Top 8 reasons why you should go on an overseas student exchange

Exchange passed by, too fast.I'm 90% sure that most students who attended university would agree with me that Exchange was one of the best periods of university, or even life, in general. From time to time I will still get withdrawal symptoms from travelling, and school is even making me rethink about my life decisions.

Tibidabo Amusement Park in Barcelona, Spain ; we didn't get to go there but the view from Park Guell was insanely amazing

But regardless, I had a blast during exchange and I had no regrets going for it. For my exchange 1st anniversary, here's a post on the top 8 reasons why you SHOULD go for exchange  😊

Dresden, Germany

1. A gradeless semester

Day trip to Heidelberg, Germany

Everyone would tell you this is the most important part of exchange -- you can freeze your cap. SUs basically make the modules you take in the other university gradeless, and you just need to pass the modules for the credits to be transferred back to your home university. Sounds like a stress-less semester.

2. Skipping classes (without feeling too guilty)

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France

Honestly, anyone's who've been on exchange would definitely be guilty of skipping classes to travel, especially if there is no attendance marked. Your professors and tutors would definitely know that and most of the time, reading the lecture notes for the module would most likely allow you to pass the module. I even had a friend who dropped an entire module to travel. #priorities

3. Learning and adapting to a different lifestyle

Shophouses in Bergen, Norway

It's something you will never learn from just travelling to the country and back in 2 weeks. You get to learn how people live, what they usually do, and even how they shop for groceries. For me, I learnt so much about recycling in Germany that when I'm back, I feel a little guilty for throwing an empty plastic bottle into the general waste bin. Oh, and beer in Germany is so common that I find it weird to not see beer everywhere in Singapore. 4 months there and you'll definitely know the tricks of the trade like a local.

4. Meet new people

Milan, Italy

Make new friends, learn about different people's cultures, know more about the world, what's so bad about that?

5. Travel for CHEAP

Bastei Bridge near Dresden, Germany -> we hiked up for this!

When you have so much time in your hands, you'll start to search about where to travel, and where to find the cheapest and best deals for your budget student life. I'll be writing a post on my favourite comparison websites and how I search for deals that are as cheap as possible 😊

But basically, since you are already in the country, it would definitely be worth it to explore around the area, if not you would have to take the long flight back again just to travel to these places.

6. You'll learn more about yourself

Heidelberg Castle in Heideberg, Germany -> we got scolded for taking a photo here LOL

I had so much time to spare on exchange that I actually thought of what I wanted to do with my life in the future. Sometimes you are so caught up with the hectic-ness of your life that you lose sight of what's important to you.

7. Become independent

Nordic Train Station

There's no one to help you do your laundry, no one to wash your dishes, and no one to cook for you. Let's face it, you are literally in charge of your whole life. I probably wouldn't have done all these myself at home, so this was a great start to living the independent life.

8. Better Money Management

Pompeii, Italy

Copenhagen, Denmark

On a fjord cruise in Bergen, Norway

When you have limited money but you want to travel everywhere, you prioritize. If you want to travel more, cook to save money when you are not travelling. If you want to shop more instead, maybe hold back on the travelling a little. For instance, the fjord cruise that we went on in Bergen, Norway amounted to more than S$100, which is totally busting our budget. But since we were already there, we just had to get on that cruise and compromise on other things. What I did was to make a mental note of the total expenses I am willing to spend on a trip. That really helped a lot in budgeting my finances during my travels. Prioritizing is a huge part in money management, and if you don't want to end up broke even before you leave the country, plan well.



Everyone would definitely have reservations about going on exchange, but if your reservations can be solved somehow, everything will fall in place eventually. 😉