Piers studied in USA

Piers is a History student at Edinburgh University. He spent his third year at university in San Diego, California.

‘Edinburgh Uni provided me with everything that I needed, including a really helpful checklist that included things like how to set up bank accounts, mobile phones and visas.  Edinburgh had a series of universities that they had connections with: we chose our top five and they allocated you to one. The international office was a great help.

‘Once I had been allocated San Diego I was put into contact with California and could sort everything from there. San Diego had a few campuses so I then needed to narrow it down further.

‘My study abroad year was slightly different to most: I just needed to pass my year abroad and none of it counted towards my final degree. This has put a lot of pressure on my fourth and final year! But it meant that I could get a lot out of my year in San Diego, also I was able to do some research for my dissertation which was a useful way to spend the year.

‘Having a year abroad during your studies is daunting and a big deal but I would definitely do it again and recommend it to anyone. I think my year abroad will boost my employability. It has improved my confidence and I feel more cultured.’

Why did you choose California?

‘When I started at Edinburgh I studied History and Spanish, then I dropped Spanish but I wanted to be able to keep using my Spanish language skills. San Diego has a large Spanish population and it’s close to Mexico, this helped when I was choosing where to go. Obviously the California lifestyle appealed too!

‘My accommodation helped me to settle in: it was half international students and half American students. It wasn’t as I imagined as I had my own room and bathroom. It was expensive but it was on campus so it was easy to meet people and build strong relationships quickly.

‘Everything in America is quite expensive and I did a bit of travelling but it costs so much to get around. Some of the students have part-time jobs but because of visa restrictions it means you can only work on-campus or in university approved places.’

What’s American student life like?

‘It’s very different to the UK! A lot of the social life is based on sports and societies. The legal drinking age is higher in America and so I had to do things and join activities that I wouldn’t usually have done. But I didn’t feel pressured. I joined the student paper and there were intramural sports events that anyone of any ability could join in. That was something that I’d like to see more of in UK universities.

‘I had to travel down to London to the embassy to sort out my visa – I didn’t know this until I had filled in all of the forms. The university provide all of the papers but I had to fill everything in and it’s a bit fiddly.

‘The scores in American are worked out completely differently to those in the UK and transferring these grades can sometimes be difficult but it wasn’t a problem for me as the year didn’t count towards my degree.

‘I took all history modules when I went to San Diego as Edinburgh Uni had told me that this was the most valuable, but lots of other people took lots of different courses and subjects. In America they don’t stick to one subject so you have the opportunity to do pretty much anything.’

Keep your receipts!

‘When I came back home I found out that the Student Loans Company will reimburse a lot of things from your time abroad, but you have to keep all of your receipts and lots of details. If I’d have known this I would have made an effort to keep everything! You still receive your tuition loan and maintenance loan throughout the year but I had to cover other costs myself. Some students can receive bursaries and extra funding to go abroad so it is a good idea to research this fully.’