As any international student at Edinburgh will tell you, studying abroad is one of the easiest ways to experience another culture and education system. However, there are a lot of forms, applications, and general hoops to jump through before you can actually walk into another University’s lectures. As a student on exchange this year, I hope this guide can give an insight into what I had to do in order to move to Finland.
A big disclaimer needs to be added to this article: this is the experience I had in 2023-24, as a student on a subject-specific exchange to Helsinki, Finland. What you will have to do will almost certainly differ. While I have tried to keep my advice as broad as possible, this isn’t by no means a comprehensive guide to securing a place on exchange.
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Start planning early
As I understood it, the top highest grades of the courses you take in first year are equally weighted with the personal statement in order to rank students for different universities. If you fail a first year course, this can impact your ability to go on exchange, so be aware of that if you want to go abroad. If you fail a course in second year you unfortunately can’t go on exchange. Although it makes your first and second years more stressful, I would say it is worth it to be confident you’ll be able to cope academically with an exchange.
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Decide where to go
You can apply for up to 5 universities, and for a combination of university-wide and subject-specific choices. Obviously, everyone has different priorities when it comes to the climate, distance from home, and language barriers. Studying physics in a foreign language is no mean feat! Regardless, the main thing to consider should be courses – their language, assessment methods, and Path are all good places to look. It is also worth considering the cost of living in those places. . Across the world there are housing crises which are driving up rent for students. It is definitely worth considering if the University will guarantee you housing, whether you’ll have roommates, or whether you will have to find somewhere privately. Personally, the idea of moving to another country to live with an assortment of people from Facebook filled me with dread, so I chose the least densely populated country in Europe just to be safe.
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Start doing things to boost your personal statement ASAP
When you’re on exchange, you’re representing the university to people from all over the world. So it makes sense that students who would make a great impression on others are prioritised. Diving into extra and supra-curricular societies and events shows that you are someone who is sociable and capable of managing your time. You should explain this on the personal statement during your application for a year abroad. However, as far as I could tell, academic reasons to go abroad should take priority. If there are particular courses you want to take, lecturers whose work you find inspiring, or reasons that the history/culture of the country would enhance your degree, you should definitely find and mention them.
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Research courses to take
Depending on where you go, the exchange coordinator may be able to put you in contact with someone working at that institution, but if not, it’s up to you to find courses that roughly match the ones at Edinburgh. In my case, this involved hours on Google Translate because the University of Helsinki website wasn’t always in English. If you are on exchange for third year, look for courses on Electromagnetism, Thermal Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Fourier Analysis, Statistics, Research Methods, and Labs. In fourth year there is more flexibility. And don’t be afraid to check out Masters Courses – they will be hard, but if they have the content you need to know, don’t shy away from them.
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Apply by the deadlines
This is fairly self-explanatory – keep track of when you need to apply by and what you need to do so you’re not rushing at the last minute.
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Apply for housing, visa, healthcare
The work doesn’t end once your application is accepted – in fact, that’s realistically the beginning. Of course, you need to apply to your exchange university and be accepted by them. This is normally done through Mobility Online, which you’ll be familiar with by the end of the exchange process. Because of Brexit, I also needed a residence permit. This required lots of different forms – proof of funds, acceptance from my exchange university, proof I had a GHIC/a valid passport, etc. You should do the research on your visa as soon as you can – it can take a long time to process. It can be hard to even secure an appointment at every international student’s least favourite place – VFS Global in Leith. That being said, if you do everything promptly and are careful with the forms, there’s no reason that you won’t make it to your exchange on time (albeit with a far lighter bank account).
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Book a ticket to your destination
I decided to wait and see if I had passed my exams before booking a ticket, but this meant I had to leave it pretty late before buying it. I would recommend booking sooner, and paying a little extra to make the flight refundable – it saves the stress of seeing the prices climb and climb closer to your departure date.
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Be brutal with what you pack
I brought 2 suitcases for a year’s exchange, mostly clothes, with some room decor/essentials mixed in. However, everyone has different ideas of what to bring and what they’re willing to buy at their destination. It also depends on the climate of your exchange country – for example, I knew I would need all my winter clothes. Some things I would recommend bringing are: screen protectors (your phone goes through a lot on exchange), an extension lead and as many adapters as you have, a tin opener, a set of bedsheets, hiking boots, and slides. They’re all bound to come in handy.
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Go !
Successfully navigating to your new address in another country is a very surreal experience. If you manage it, congratulations!
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Get settled in
Make sure your SIM card will keep working once you’re in the country, and that you’re not paying extortionate fees in roaming charges. In Finland, we needed to register with the authorities at a welcome event during orientation week and set up student bus tickets. Leave some time to go to IKEA, and join any international student organisations you come across. ESN is a very active network of exchange students all over the world – at least in Helsinki, they are very active.
Further information
Information sessions to apply for a study year abroad take place in October, with the application deadline in November.
The University SWAY (Study and Work Away) information: Study and Work Away
School of Physics and Astronomy year abroad information: SoPA study abroad information
