Arcadia England

There is lots of advice out there on how to prepare for your time studying abroad. But who better to tell you how to prepare, than a study abroad student who is currently coming to the end of her semester in London.

Ally Canfield is a student from Arcadia University who has spent the last four months in London on the First Year Study Abroad Programme. We asked Ally what advice she would pass on to future students preparing to study abroad.

15 things to help your study abroad experience

By Ally Canfield

1. Keep a journal or blog​. It will be so much fun to look back on them later and remember everything. It’s a great way to have words to go with the many many pictures you will (and should) take. Side note: Make sure you have storage on your phone for all the pictures or bring a camera. It’s no fun having that message pop up saying you’re out of storage.
2. Make a list of the thin​gs you really want to see and do. Then plan when to see and do these things. This was how I was able to do over 100 fun things this semester from attending Christmas markets, festivals, and traveling. Time Out is a great site for finding out what is going on in London when you have free time.
3. Write down your due​ dates and field trips as soon as you get your syllabus. This is so important because then you know what weekends are available to travel.
4. ​Travel during reading week. It is the perfect way to spend the week off and de-stress from the midterms you just finished. Return when you want, but returning early really helped in being able to do laundry, get groceries, and relax. 
5. ​If you start to feel sick go see a doctor ASAP. It is no fun being sick away from home, let alone in a foreign country. It’s free to go thanks to your HTH Health Insurance and it will help you in the long run to go sooner rather than later.
6. Take at least one day of the semester to do absolutely nothing. Let me explain. I wrote this quote down from one of the papers we had to read before coming over and it said something along the lines of, “Every moment spent on the computer, at your desk, and in your room is a moment not spent interacting with new friends, exploring and taking full advantage. I let this quote control me for the first month. I felt guilty anytime I wasn’t taking “full advantage”. I am so glad I saw the error in that quote because you can’t be go go go all the time. Your body will need rest and London will still be waiting for you after you get it.
7. Subscribe to TFL updates and download Citymapper. First, TFL updates are so helpful to know when lines are closed or having severe delays all the time (Piccadilly line, I’m looking at you). Second, Citymapper is so helpful! It gives you several options on how to get where you are going (useful when you don’t know where anything is the first week) and is super easy to use.
8. ​Getting a monthly travelcard on your Student Oyster Card is worth it. Believe me it is. 
9. Get a SIM card for you​r phone. GiffGaff will send one for free and then you pick the plan that works best for you. 
10. Bring something to ​read, do, or listen to on the tube. A tube ride more than 2 stops will be over 5 minutes. It’s a great time to do the readings for school (or read for fun), play a game on your phone, listen to your music, or just think.
11. Bring noise canceling​ headphones if you have them. My dad kindly lent me his noise canceling headphones for the flight, but they ended up being helpful all semester in falling asleep. Ear plugs will also work great, I didn’t bring any and wished I had. 
12. ​Don’t lose your key (or your Oyster Card).  I ended up having to pay £30 for losing my room key that I dropped somewhere on the tube two weeks before we flew home. 
13. Find something you​ love at home and do it here. This is probably a tip I can’t express enough! It helped me so much to volunteer like I did at home and to join a church group. I felt at home and made great friendships with people I wouldn’t have met otherwise.
14. Try to meet locals.​ I met some at a festival I attended, from my church group, and others in my program have met people when going out and while traveling. It’s so fun and people are nice! I can’t imagine my semester without the new people I met.
15. TIME FLIES.​ At first you won’t think it is and then you're sitting reflecting on things you learned with 10 days until your flight leaves. It goes fast, so make the most of it. Have fun and experience all that the UK has to offer