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Choosing your study abroad destination

One of the most exciting (but also daunting) things about studying abroad is choosing your study abroad destination. The choices you have depend on the partnerships your uni has, which can vary. Seeing a long list of countries and unis can be overwhelming, because it’s like choosing your university all over again! Here are things you should consider when choosing where you go, and why they are so important to think about.

How far do you want to go?

Although you may want to travel far away, it’s important to consider things like time differences and term dates. If you chose a UK uni close to home because you didn’t want to be too far away, perhaps you should consider doing the same when you go abroad. There are so many amazing European unis, and with those you get the chance to travel Europe (which is really diverse and super cheap!), whilst being fairly close to home too.

Of course, you might have your heart set on a distant country for your study abroad destination – and I would obviously say go for it. Being pretty far from home teaches you so much in terms of independence and thinking for yourself.

Where can you travel from there (and how much will it cost)?

Generally, when you’re abroad you will spend a fair amount of time travelling and discovering nearby countries/cities. This obviously costs money, and naturally some parts of the world are more expensive than others. As well as this, some parts of the world are easier to travel around just because they are closer to different countries. Your personal priorities can help make this decision.

What type of experience do you want from the University?

Did you pick your home uni because it was a campus? Did you choose it because you fell in love with the city? These are things you need to consider when studying abroad. Ultimately, you’ll be spending a lot of time in the city and on campus, so you should evaluate it against the same criteria as you did with your home uni. Obviously you may not be able to go and visit, but check out their website, Google maps the city and speak to people who have been previously! Read about the uni and what societies they have, and make sure they are things you agree with/want to do.

How do you feel when you think about the country or uni?

For me, feeling genuinely excited about going to Canada was enough to tell me that it was where I wanted to go. If there are countries or parts of the world that you’ve always want to go to, now is your chance! This is one of those times where you should follow your heart – it will probably be right.

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