Well, it seems as if my time abroad has finally started to run out, and so has my time with this column. Classes at The University of Edinburgh ended last week, and now we have a month off to study before exams. The daffodils are blooming all around the city and sometimes the sun manages to peek through the clouds. Edinburgh is slowly inching its way toward summer, and for me, that means a return to the United States.
I’ve written a lot this past year on all there is to do while you’re abroad. As my own experience draws to a close, I hope this article can help you begin your own journey toward taking advantage of all that is out there in the big, wide world. The first step toward studying abroad comes in the form of picking a place.
USC offers study-abroad programs for nearly every major, from Roski School of Art and Design’s direct partnership with the University of the Arts London to Marshall School of Business’ wide variety of business school programs to Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences’ offering of over 60 programs in over 25 countries. Check the information pages for your school and see which countries interest you. There’s bound to be a destination for everyone.
I was drawn to Edinburgh because it is a direct enrollment program at a partner university, so I would really be living the United Kingdom student experience for a year. Similarly, the city’s location is the perfect jumping-off point for other European adventures. The academics also matched well with my major, and I knew I wanted to try out the U.K. school system before applying to graduate school.
Then, decide if you’d like to do a semester or yearlong experience. I’m an advocate for the yearlong experience because I think it allows you to integrate better. You can spread out travel dates and explore your new city rather than bouncing from country to country every weekend. Furthermore, you can get involved with clubs and form deeper connections. Edinburgh has a wide variety of societies, from the Bad Film Society to the Literature Society.
Once you’ve picked your program and decided on the length, make sure you’ve fulfilled all requirements before applying. Look through the course list from your chosen university and make sure there are classes that interest you and will transfer. Make sure to get letters of recommendation from professors who can talk about your discipline and adaptability.
Going abroad means a whole host of challenges that you don’t encounter in day-to-day life at USC, like speaking in a foreign language or navigating a new currency system. Incorporate your willingness to try new things into your personal statement and show that you’ve researched your destination and know what you’re heading into.
Once you’ve successfully made it through the laborious process of applying, now you’ve got to consider what you’re actually going to do while abroad. My biggest piece of advice to anyone considering studying abroad is this: Be open. Be open to new people, new experiences and new cultures.
Be prepared for a different style of teaching, professors with a new angle on old material and classmates who come from a completely foreign background. Never say no to a concert or a pub invitation, make the first move and ask the person sitting next to you in class for coffee, and go to museums on your own. In order to take advantage of everything that study abroad has to offer, you must be open.
One way to familiarize yourself with a new place is by watching vlogs. I watched many vlogs from study abroad and full-time students at Edinburgh before I left and made notes of which coffee places they frequented, which touristy things they actually liked to do and more.
You can learn a lot about the daily rhythms of a city and a university by watching someone else live it. For those who want to study in Edinburgh, I’d recommend Waterstones on Princes Street as one of the best places to get coffee, with its view of the castle and The Scotch Whisky Experience, which is like the Disneyland of whiskey.
Similarly, download apps and look at the Instagram accounts of businesses in your chosen city. For Europe, the Resident Advisor app is useful for seeing what clubs are like. RA will tell you which DJs are performing where and what kind of music they are playing. This can be helpful for figuring out where you want to go in the first few weeks.
Additionally, by simply typing in your city’s name followed by “thrift” or “concert” on Instagram or TikTok, you can find out about more local places to check out before you even step foot in the new country.
My last piece of advice, for those of you ready to begin the study abroad journey and find things to do, is to talk to people who’ve already done it. I’m sure that anyone who has studied abroad is more than willing to answer a few questions about where to go and what to do.
Once you’ve spent a little while living in a new place, somewhere in between getting groceries and going to class it starts to feel like home. You know the streets like the back of your hand, and you know which spots to avoid and where to frequent.
Your study-abroad city will nudge its way into your heart, carve out a little space there and then never leave — and you will be all the better for it. My own study-abroad experience has changed me in myriad ways. I’m more confident, more sure of what I want to do in the future, more adventurous and more open to meeting new people from all over the world.
I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to document my travels with this column, and hopefully it has inspired some of you to take the plunge yourselves. I’m going to miss all the wonderful people I’ve met and the life I’ve made for myself abroad, but I know that it’s time to move forward. Edinburgh will always be my second home.
Hannah Contreras is a junior writing about her experiences abroad in Europe. Her column, “Notes from Abroad,” runs every other Friday.