England : Reviews (Colchester)

My favorite part of my study abroad program at the University of Essex at Colchester was the relationships I made with other international students. Studying abroad is such a unique experience and can be a bit intimidating in the beginning. My program held events to help break the ice between international and local students. This made it much easier to meet new people and start developing relationships. Thanks to this experience I have made wonderful lifetime relationships with people from all over the world.

My favorite part about studying at Essex was all the friends I made. Essex Abroad had many events for students on exchange to get to know each other when we first got there and throughout the semester. Essex also had many events during the week to meet friends outside of those who were on exchange. Essex had many of the exchange students living in the same flat/building, which made it very easy to build friendships.

I found the academic challege to be the most rewarding in my program. I was not expecting education to be conducted in a different manner. It was odd to adjust to the different teaching philosophies. By the end of the semester I felt very confident in my academic efforts when final exam time came around. I found this rewarding because I had to adapt my thinking, planning, and study habbits in ways I never expected.

Something I learned that I feel would be useful to future students is to take full advantage of the recourses that KU's study abroad office and your program study abroad office have to offer. At the University of Essex, the international student advisors were the most helpful when it came to any sort of difficulties or uncertainties and KU's study abroad advisors are a great help when it comes to any potential issues you may encounter on the U.S. and international side of your program.