8 reasons DMU students should do ERASMUS

So it’s this time of year again, the temperature in dropping, the leaves are turning and the deadline for your ERASMUS (European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) application is just around the corner, so it’s time for the big decision!

I deliberately chose De Montfort University because of the international experiences they offered and presented at the open days. I always knew I wanted to study or work abroad, so when I saw ERASMUS advertised on the DMU Global website I did not hesitate to apply. At first, I wanted to study abroad for just one semester, but since this was not possible for my course, I quickly made up my mind that I would be more than happy (if absolutely terrified) that I would extend my stay to the whole academic year.

And I must say, I am very pleased I did! I am now home and studying back at De Montfort University again after the best 10 months of my life in Madrid where I met the most incredible people, experienced the wonderful Spanish culture, started my journey in learning another language and ended up being able to travel all around Europe with new friends from around the world!

I must say, I was very disheartened to see just a handful of people in the final meeting leading up to the departure of ERASMUS students, as I cannot stress enough how important this experience has been to me. So, I have compiled a list of 9 reasons why DMU students should go on an ERASMUS year, or even semester!

1. You will meet people like yourself

If are interested in ERASMUS, it’s likely you also love travel. It’s also quite likely that your peers aren’t too interested in travel. That is what I certainly found in my first year of university, nobody in my halls, my course or people that I met when I was living in Leicester were interested in stepping outside of the city, never mind England! But on your ERASMUS year, you will meet and make so many friends from your host country and from other ERASMUS students from all around Europe, and they will want to explore this new country and go out just as much as you!

 2. You have the opportunity to learn another language

Living in another country is the best and ‘easiest’ way to learn another language. This is one of the main reasons I chose Spain as my country to study in, because I desperately wanted to learn Spanish, and there are so many people willing to help you learn their language, even if you’re awful at picking up new languages like me! Although, you will also be surprised how many people speak English, everyone from Europe speaks English, which certainly puts things into perspective for me…

3. It will look good on your CV

Of course, there is no doubt with more and more people going to university every year, each one of us has to stand out. So what better way is there to get that edge over others than to study abroad for a year? It not only is a blast but it shows that you’re adaptable, brave and certainly helps your intercultural communication skills (we don’t have to tell them about all the partying!)

4. It’s only £650 for the whole year, not £9000

If you go for the year, there is the negative side that it will make your stay at university one year longer so you may worry it will be financial suicide, BUT you do not have to pay the same amount as you do in England! In fact, it’s a whole £8350 less! It does not matter if your host university is private, or what the countries own students have to pay (for example, at CEU San Pablo the students pay around £1000 a month, but I get it for £650 for the year) and you will often get more class hours at your host university so in a way the money goes further.

5. There is a whole new world to explore

In my 10 months of being in Madrid I visited Malaga, Coin, Valencia, Toledo, Lisbon, Granada, Sierra Nevada, Porto, Marrakech, The Sahara Desert and Fez as well as visiting many, many places within Madrid! You will be amazed how cheap a weekend trip can be thanks to low-cost European flights and hostels, and how inexpensive travelling to nearby cities it is too. But more than going to new places, you will learn about the country’s culture and quirks! You will experience the different cuisine, agenda, weather and conversation topics, even going for the weekly shop can be an interesting venture.

6. You will amazed how different education can be

Okay, so I must admit this point has its good and bad sides. My earliest class at DMU last year was 10:00, and my earliest class here is 8:00. However, a year abroad that does not count towards your final grade means you can try subjects you never would be able to if you stay at home. I read English Literature and Media and Communication studies at DMU which is all essay and exam based, but here I have decided to try out more practical subjects to improve my skills in different areas, such as Journalistic Design (making magazines), Opinion Journalism (writing articles) and Web Design (programming and coding). You can even chose subjects that don’t relate to your degree simply because you find them interesting or want to improve in that area, exciting! You will also learn so much about the different education systems from all around Europe from friend’s stories.

7. It may not be around much longer, thanks to Brexit

Unfortunately we must grab this opportunity while we still can, as there is no guarantee how much longer the UK will be able to participate in ERASMUS. Maybe it will still be around for decades to come or maybe it will be over next year so there’s no better time to go than now! I can guarantee that you will not regret it.

8. You will come back a different person

There is no denying that living and thriving in another country will change you in some way. It is likely to make you more confident, happier and more independent. You may have even learnt a new language, and certainly will have made new friends! I know I haven’t come back to England the same way I left it, even though coming home was the hard part, I would even go to say my perspective on life has changed in the best way possible. I finally am getting to know who I am and where I want to go!

So please, if you are even thinking of ERASMUS just apply and see where it can take you.

 

European Education Clashes

‘Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn’ – Benjamin Franklin

 As an ERASMUS student, I have met some great from all around Europe (Spain, Holland, Germany, Sweden, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Poland, Belgium, Italy, France and Scotland) and I have learnt many things about different their European education systems and the influence this has personally on each individual.

Finland previously has been idolized by Europe for their education system being the top in world, and even though they have lost their place to Asian countries using extreme methods to get the best grades (with 16 hour school days in South Korea), they are still considered the best in Europe. Surprisingly, despite its astronomical student loans for university goers and little focus on foreign languages, England is second in this ranking. In fact, it’s even sixth in the world!

So what are these rankings actually based on? In a BBC report on this subject, it states they “include the OECD’s Pisa tests, and two major US-based studies, Timss (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) and Pirls (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study). They also include higher-education graduation rates, which helped the UK to a much higher position than in Pisa tests, which saw the UK failing to make the top 20.”

But stats about how many people have graduated and generalised test results don’t necessarily mean that it is the ‘best’ education system, what about student satisfaction? Surely this is important? For international students, Ireland has been ranked highest for student satisfaction at 9.04, whilst England is dragging behind the Scandinavian countries at 8.75. This seems to ring true from the pride I have heard from students from Scandinavia and Ireland about their education institutions.

Coming from an English university and studying in Spain, flaws can be seen in the Spanish higher education system, but England can certainly learn important qualities from Spain. I have gone from eight-hours a week lecture-time, only writing essays and exams for my course, to twenty-one-hours a week including essays, presentations, group-work, practical work and exams, which allows for more development in important skills such as communication and technology.

Nonetheless, I do feel I have stepped back to feeling like 16-year-old me in my first year of college, the way the Spanish university students behave does surprise me with the loud talking in class, messaging their friends on Facebook instead of listening to their teacher and making-out in the hallway. But maybe that is simply just difference in culture, which is something I certainly don’t want to criticise. However, the exams set by the teachers have questions with no room for interpretation, which highly frustrates me as a student reading English Literature and Media, Culture and Communication Studies (wow, that’s a mouthful!) as in my subject everything must be interpreted and backed up by extensive independent research, which simply just doesn’t happen here.

Of course, I am enjoying this laid-back attitude and thriving from the lack of stress that overwhelmed me in my first year of university in England and I have heard similar feeling from my friends here, particularly German and Swedish. But, I mean, where else is it acceptable to wander off and enjoy some delicious tapas and vino tinto in their school cafe during afternoon break? Or have a picnic in El Retiro park for lunch and not have to worry about appearing 10 minutes late to class? I certainly know I am enjoying my time here and I am picking up wonderful practical skills I simply never would have the chance to do back home in England.

I believe we all have a lot to learn from one another.

First-year Blues

“Before you can appreciate the light, you have to see the darkness”

So as I aforementioned, I greatly struggled during my first year of university. I remember constantly staring at my bleached wooden desk and magnolia ceiling in my tiny boxed room in student halls and feeling overwhelmingly lonely and numb. Only broken by the daily dinner chats in the tiny kitchen.

“University will be the best three years of your life,” they say. But if that’s the case, then why does every other student in England I have come across feel just as bitterly disappointed as I did in my first year?

We go to university expecting a new and exciting experience where we will gain our independence, excluding the fact of the extortionate loan (a topic I shall not touch today), learn about the most interesting subjects and of course make friends for life! Yet, this is not what we get.

So, what happened?

We are sold a lie and students come to university utterly unprepared. We arrive, books clutched in our arms, a car full of our new and old belongings and a head full of hope. But in reality we cannot prepare ourselves for the utter lack of sleep, little money, strangers at every corner, extensive reading lists, little class time, drinking every night, living off potatoes, missing home, tutors that don’t even remember our names and wondering whether it’s really worth it. So is it really a wonder that depression, anxiety and eating disorders are becoming increasingly rife in our student community?

I put my sadness and loneliness down to the fact that I had just broke off a two-year relationship and my parents had uprooted and moved to a new city just before I began my degree. But now I see I was not the only one feeling desperate in this highly pressurised environment. Desperate for a kind face. Desperate for acceptance. Desperate for the work load to finally decrease. Desperate for help, of any kind! I feel like I am one of the lucky ones, I have found solace in my studying abroad, but I am apprehensive about what I will go back to

Something needs to be done about this. Universities need to recognise this and offer real support for students, not just throw up a three-month waiting list for ‘e-counselling.’