Motivation
To immerse myself in another culture different to Australia. To put something impressive on my resume. I knew I'd regret it if I didn't do it and life's too short to be lazy and skip these opportunities.
Personal Development
I made many new friends from many different parts of the world. This really expanded my worldview of the lives of people from other countries. It was my first time solo travelling so it presented many new challenges for me to overcome and I am a more experienced, mature and knowledgeable person thanks to these trips. I learnt a bit of Dutch too but I'm not fluent at all - enough to get by (not that I needed to because everyone in NL speaks english).
Academic Development 
I completed courses that were very different to those of my major at UQ (I study ecology and zoology at UQ, and I did art history, medieval history, sustainability, and global religions). I believe these courses gave me a more well-rounded knowledge base of human history and the current socio-political landscape. One main challenge was that UCU don't record their lectures and attendence is mandatory to pass. I was sick for a week and it was much more difficult to catch up on lectures than it would've been at UQ. The classes are very small which cretaed a very different class environment to the standard UQ lectures. At UCU students actively discuss content and ask and answer questions throughout the classes. I enjoyed this interactive environment however I prefer how UQ does things because it's more flexible.
Professional Development
UCU was organised and structured very differently to UQ. I'm now more confident when adapting to new working environments. I had to live 5 months in a foreign country that had a non-english native language (Dutch), a different currency (euros), a different public transport system, and a different climate. Having to work around language barriers has improved my communication skills. The experience has made me more suitable for working globally and with people of different backgrounds because UCU is an international college with students from around the world.
Costs and Budget
I made an excel spreadsheet of incoming money from scholarships, grants, etc, and outgoing money for things like flights and accomodation costs. Overall I spent around $13000 AUD. Around $6600 was spent on UCU campus fees, $3000 on flights to and from Australia, and $1500 on groceries. If I include my own travel before and after the exchange it would be more than $13000. I would suggest to students to make an excel spreadsheet for incoming and outgoing money, and break it down weekly as you go if need be.
Funding
The funding I recieved allowed me to feel more relaxed financially and not stressed about spending money. The funding I used went primarily towards flights and on campus fees.
Accommodation
I chose a university that provided on-campus accomodation to all exchange students. I did this on purpose so I would have one less thing to worry about. I lived in a unit with 9 other people, at different stages through their degrees. The main pro of my accomodation was that it was a 3 minute walk to all my classes because accomodation and academic buildings are all on the same campus. The main con of my accomodation was that we had a small kitchen (with one fridge) and two toilets and two showers to be shared between 10 people so it felt a bit cramped at times. There was an easy way to submit maintenance requests. I would reccomend to future exchange students to engage with their unitmates and try to have at least some of your meals in a communal space rather than alone in your room. Getting along with your unitmates is a good way to make some intial friends while you're adjusting and it makes your life more fun. Just don't be a hermit and live in your room all day and night.
Highlights
Travelling on my own. I went to Ireland, Scotland, England, Germany, and Portugal, staying in hostels and at friend's places. My mum and dad came to Europe at the end of my exchange and I joined them in Italy, Greece, and Turkey as well. I love experiencing new cultures, languages, food, people, music, and landscapes. I don't think I've seen so much in such a short amount of time.
Top Tips
DO IT. If you're thinking about going on exchange just do it, provided it works with your degree etc. Be brave. If you work hard and put time and effort in, you'll be able to get the money for it. But you'll never be this young again and you need to see that there's so much more to the world than Australia (as good as a country it is). And you'll get so much life experience, and learn so much more about yourself.
