Year abroad

[Bowbridge]

I am interested in hearing about how studying for a year abroad goes?

How easy was finding accommodation? How does tuition fees work for that year? Is there much support or is it sink or swim?

DD is considering a 3rd year in Washington DC.

I think it depends on the arrangements the University has.
The other way round but dd made very good friends with someone coming to the UK on a similar sandwich year, and she also had 2 other students in her first year flat who were doing the same.
Their university looked after them well as they had quite a well established programme set up and it was quite a selling point for a relatively small university.

At one of the universities DD looked at they said that they only considered students with high entry grades and an excellent academic record. Basically a year abroad can be a but of a set back as it is similar to being a first year in terms of settling in.

The year abroad that isn’t a mandatory element of the course is usually offered only to high flyers that will cope and it won’t affect their results. It is also worth checking what the year involves in terms of academic work. Does it count? Does the uk student have to write about an aspect of their study abroad for their home university or take exams whilst abroad?

The non Erasmus exchanges usually mean you take the place of a student who comes to the uk university. There is no charge by either university. Lodging abroad can be tricky and you should look at what the host university says it offers for incoming exchange students. Some offer accommodation and some don’t. Your DD can also see her exchange staff at the university and ask. Also trawl through “3rd year abroad” and other web sites that offer first hand student experience of destinations. It’s a great thing to do and seriously boosts the cv!

First of all,

Washington DC is an amazing place and definitely a go to place for study abroad.

The advantages of a study abroad is that it looks really good on the CV, great talking point in graduate scheme job interviews and your DD will learn a lot of life skills and experience from participating in it.

Generally I believe the work will contribute towards her degree but depends on her University! I remember when I considered a year abroad in America, they had 4 modules per semester so it meant more work. Also the way they were assessed was different. In Scotland, at my university you got three modules instead of 4 every semester but also in America they had weekly quizzes, mid term exams and final exams where as in Scotland you only have final exams.

I suppose if your DD is very hard working, gets good grades, this all should not be a problem for her though. In terms of costs, most of the cost will be covered by your DD. I believe she will not have to pay tuition but the cost of accommodation, food, spending money will be on her. However, if your in Scotland and get SAAS or a student loan in England (I am not 100% sure about England).

The best thing to do is go to the website for the University she intends to study at. Some students find a semester abroad instead of a whole year a lot cheaper. Sometimes the rates of accommodation on campus are not that bad as most US universities do include meal plans so her food and board may be covered.

Generally if she can overcome the financial challenges and be sorted that way then I would 100% recommend it.

The maximum maintenance loan for a year abroad is £9963 (vs £8700 'living away from home outside London' rate) for the current academic year, according to the Student Finance page on the gov.uk website.

www.gov.uk/student-finance/continuing-fulltime-students?step-by-step-nav=18045f76-ac04-41b7-b147-5687d8fbb64a

It’s frequently a better deal financially if you can get university accommodation. In Switzerland my DD moved into a room a student had vacated who had gone to the USA for a semester. It was almost half the price of staying in a private room in Geneva. Washington will be quite expensive because it’s a desirable place to study so good accommodation will be in high demand, therefore if the university offers accommodation, I would apply for it. I would also try and go. It definitely enhances the cv!

Thank you for all the sage advice, especially deadliftgirl's lengthy post.

Would she be studying at one of the local universities like Georgetown or American or does her uni in the UK have a branch campus?

Most US uni's do s semester abroad, not a full year, unless you are at a branch campus where you can continue to take required courses in your academic major.

As others have said, Washington is lovely and a great place to study. The cultural attractions, like the Smithsonian and the National Symphony are first rate. The weather is mild in the winter and hot and humid in the summer. I've been told that British diplomats there receive a pay differential for serving in a tropical zone, but that might be apocryphal.

It sounds like a lovely opportunity for her.

It’s not particularly mild in winter! 2ft snowfall after we left one December!

Missconduct, it would be George Washington University and Politics/ International Affairs specialism.

GWU is a really top university with a lovely campus and very good housing options. It's a wonderful opportunity for your DD.

Do check into the housing options. It's in a very posh area so if she has to rent privately it will be expensive.

Dd has chosen her university because she can go and study abroad for a semester, it counts towards her degree without adding an extra year to her degree. The university also has a hall for second year students going abroad so that solves the problem of accommodation which was the problem I faced when I wanted to study abroad.

Which university is that? It sounds a great set up.

It isLiverpool University