Personal Development
I gained so many new friendships throughout my semester and the type of friendships that will last a life time. I also learnt a lot about myself in terms of the things I needed to do to keep myself motivated, happy and healthy. These things changed when I moved to Canada, so figuring them out again was interesting and sometimes very challenging.
Academic Development
This exchange taught me how to study and approach classes in a very different way than I would at home. University in Canada is much more collaborative and the classes are generally much smaller, making for a more intimate and more approachable teaching environment. I felt more on top of my studies as there were lots more deadlines than at home with weekly quizzes and marked homework. This kept me motivated throughout the semester and increased my overall academic performance. The work load was a lot higher than at UQ, especially as I had to take 5 courses at UBC to make up the equivalent full time load at UQ. This was the biggest challenge as the courses were as hard if not harder than the ones at UQ and had the same amount of content, but I had to do an extra one. This was really unfortunate on exchange as it meant I didn't really have too much free time throughout the semester and would have liked to explore more or do different things not related to study, but the work load was too large to be able to do this properly.
Professional Development
I learnt very quickly how to make easy conversation with new people. The first few weeks if not months on exchange is full of meeting lots of new people. This can be quite intimidating and very tiring as you constantly have the same small talk conversations with different people, but I really taught me how to listen to what people say and how to ask interesting questions. This is quite useful for professional development as you will always be meeting new people, and if you can immediately hold an easy conversation with someone new it build rapport and sets a good first impression.
Costs
I would by buying things that were on sale and only getting what I needed so that I had money to do the things I really wanted to do. I think I spent about $14 000
$4000 accommodation
$1500 food
$5000 travel
$2500 flights to and from Canada
$1000 miscellaneous
I would recommend to thoroughly research the cost of living in the country you go to. I didn't fully understand how expensive Canada was until I got here. I would also recommend having other options for accommodation than just student accommodation, as that can also be expensive if you get rejected from student accommodation.
Accommodation
I found my accommodation options through the host university website. My living arrangements were nice as far as student accommodation goes. I was quite small for 6 people, but for just a few months it was totally fine. I did not receive any assistance. Make sure you have a contingency if you cannot get student housing, as it can be very expensive to rent a place and the quality can be very uncertain.
Advice/Top Tips
If you get the chance to take part in an exchange absolutely go for it. Definitely do lots of research on the place you are going to and make sure that university is not your whole focus whilst on exchange. Definitely get out of the study zone and experience the place you are in.
