King's Study Abroad Stories – Page 5 – Student experiences written by outbound and inbound King's study abroad students

Meet your Peer Advisor: Aitana!

We have four brand spanking new Peer Advisors to help both incoming and outgoing Study Abroad students this academic year! If you’ve got a question for them, pop along to their office hours.

Aitana will be in K0.57 on Friday mornings from 11-1.

Hi, my name is Aitana and I’m one of your Global Mobility Peer Advisors for the 2023/2024 academic year!

I am currently a fourth-year Biomedical Sciences student here at King’s. I just came back from my year abroad at Johns Hopkins University, located in Baltimore, US. For those of you that have never heard of it before (don’t worry, I hadn’t either), Baltimore is a city in between New York City and Washington DC.

Growing up, I moved around every 3 to 5 years (which was, as one would expect, exciting yet incredibly stressful). I had even moved away from my home in Switzerland to attend university here in London. I had however never been so far away from my family and friends; after all, Baltimore is a whole transatlantic journey away. Yes, it was scary and overwhelming at first, but (thankfully) I wasn’t alone! The Peer Advisors at Johns Hopkins helped me through every challenge I encountered, big or small, whether it was advising me on where to go grocery shopping or helping me navigate the university’s complicated system for choosing classes.

Going abroad was one of the best decisions I have ever made; it challenged me in ways I never expected and helped me grow so much as an individual. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity, and hope that you will feel the same about your own study abroad experience.

Ice skating on the JHU campus (I’m in the colourful trousers)

Now, some tips and tricks about studying in London…

London is an amazing, vibrant city with lots to offer students; I like to think of it as the New York City of Europe! I truly believe that it has something out there for everyone. If you like to go to museums, and exhibitions, you have lots (and most of them are free for students!). You can check out the Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate Modern, and even go to some cool immersive exhibitions like Dopamine Land, Dali cybernetics or the Van Gogh exhibit. If you’re more of a go to a park and paint or read a book kind of person, there are lots of pretty parks around London; Regent’s, St James’, Holland park, Kensington gardens, Hampstead Heath…If you’d rather do all the touristy things people first think of when they think of London, you can do that too! You can check out the London eye, Buckingham Palace, or even go on a guided tour in one of those big, red buses.

While all of this can be incredibly overwhelming, you are not alone! You have us Peer Advisors at your disposal, and you’ll be going through this experience alongside a big group of exchange students that are just as excited and overwhelmed as you are.

I’m very grateful that I get to be a part of your study abroad experience and very excited to meet you all and hear your stories!

Farewell from the Peer Advisors

The 2022-23 Peer Advisors end their roles with us this week. On their behalf, Conor has written a ‘goodbye’ post. We in Global Mobility thank them for their work and will miss them!

In the blink of an eye, the end of the academic year is upon us. Exams begin in the upcoming weeks and the summer sunshine has returned (or at least, it has in theory but not always in reality! The joys of UK weather). All of this means that our time as Peer Advisors with the Global Mobility Office is also drawing to a close. Before we finish, however, we thought it would be appropriate to offer an insight into what we have taken away from this year and the many things we have learned through our time working in the office.

The first thing to point out is that no job would be even half as fun without the work colleagues who brighten up a dark and wintry Monday morning. The Global Mobility Office is no different. Each and every member of staff has an interesting story to tell to make you smile, is on hand to make a coffee when it is most needed, or is just there to seek advice from when things aren’t going your way (in my case, most frequently with regards to the technology aspect of the job!).

Working in the Global Mobility Office has been a learning curve for each of us and has given us an insight into not only the work of this particular office but also the working world generally. We have all come to understand the significance of the work that is done here; work which affords King’s students an unrivalled opportunity to study in foreign destinations all over the globe and equally gives students from all over the globe that same opportunity to study here in London. Additionally, Peer Advisors were given the responsibility of completing tasks that affect the nature of a student’s study abroad period, such as assisting incoming students with their timetabling queries, producing a podcast to discuss concerns students may have, writing promotional Instagram posts about some of the fantastic universities King’s is partnered with, reviewing students’ study abroad applications and so much more. All of this, we sincerely hope, has benefitted a great many students, and this work will continue in the coming years when new Peer Advisors take up their roles.

Continue reading “Farewell from the Peer Advisors”

Finding Accommodation Abroad (Part 2)

We know many of you are worried about finding accommodation for a single semester abroad, so we asked Peer Advisors Raza and Emily (who both went through it!) about their experience and what advice they’d share. Here’s what Emily had to say…

When I first learnt that I secured my spot at the University of Sydney for my semester abroad I was elated! But soon I felt a bit overwhelmed by all the admin that needed to be arranged before I left, especially finding accommodation. However, the process was much easier than I anticipated and the host university was really helpful in supporting me through the process. I was asked to select my top three preferences for accommodation and soon after, they let me know that I secured my place at my first choice at the wonderful Queen Mary Building, one of the biggest student residences in the city.

Going into the research process, I already knew that I wanted to stay on campus in halls as I liked the social aspect of it and the 24/7 security appealed to me too! However, in Australia, it seemed more common for students to rent privately. Some of my close friends stayed in private housing and still had a fantastic time. I often visited their flat and was sometimes jealous of the homely feel that their apartment had over the halls where I was staying! When they were hunting for somewhere to live, I think they made sure to source their property from a trusted agency and asked for a viewing of the property online before paying any deposit. It can be easy for scammers to take advantage, especially when you’re trying to arrange your accommodation from overseas, but I think using a reputable agency is a surefire way to avoid this. If you’re ever in doubt, the host university is always there to help you in these situations also!

Continue reading “Finding Accommodation Abroad (Part 2)”

Finding Accommodation Abroad (Part 1)

For my study abroad experience, I went to the National University of Singapore and I had the most fantastic time! In the months prior to studying abroad, I was super worried about accommodation. If that feeling is resonating with you, fear no longer and keep on reading! Hopefully this post should ease some of those tensions…

As my semester abroad was taking place in semester 2, I needed to find London accommodation for semester 1 only. At the end of my first year, I began to look for private accommodation on a rolling contract, meaning that I could leave my accommodation at my convenience with 1 months’ notice. This is something which I recommend other outgoing students to consider. It could be student accommodation or private accommodation. Looking back, I would try to secure a spot at King’s Residences for 1 semester only. You could liaise with other study abroad students and perhaps buddy up, through groups such as KCL Flatmate Finder on Facebook which is something else I considered. If you are looking at private accommodation in London and unsure of its legitimacy you can always reach out to KCL Money and Housing Advice. I have used them before and they are extremely supportive!

Continue reading “Finding Accommodation Abroad (Part 1)”

Pack your bags and… Wait!

Peer Advisor Emilie has been working hard on a new project: Global Mobility’s first podcast! Each episode, she will be talking to study abroad students, past and present, about their experiences all around the world — from homesickness to finance t making friends.

Listen to the trailer for Pack your bags and… Wait! above. Episode 1 will be coming soon. We can’t wait for you to hear it!