I've studied abroad in
England. Here's my 2cents:
If you're reading this, you're probably contemplating studying abroad
in England.
As you no doubt already know, there are plenty of ways to go about
doing this. You can go through your college's or university's
study abroad office or do independently. The former is, of
course, the easiest. You have an adviser who does the hard work
for you. However, if your college or university lets you organise
a study abroad semester or year yourself, you could save up to $20,000.
This article outlines how to organise your study abroad yourself.
I did it myself to study a year at University College London.
Think about where you
want to study abroad:
The top
destinations for North America study abroad students are
University of London, Oxford University, Cambridge University and
University of Edinburgh in Scotland. However, these universities
are not always the best fit for people. The best example is
journalism. A better fit may be to study at the Journalism Centre
at Harlow College or the renowned journalism department at University
of Cardiff. That being said if you are studying engineering or
physics, Cambridge University and Imperial College (of the University
of London) are good traditional fits. Though, the chemistry
department at University of Bristol is exceptional. Another
example is international relations. Perhaps the best
international relations program is at University of Aberystwyth in
Wales, which is hardly known to American students. However, it
draws top international relations students from all over the
world. Though the traditional choices of Oxford and the London
School of Economics are excellent as well. Living in a smaller
city like Nottingham, Aberystwyth, or Cambridge can many times be
extremely rewarding.
Find out how much
visiting student tuition is for a semester or year:
For
example, a year at UCL as a visiting affiliate student is
£10,920 (approximately $20,000). Though, Aberystwyth is
£8100 ($15,000). Room and board and books ends up being
much cheaper outside of Southern England. Wales would cost
$10,000 to live in for a year while London is easily $13-$15,000
depending on where you live and how much you eat out. All in all,
$25 - $35,000 is still generally much less than the average $45,000 an
average American university charges a year with room and board,
allowing you to save up to $20k. You should know that Cambridge
and Oxford charge an extra $4000 or so for College fees, making these
two options the most expensive (though they look good on a resume).
Apply directly to the
British University's study abroad or international students office
Many times, you
don't have to pay to apply when you apply directly to a
British University's study abroad or international students
office. If you go through an American company, they usually
charge quite a lot in application fees.
When you've been
accepted, call or e-mail the British University
Ask them to
arrange your accommodation in dorms (called halls of
residence) if possible or in a shared cheap student house. If you
are going to a small University, they sometimes even pick you up from
the airport.
Lastly, arrange payment
and insurance
You will need to convert money into UK sterling and wire it directly to
the University. If you have an account with HSBC, Citibank, or
Fidelity, this is generally pretty easy. Also, if you live in New
York City, you can usually do the transaction through a British bank
such as Barclays or Lloyds in New York. Otherwise, almost all
American banks have the facility to wire money to the UK.
However, make sure you are not being ripped off on the conversion
rate. You can find out the up-to-the-minute conversion rates here.
Make sure you get full travel insurance for your study abroad.
This is extremely critical in case anything happens while you are in
the UK. You will not otherwise be covered if your expensive
laptop gets stolen or your travellers cheques dissappear.
