation that I would be leaving Canada so I challenged with leaving all the friends and people that I met. I overcame this by just making the most of the time I had with the people in Canada and not thinking about the fact I was leaving too much. 

Q&A

What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?

One of the highlights of the academic experience was the amount of collaboration that was encouraged and used in the classes at UBC. Nearly all of my classes had group projects and class collaborative discussions and I found this really enjoyable as I was able to interact and meet more people in my classes than I would normally, which helped me form lasting friendships.

Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?

I would recommend hiking in the mountains and forests surrounding UBC and Vancouver as the nature was stunning and so unique to that part of the world. Being able to see lakes, the ocean, hills and city all within an hours hike of each other was really special.

What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?

1. To travel in the weekends: there are so many amazing sights in the local vicinity such as Vancouver Island and Seattle that are super accessable if you rent a car or take public transport

2. To live on or near campus: campus is so stunning and big it would have been really hard to commute daily

3. To get involved during imagine day: that was where I found majority of my friends on the first day of school as it ws such a cool environment to meet other exchange students. 

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 $20,000 for my exchange but I only ended up using around $14000.

Budgeting for spending more than I was likely to spend was really helpful as it gave me freedom to go places on short notice and really make the most of the experience.

What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?

To really put yourself out there, because at the end of the exchange you will leave no matter whether people like you or not so if you go out and be yourself and make the most of it, you will end up doing things you enjoy and finding people that you like.