It was too good an opportunity not to apply
Laura spent her third year at the Australian National University in Canberra
Why did you decide to study abroad?
I knew heaps of people who had done it and loved it. Even though I was terrified because I’d never done anything like it before, I thought it was too good an opportunity not to apply and I’d regret it if I didn’t.
What were your top 3 highlights whilst studying abroad?
- Travelling around New Zealand - swimming with dolphins and doing a helicopter flight around Franz Josef
- Doing a 2 week road trip in a campervan through the desert from Uluru all the way up the Northern Territory to Darwin
- Finding home in the college I joined on campus, making my best friends there and going through a years worth of college events and competitions with them.
What would you say to someone who was unsure about spending a period abroad?
Don’t overwhelm yourself thinking about the grand scale of how long you'll be away from home and just take it one step at a time. If you have an open mind and throw yourself into it as soon as your arrive then it’s actually much easier than you think to adjust and the time just flies.
What is the one thing you wish you'd known before you left?
That studying a History module at ANU is more work than in Sheffield, and choosing to do four in 1 semester is unusual and really stupid.