Ashleigh's Exchange to Lancaster University | England
Studying abroad was the best decision I’ve ever made. My mum and I knew from the age of 14 that I needed to do a trip like this. As I kid I travelled a lot with my family and always loved exploring new places. When we went to Europe when I was 14 years old I knew that I was in love with this place and I’ve wanted to go back ever since. The only thing that was holding me back was my studies at high school and university, as I didn’t want to postpone my studies to travel, so I guess it made sense for me to study abroad. As soon as I saw the flyers about studying abroad around campus I called my mum and said that I had to check it out and apply. Now a year later I’m so glad that I made the decision to apply.
I ended up applying to places in the UK because I’ve travelled there before and have relatives there, which made me feel a lot calmer about living in a new alone for 6 months. Applying for exchange was a lengthy process, but as soon as I got my acceptance letter it was all worth it. I ended up getting accepted at Lancaster University. Lancaster is a small town in Lancashire in the Northern area of England and is just south of the Lake district (a must see for anyone travelling to the UK).
I was worried about living on my own as I wasn’t a very sociable person back here in Perth. I rarely went clubbing and only had my close circle of friends, so this was a big step for me to get out of my shell and go somewhere where I knew no one. Now I have friends that live all over the world. From New Zealand, to Mexico, and even to Greece.
I decided to study there from January to June in 2017, so I started in the peak of their winter, and had to stock up on some winter clothes. This was a lot easier than I thought because all the old winter clothes were on sale before I left so I got a few bargains. However, it doesn’t snow much in Lancaster as it is close to the ocean, and the salty air prevents snow. But on our 4th night at the university it snowed and everyone on exchange ended up standing outside in the snow with a beer to celebrate. That was the first time I’ve ever seen snow.
At Murdoch I study Laboratory Medicine, so finding universities that had units to match my course was tough. But I am so glad that I picked Lancaster as my top preference.
Lancaster University was ranked the 6th best university in the UK for 2018 so they have a high standard of teaching and for their students. The units I took were great. The lectures always engaged in what they were teaching and always updated the lectures with current scientific findings, or mentioned the current studies that are being conducted as the UK is well known for their scientific studies. Many of the lecturers have worked alongside Nobel prize winners which I though was pretty neat. This helped me realise that the course I’m studying was definitely the one for me because the passion from the lecturers inspired me to keep going with my studies. The labs there were also amazing. The facilities were so modern with the latest equipment, and easy to use thanks to the lab instructors that were always so helpful. I enjoyed every lab as I was able to understand them and get through them easily. This was by far my favourite thing about Lancaster University. Well except for the friends I made.
Outside of the University I was able to travel a lot over the weekends and during the exam periods when I had heaps of time off. My friends and I would catch the train to Manchester, London, Edinburgh and other places.The trainlines in the UK makes it so easy to get around. I ended up catching it a lot more than I thought as I would have to catch it to the airport to go on my many adventures. In Europe you have an endless amount of choices for where you’d like to explore. The best thing I did was join a Contiki trip. This was great because I travelled to 6 different countries without the stress of transport and made so many friends, some of them I’ve already caught up with since I’ve been back from exchange.
From my semester abroad, I have grown into a more independent person and I am more confident in myself when it comes to new and foreign situations. It has made me become a more sociable person due living in a plce where I knew nobody and from travelling around Ireland by myself. It has also made me think about how I can find happiness in my life and what I do. This exchange program was by far the best thing I have ever done, and the memories I’ve made will be with me for the rest of my life.
- Ashleigh studied abroad the University of Lancaster
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