Elizabeth (Sem 2, 2023)

My Exchange at Queen Mary University of London

I found out about the 360 international exchange programme about three years ago. I began looking into it out of curiosity and research. Years later, I finally decided to make the call once COVID restrictions had cleared up. That led me to applying to the programme for a study abroad at Queen Mary University of London.

I had been to the UK before on holiday, but it was so different travelling to a new place on my own. I had relatives outside of London, which really eased my experience of arriving into the country, but I really got to put myself out there once I arrived in London and Queen Mary.

I was initially a bit nervous being in London, as living in Auckland my whole life I wasn’t used to such a huge city and even noticed social and cultural differences. Even though I was a little nervous, I was also so excited to start my journey. I lived on campus in student housing. There were a variety of buildings that catered for students in the student village. The house I lived in was right along the canal, and each room had its own washroom, which was a bit of a luxury, though the shower was right next to the toilet. I loved my little room, it was the perfect size for everything I needed and a great space, especially by London standards.

Orientation is a great welcome to the university; they provide you with all the information you need and all the resources if you need help. I also found that orientation week was a great opportunity to get free stuff. They had free Starbucks, tote bags, food, prizes for games. It was so much fun and is so worth taking the time to walk around and see everything that’s available.

I thought the courses at the university that I took were really interesting. I took health psychology, consumer psychology, walking the City and Art and Culture in nineteenth-century Britain and France. These were all really engaging modules, and a lot of the assignment structures of courses at this university is that you learn all the content, and you have your tests and assignments due at the end of the semester. I quite liked that it was structured like this and it helps take away from the stress.

London is such an amazing city but you definitely do need to keep your wits about you. Do not have your phone out when walking as it can be dangerous with pickpocketers. As long as you apply common sense and street smarts, you’ll have no issues. While away I had no issues with theft or any dangerous situations for that matter, but have known people that have so it is best just to be careful.

The cost of living for the campus housing I had was not too different from Auckland. So I would say if you are lucky enough to get campus housing in London, you shouldn’t be in for too much of a shock. However, regular housing can be extremely expensive so I would take that into account too. It does all depend on how early you get in and the area of course.

I took part in a lot of social gathers such as the Snow Sport society who had weekly socials. I also took part in the Psychology society which was great for meeting new people. I did also spend a lot of time traveling inside and outside the UK which was great.

Queen Mary also has a gym which was great for fitness as well as the campus being right next to park when I wanted to go for a run. Life on campus overall was great. There was always something going on or someone to go and study with. The library is open 24/7 which was great when it came around to exam and assignment time. I tended to cook for myself mostly which was great for saving and meant I could splash out and go out to dinner every now and again. The food in London is not cheap by any means but I wouldn’t say it extremely worse than Auckland. But the saying when you go to London is true, that when you are in the city youll pay London prices. Places outside of London tend to be quite cheap.

The main highlight for my exchange would be all the amazing people I got to meet and the experiences I got to share with them. I would say that if I hadn’t of found some great people to spend time with my experience would have been entirely different.

Some challenges I found on exchange was being a bit homesick to start with. Being on the other side of the world, with my support system in New Zealand being a 13-hour time difference away made it harder to keep in touch when I was missing them. This did take getting used to but I overcame it and felt less homesick while also working out a schedule to keep in touch with relatives.

Another challenge was that I had to stop converting the currency in my head. Every time I bought something, I would think about how much it was in NZD and think it was too much so I wouldn’t buy it. That also took some getting used to but I found it was better to only think in Pounds because that was the only thing I was working with for 6 months and converting did no good when it wouldn’t change the price of the items in the area I was in. I transferred all my money onto my Wise bank card and it was a lifesaver. I swear by that card being the best currency card and made me worry less about conversion rates and such.

For a student thinking about the exchange programme I would say take the chance. It is such an amazing unique experience that I think more people should get behind doing. Even if you’re scared, it doesn’t hurt to look into it and see if anything looks enticing. It’s such an amazing experience and I wouldn’t change it for a second. Take the risk because, in the end, it’s so worth it.

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Q&A

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

Being at Queen Mary was quite different to UoA in terms of academics. The structuring of the classes were typically only one session. I took a walking the city module, which was such an enriching course to learn more about the city by taking weekly trips all around to new locations that I likely would have never known about. It is such a unique course speicfic to this city. I also enjoyed the way all the modules were set out and the systems they used, every class and experience felt really hands on and easy to understand. Learning overall here was such a great experience.

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

I think its really worthwhile to join a society or club at Queen Mary. There’s so much choice to suit anyone’s interests. Being in a city like London it can feel a bit harder to make friends and connections, so its really important to put yourself out there and make the most of your time by joining groups.

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

1. I would suggest going along to an many events during orientation week as possible. A lot of societies have social nights to meet new people and its a great chance to see if your interested in any groups or even just to meet more people. Putting yourself out there and actively trying to meet new people is super important.

2. I would suggest trying to get around to an many areas in London as possible. There’s so much to be seen as explored beyond the touristy areas and well known places. Sometimes I found myself walking nearby campus and would discover a new food spot or a pop-up shop. Every area you go can feel completely different to the next and the train system makes all this travel that much easier.

3. Lastly, I would suggest making sure to make the most of London but also not forgetting there’s so much at your doorstop over there. I did small trips to other cities in the UK in my spare time, I would say putting aside some money for this if possible is so worth it. As well as Europe being right there too. Once you start to make some good friends its really special to get to do day trips with others and even on your own too. Personally, I had a free day once and took myself to Bath for the day. I explored the Roman baths on my own and the whole area, its such a freeing experience to get to do things like this with yourself.

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 just under 20k for my exchange. For me this definitely was enough but at the start of my exchange I was quite frugal with my money as I was worried if I spent too much at the start I would run out. If you were able to bring more money, I would suggest that more is better but I was able to make do and still took trips and did everything I wanted to do.

In terms of budgeting I would really suggest that future students make sure to take into account their housing costs. For Queen Mary, you pay the whole fee upfront, so it would be good to put that money aside and consider it as untouchable if you intend to travel before your exchange like I did.

I would also say that giving yourself a weekly spend amount is a great idea to give yourself an allowance for any activities or items you may want to purchase.

I would also suggest getting a wise card before you go. You can add any currency to it and it has the best rates for exchanging currency. Best purchase I made was getting one of those cards to take with me.

What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?

The study abroad experience has truly shaped the way I look at the world. It feels so much bigger being in a city like London where you can feel like your a part of something big. I learnt a lot about independence and enjoying my own company. Before this experience I wouldn’t say I was the most confident person about going out and doing things on my own. While in London I felt like I got to know a new side to me that could not have come out being surrounded by the familiarity of life in New Zealand. I also loved meeting new people and I got to learn about so much different cultures and met people from all across the world. Many of the people I met were so different from me and it was so freeing getting to share our cultures and life experiences with one another. Lastly, having lived my whole life in New Zealand I never knew much about other countries and their histories. From taking an art course that focused on 19th century Britain and France as well as a class taking me to areas around London I discovered so much I would not have typically learnt in an academic setting in New Zealand. There is so much history and knowledge to be gained from learning about the perspective and experiences in another country. Overall I am just extremely grateful for the study abroad experience and can firmly say it has shaped who I am today.

Do you want to share anything about travels you did outside your host city/country?

I traveled to many places outside of my host city while on study abroad. I took trips to Bath and Brighton where I got to discover new pockets of England that if I were on holiday I would have been unlikely to visit.

I also traveled to Dublin with a group of people from Queen Mary which was such an amazing experience.

I visited Wales, Scotland and France, taking a bit of each place with me as I went. Getting to visit these places was so remarkable as I had never been to any of these places before and really got to spend time learning about each place.

Many of the places I traveled to was with new friends I met studying abroad and are people I keep in touch with still.

Final Comments

Overall, I would say to just make the most of your time there. It doesn’t feel like it when you first get there, but the time truly does fly by. Seize every opportunity that comes your way because having an experience like this in a study abroad context is once in a lifetime, and you shouldn’t have any regrets for not doing what will make you happy. This experience is a chance to get out of your comfort zone and be whoever you want to be.

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