Cynthia Le's Study Abroad Experience
Major: Computer Science and Engineering
Expected Graduation Year: 2017
Host Country and Name of School: Scotland, University of Edinburgh
Biggest Challenges: Balancing school and traveling and exploring
Biggest Surprises: How easy the transition seemed to be and how fast the time passed by
Best Moments: Climbing Arthur's seat, a large hill right next to my flat that I climbed at least once a week. Hanging out and eating with my flatmates. Quick day trips to explore areas around Scotland (and see cute fluffy highland coos)
Were the academics a problem? The academics were structured quite different than they are at SCU, which made it challenging. The university has a more difficult grading scale, and the majority of my grades in my classes were based on the final exam. What I found most challenging about the academics was disciplining myself to keep up and do outside studying on my own, consistently through the semester, since there wasn't assigned homework due week to week.
Advice for those thinking of studying abroad? Do your research ahead of time and make specific goals about where you want to go internationally as well as locally. Know that your goals will likely change considerably once you arrive abroad, but having some sort of idea of what you want to do and where to look for information makes planning much easier once you are abroad. Because once you are in a new country, there are a bunch of things to think about and the time goes by faster than you would expect!