The Student Room Group

Could you arrange your own study abroad?

I haven't actually started university yet, I'm going to Cardiff this year though. My course doesn't include a year abroad but the opportunity to study abroad would really interest me. I'm looking on the Cardiff website and I can't seem to find much about courses that include a year abroad, but I'm wondering if it would be possible to arrange it myself?

I mean, I guess I'd have to find a place willing to accept me - I'd be hoping to study at a university in North America - and clear it with my tutors and everything, and work out how it would be funded etc...

What do you think? Is this a totally crazy idea? Or maybe.. is it doable?:rolleyes:
Reply 1
Of course it's doable. Each university [school] will have their own policy on what counts towards your degree, if at all, though, so probably best to get in contact and ask :smile:

But certainly, arranging accommodation, finance, transport etc can all be done yourself :smile:
Reply 2
Thanks for your reply! I think the finance side of it worries me most, because there's no way I could afford international student tuition fees and everything in America. I can imagine them saying "sure, you can do it. But you have to pay everything yourself, and none of the credits will count towards your degree." In which case I'd probably have to *facepalm* a few times and abandon the idea. Darrrn.

But I have no idea how to even go about this... when would be a good time to ask, if I wanted to go in between my second and third year of study?
Reply 3
If your course doesn't include a year abroad, you probably would have to take a year out of your degree and pay for the whole thing yourself. I did a 4 year course that had a year abroad in it, but I know people who were doing a similar three year degree (but without a language) couldn't do a full year abroad. What they could do though was spend a semester abroad on an exchange and I know a couple went to the USA. It still cost more than staying put but there were no tuition fees. See if Cardiff has a website for their international office - that's who organised this at my uni.
Reply 4
you could always ask about erasmus? Obviously you wouldn't be able to go to the us, but if you stayed in europe (for the whole academic year) you don't pay any tuition fees at all for that year :biggrin: That's what i'll be doing (although to be fair it's named in my degree..)

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