My Exchange at The University of Nottingham – Law
I entered the exchange program as a 5th-year Law student needing to do something a little bit different. I ended up on exchange in England at the University of Nottingham. I lived on campus in a 250-person catered hall and had a blast. While the food was pretty bad (England right?) but the people and the accommodation itself was wonderful. Nottingham had quite a diverse range of people and a good mix of local and exchange students! Nottingham is a really green university and there was plenty of space to be outside which I loved. Classes were close by and you could walk to everything whch was amazing, Nottingham had the added bonus of being a sports uni and with living in hall all the sports activities and the gym were included! I picked up netball and archery as well as regular gymming. Classes were, on a whole, pretty similar to NZ, so I didn’t have any trouble adjusting to the differences. Nottingham is alot like Otago in the sense that it is a student city and has a large nightlife, however, if youre like me and tend not to go out there were lots of other options. The University also had a lot of student organisations and clubs, every sport you could like, hobbies, crafts, even things like medieval combat and bell ringing! The other benefit of a UK university was that it was so close to everything. You could take a day trip to most major cities in the UK, and the rest of Europe was just a short and cheap flight away. I visited over 20 cities in my time abroad. Travel was particularly cheap, and lots of things were a lot cheaper than I expected. The biggest expense was non-pub food, going out anywhere that wasnt a pub did tend to be quite expensive. Overall I had a fanatatic time and would recommend!
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
There were significantly fewer assignments and exams than back here at UoA. At Nottingham, for most people, all papers are marked on a single piece of work at the end of the semester, either an exam or essay, which I found made the semester a lot less stressful.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
Get involved in sports and clubs, it’s a great way to make friends, keep active and if you join the Travel club which I highly recommend, a great way to travel the UK and Europe.
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
1. Be prepared for the change in food. I found catered Halls to range from not great to pretty good, if you are living in a catered Hall just be prepared to sometimes be heading off to a pub afterwards. (Though there are usually salads and fries!) If you care about what you are eating I would recommend choosing a non-catered hall.
2. Come with the mindset to get involved. Go to the common rooms, joins in on events and join as many clubs and sports as you can. This is the best way to get connected and make friends as well as fill your time. I found I had heads of spare time, so having things to do definitely helped stave away any boredom or homesickness.
3. Travel before the semester if you can. If you are planning to travel, which is going to the UK, you really should. Definitely plan any really big trips before the semester. After mine, I did 5 weeks through Europe, and while amazing, I definitely felt that after exams, I kinda just wanted to rest and go home rather than get going again. Also travel as much during the semster as you can, day trips, weekends and just random blocks during the week, there is so much around if you are flexible. We even did a day trip to Ireland!
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?
Take more than you think you need. You never know what option, experience or adventure might pop up! A good rule of thumb is that whatever you paid in return flights and accommodation at your university take at least the same amount for while you are there. If you intend to do any big blocks of travel before or after you will need to take more for that as well. My flights and accommodation cost 8.5K and I took the same amount which covered 5 weeks of additional travel and my costs and adventures while on exchange. Lastly, have an emergency fund. I would recommend having $1000 in a separate bank account for real emergencies, completely out-of-the-blue things. I ended up needing new glasses on exchange near the end and without this money I would have been in trouble!
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
There is so much to do. There are so many people to meet, places to visit, and sights to explore that you will not have the time or money to do everything. Prioritise what you really want to do and don’t be afraid to do things on your own!
Do you want to share anything about travels you did outside your host city/country?
If going on exchange anywhere in Europe make sure to travel. One of the best ways for during the semester was to find dates we had free then go on Ryanair or Skyscanner, put the dates in and sort by cheapest! Don’t plan the destination, plan the budget! This made it so much more affordable and I went places I would have never even thought about!
Final Comments
Don’t be afraid to do strange and new things. Go on that trip with that person you met in your dorm 2 weeks ago, book that cheap 5am flight to Spain, eat that weird-looking food that everyone is trying, and join the club you’ve always thought about but haven’t done yet. Just start doing things and you’ll be having too much fun to be homesick!
