Motivation
My motivation for participating in exchange was to get outside my comfort zone and travel in Europe. I've always loved travel, and the opportunity to actually live in a different country for 5 or 6 months was really exciting to me.
Personal Development
I set myself two rules/mottos for exchange: (1) say yes to everything, and (2) I would rather regret doing it than regret not doing it.
Keeping those in the back of my mind truly allowed me to make the most out of my exchange. My confidence has grown, I am more secure in myself and in the decisions I make, and I have gained a lot of perspective on the world. I interacted with people from many different countries, and now I have friends from across the world. There was never a dull moment - I went to bars and restaurants, saw an Aussie band play their first show outside of Australia, went to a concert with a girl I'd only met once, took many trips to the Christmas markets (cop the £3 and keep the mug!), did karaoke, saw museums and art galleries, visited cafes and drank expensive coffee that unfortunately will never beat Australian coffee, and so much more.
I did more travelling within the UK than I initially expected and I would definitely recommend travelling within the country of your exchange as well as across Europe. One of my favourite trips was over reading week, when I went with a group of Australians on a 10-day trip to Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, including an overnight ferry between Copenhagen and Oslo, which was a really cool experience.
Academic Development
A challenge I faced was taking essay exams for Biomed. UQ exams are generally multiple-choice or short-answer questions, so I wasn't sure how to face writing one or two essays in the span of two hours. One helpful piece of advice a course coordinator gave was to think of the essay as just one long answer to the question. You're not writing a persuasive essay, it's just like an SAQ answer but with a lot more detail.
The University of Manchester used an app called SEATs to track our attendance. This forced me to go to my lectures in person (at least for the most part), and ultimately helped me stay on top of the content and allowed me to spend more time travelling or doing things in Manchester. Also, take advantage of exchange being pass/fail and not contributing to your GPA because you only have to get 40% to pass at Manchester.
Professional Development 
During my exchange, I developed several skills that I think will contribute to my professional development. Adjusting to a new academic system and life in a new country has strengthened my resilience and ability to adapt. Many of my travel plans were fairly spontaneous, so I improved my ability to organise and make important decisions quickly and efficiently. I also improved my cultural awareness and communication skills by meeting people from different parts of the world and learning about their cultures and countries. I believe employers value exchange on your CV as it shows you are a well-rounded candidate and do not focus solely on grades.
Costs
I can't say I specifically budgeted for my exchange, but I did track everything I spent as I went. In doing so, I tried to identify areas like travel and experiences where I was happy to spend more and areas like eating out or coffee where I could cut back. I worked hard to save up money before I left, and luckily my parents helped with some costs, so my personal attitude while overseas was to be fairly relaxed with money and my spending. I didn't want to have to skip out on experiences and making memories for financial reasons, but I appreciate I was very lucky in that sense and that won't be everyone's position.
In total, I spent $3,000 on flights plus around $15k on travel, other experiences, and daily expenses like eating out, going out, transport, etc.
Accommodation
I used the University of Manchester's accommodation page to find out about my accommodation options. Although accommodation isn't technically guaranteed, I think if you apply to halls you have a very high chance of being offered a room, especially if you go in their Semester 1 (UQ's Semester 2) and apply early. I didn't meet anyone who hadn't gotten one.
I stayed at Hulme Hall, which I would highly recommend to anyone going to Manchester. Hulme is a university residence in the Victoria Park campus (the University of Manchester has 3 accommodation campuses - Fallowfield and the city being the other two). This was where I met some of my best friends on exchange. Hulme was catered, which I found really helpful as an exchange student because I didn't need to buy pots, pans, cutlery, etc. and I could spend the time not cooking and cleaning on other things like social activities or hanging out with friends. The location was great - it was only a 15-minute walk from campus, close to Lidl, Tesco, Superdrug and other fast food/restaurants. It wasn't too far from the city centre either, and it is very easy to catch a bus or spend 45 minutes to an hour walking there. Victoria Park is often stereotyped as quiet, but I found it to be a good mix of social activities, neither too quiet nor too loud (it even had a bar!).
My general advice for housing options is to do plenty of research. Investigate the location, public transportation options for getting to class or elsewhere in the city, and whether there are food or grocery stores nearby. Read google or reddit reviews for the accommodation. I wanted to go somewhere with guaranteed accommodation, but if your host doesn't offer student accommodation, Facebook groups can be a good place to start. Obviously be careful of scammers and also be wary of websites that offer accommodation. Do your research into them before paying any money.
Highlights
It is really hard to narrow down this life-changing experience into just a few highlights. If I had to - it would be the people I met and the travelling I did, especially my four-day trip to Tromsø in Norway, where I got to feed reindeer and go snowmobiling through the Lyngen Alps.
Top Tips
If you're on the fence or considering doing an exchange, I say do it!! It is so fun and it will change you for the better.
Tips if you're going to Manchester:
1. The rumours are true, it does indeed rain - get good boots that you can wear around and a good rain jacket with a hood. You could take an umbrella with you everywhere, but it's usually easier to wear some sort of waterproof jacket.
2. I'd only get the bus pass if you live in Fallowfield or further out in Victoria Park and need it to get to uni. Each bus trip costs £2, and the pass wouldn't have been worth the number of trips I took because I tried to walk to as many places as possible.
3. Federal Café on Oxford Rd has Vegemite, Shapes, Tim Tams, Milo, and does a pretty decent Aussie brunch if you need the taste of home.
4. Manchester has a great international airport - it's easy to get to on the train or bus, and it was only about a 20-minute Uber from where I stayed.
5. Join the International Society and Exchange Society and go to all of the events, especially in Welcome/Freshers Week. Everyone is in the same boat and is keen to make friends - that was where I met the Australian girls who I did most of my travelling with.
Finally, research, research, research!! Make sure you carefully consider which country you want to do your exchange and look into accommodation, the university, course options, the location, access to international travel if that's important for you like it was for me, etc. Don't let anything be a nasty surprise once you've already been allocated to a host.
