Hi I’m Jayne, and I am headed to Warwick from September 2024 to July 2025! I’m a third year history student, with an art history minor. I am super excited to be given this opportunity.
I’ll quickly go through some prompts I was given, so I can give you the full picture of how it feels to be three days from traveling across the Atlantic.
How are you feeling about studying abroad?
I am feeling fantastic right now. The most painful part of this process was the periods of hurry up and wait. Apply through USC Study Abroad, then wait to hear back. Apply to Warwick, then wait to hear back. Apply to get my visa, then shockingly only wait a week to hear back, but that one scared me the most! Now, I am mostly in that “butterfly” nervous stage where everything seems exciting and terrifying at the same time.
How did you prepare?
I’ve done a lot of work to break out of my shell and make friends before going over, and that has helped with most of my anxiety. I started posting on Warwick’s reddit page, and quickly started contact with several other international students. We created a group chat, and acting as admin has put me in contact with almost 30 students from 14 different countries and 6 continents. Any problem we encounter, we can immediately get answers for. That has been the best bit of prep
The other thing I’ve done to prepare is to send emails. If you are thinking about going abroad, be prepared to send more emails than you have ever sent in your life put together. If you have a question, it is best to ask. I was put in contact with a lot of people who were willing to help me with any and all issues I encountered. They set me up with disability services for my autism, they helped me with housing, and they even have a whole team for any problems with VISAs.
What are you nervous about?
I’m nervous about money the most. I really want to travel, and there are A LOT of hidden expenses. I had to pay about $1000 to the NHS that I hadn’t planned for, the bus pass was $550 to go around the local towns. Warwick has a partnership with UniKitOut, which will supply you with basic necessities you probably don’t want to take on the plane: kitchen supplies, bedding, towels, cleaning supplies. My box was $250 with the most basic options. Everything is more expensive due to the currency conversion. I’m currently looking to get a part time job while I’m there to offset the price a little bit.
What are you excited about?
The travel opportunities are obviously very exciting. The other international students and I have already begun planning a trip, and there’s several others I have begun to look at. I’ve never been to Europe before, so I plan to see as much as I can.
Besides that I am really looking forward to the societies. I’ve let my shyness hold me back from digging into the social life on campus at USC, which I have come to regret. I feel apprehensive joining those because I have heard a mix of experiences. Meanwhile, Warwick has a huge variety of very active clubs for anything you could imagine. My hope is that I’ll be able to join these and really make some good friends.
Well, that’s it at the moment. I hope to bring you along with me on this journey. My next update will be after I land, detailing how that experience was.
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