Motivation
From the day I started at university, I knew I wanted to do an exchange semester. I have been seeking ways to make the most of my time at UQ and I felt that going on an exchange would provide me a space for both personal and academic growth. While I was aware that it would be a long process to go from exchange being something I wanted to do to something that is actually happening, I always felt excited about the prospects of spending a semester overseas and never second-guessed whether it was something I wanted to do. I love to travel and meet new people, and felt this was a perfect way to integrate that with my degree and academic goals.
Personal Development
I feel I had immense personal development during my time at the University of Edinburgh. I had never lived out of home for an extended period before, so doing this on the other side of the world forced me to support myself and learn how to be self-sufficient. I became more comfortable in my abilities to cook, maintain routines, exercise often and be outgoing. One of the things I did to enrich my time was putting a lot of energy into creating meaningful friendships, both with other exchange students but also with permanent students at the university. By doing this, I was able to create strong support networks and felt surrounded by people I could trust and who I enjoyed being with. I was lucky and had a fantastic flat, with all of us getting along from the first day, which made the transition a lot easier. I feel that I became a much more confident and outgoing person overall, and learnt about myself while making some fantastic friendships on exchange.
I also spent a lot of time exploring both Edinburgh, the rest of Scotland and further abroad with these friends. I did weekend trips to Ireland, Lake Como, Glasgow and the Scottish Highlands, all of which were amazing. I accessed the highlands through the Hillwalking Society at the university, which I highly recommend. I also advise strongly to not spend every weekend travelling away from Edinburgh. It is a fantastic city and has so much to offer, and it is nice to feel like a student there and experience life in the city with the people you've met. Hence, particularly at the start of the semester, it is worth staying in the city for some weekends. Some highlights in Edinburgh include Portobello Beach, the Botanic Gardens, Leith Walk, Stockbridge (great charity shops!), The Meadows, Blackford Hill, Arthurs Seat, and Calton Hill. The city is also filled with fantastic cafes, shops, museums (most are free) and parks.
Academic Development 
The University of Edinburgh is a high-ranking university, and hence it is not the easiest academically. I completed three courses in Edinburgh, being Key Developments in Modern Economic Analysis; Development, Trade and Inequality; and Urbanism and the City - Past to Present. I found each of these courses quite interesting and am happy with my choices, but there are some important things to note in Edinburgh. Firstly, it is common for your lecturer to also be your tutor, meaning you have fewer points of contact. My classes ran in a similar pattern to UQ, with all having one 2hr lecture and one 1hr tutorial each week. However, generally, only lectures are recorded, so it is important to go to tutorials and take notes. UoE also does not run consults, but most lecturers will have weekly office hours. Generally, I found the teaching style to feel more 'disconnected' than UQ, with larger tutorials and fewer ways to seek help. There is also less revision material, with this being much more self-guided. I had a final exam for all my subjects, and it is common at UoE for final exams to be significant. Mine were worth 70%, 80%, and 60% of my final grade for each subject, so prepare to spend the revision week actually revising if you have finals. I found my lecturers to be knowledgeable and easy to follow, and they were all friendly and happy to help when needed.
I feel that the classes I took were beneficial for me academically. While UoE School of Economics generally creates their courses to be maths-heavy, I found I was confident in my ability to learn and follow the content, and it will be useful knowledge going forward. Most courses will understandably have a British, Scottish and European influence in their examples, case studies etc. which is very interesting to consider and provides new perspectives I hadn't heard of previously.
Professional Development
I feel that my ability to be more outgoing will be hugely beneficial in professional environments. Additionally, I improved my time-management skills significantly in Edinburgh as I was balancing university with travel, socialising, exercise, and personal time to relax, cook, eat, clean etc. This meant I had to plan my days well and ensure I was getting the necessary tasks done each day, while also giving me time to get a coffee with a friend or go for a run at Blackford Hill. Sometimes I did not manage this balance well and would suffer the consequences of feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, which forced me to manage my time better. I also learned to be more self-reflective, which is always a useful skill and leads to feeling more content.
Costs and Budget
I travelled for close to two months in Europe prior to my exchange, which meant I had to consider a budget for both this time, as well as my semester, as well as about 3 weeks of travel after semester. I worked a lot before exchange, as I could not be employed in Edinburgh meaning I had to rely on savings and grants for the 6 month period. I terms of costs, my semester of accommodation was about $4000, flights were about $3000, and then in terms of general spending, I went over with about $12000 in savings and spent most of it. This of course includes the travel before and after exchange. I think on exchange you are likely to spend more than you expect, so just save up as much as you can. In Edinburgh, there are many ways to keep costs cheap. You can cook most meals at home if you are in non-catered accommodation, and shopping at Lidl and Aldi is a good option. Dunelm is also a great place to buy some cheap homewares you may need. Essentially, I would say the cost of living is about the same as Brisbane, but you are likely to spend more as you will be doing more than you would here. It is significantly cheaper to do weekend trips away, however, as you can often find good deals on flights, hostels etc.
Accommodation
The University of Edinburgh is fantastic in terms of accommodation as it is very easy for a visiting student. They guarantee you accommodation for your semester. Take time to consider what you are looking for, including the style of the building, proximity to the university, how social it is, whether you want catering, how close it is to other significant locations and so on. It is worth noting that Edinburgh has two key campus areas - George Square and Kings. Most STEM subjects occur at Kings while the rest is at George Square. Consider this when picking your accommodation options. When you go to select your options, you will have to submit five accommodation options. Note that each of these is weighed equally, in that it is not a preference ranking, so ensure you would be genuinely happy with any of your five options as it cannot be changed easily after allocation.
I stayed in Kincaids Court. It was in a fantastic location, being a five-minute walk to the George Square campus, five minutes to the Royal Mile, and directly on Cowgate - the student nightlife area of Edinburgh. Edinburgh is an extremely walkable city so being in such a prime location to walk anywhere was fantastic. Supermarkets were close and any of my friend's flats were within a fifteen-minute walk. I was in a flat of 5, consisting of two permanent students and three exchange students including myself. This group was some of my closest friends in Edinburgh and I loved spending time in my flat with them. Kincaid's is known for being social, mostly due to its size and being so close to a number of bars, pubs and clubs. I personally liked being in a social accommodation. However, it is also known for being noisy because of this. I wasn't too bothered by it but it is worth considering. Kincaid's is also a non-catered accommodation, as is any outside of Pollock Halls. I am glad I picked non-catered as it meant I had the freedom to cook my own meals when I wanted and could be more independent. Even though this was my first time living out of home, I didn't find it particularly difficult to settle into managing everything myself. I would recommend going non-catered unless you feel particularly strongly about not wanting to cook. I would also recommend Kincaid's as I found it to be an enjoyable experience overall there, but also consider looking around at other options. I heard good things about Mylnes Court, and Warrender Park Road/Crescent.
Highlights
It is hard to pick any single moment as a highlight. I think the friends I made on exchange are definitely the most significant thing I will be taking away from my time. I made some genuine and life-long friendships during this time, not only on exchange but while travelling as well. Living with other permanent students meant I was able to connect with many non-exchange students, which really made me feel at home in Edinburgh. I also became close with a number of other exchange students, including some from UQ! These friendships moulded my experience and while it made the goodbye extremely hard, I am so glad I found the people I did.
I also went on the University Ski and Snowsports Society Ski Trip to Tignes in France. This week was one of the best weeks of my life. I was with a number of my mates from exchange, and it was the most incredible time! Definitely check it out of you are doing the September-December semester, as it takes place in very early January. I was also lucky enough to experience my 21st in Edinburgh in December. Some of my family and friends from Brisbane visited during this time, and celebrating with both friends from home and Edinburgh friends made it an extremely special experience. I also had a weekend trip to Ireland with two friends during the semester, visiting Dublin and Belfast. This was such a fun weekend, and so easy to get to from Edinburgh. I would highly recommend it!
Top Tips
A few key pieces of advice are:
1. Get a young scot card early! This gives you free travel on all busses plus other discounts at popular attractions. If your accommodation agreement is for less than 6 months, your online application may get rejected. Go into the National Library and apply there and it will get approved.
2. Try to be quite social in the first two or three weeks. This will be the time that you are likely to meet a lot of the people who will be your friends during your semester, so go to a variety of events! But also take some time during this time to relax as you will get burnt out.
3. While it is entirely up to you, I wouldn't recommend doing too many weekend trips away. Definitely do a few, but it is also nice to be in Edinburgh for some weekends and explore the city.
4. Take some time for self-reflection during your exchange. It is easy to get so caught up in everything going on, so go for solo walks or runs, journal, have chill days/ nights in your flat etc. to give yourself some time to relax and reflect.
5. I wouldn't get unikitout (a service that the university partners with that will deliver bedding, kitchenware etc to your accommodation before you arrive). Their products aren't great quality and so many people either didn't receive it on time or had items missing, including myself. I would just go to a store on the first day and get some bedding and kitchenware then, plus that will be cheaper.
6. Finally, Edinburgh itself is such a lovely city. The general walkability and vibe within Edinburgh is so different to Brisbane. The city is quite small which means you are always able to catch up with someone for coffee, a night at a trendy bar, a bonfire on the beach, dinner, a walk around Arthurs Seat, etc. This meant it was easy to spend lots of time with people and explore. I would recommend you check out areas like Leith, Portobello Beach, Stockbridge (great charity shops), Blackford Hill, the Pentlands (see some Highland cows!), and the Botanic Gardens.
