Studying abroad can be both a life-changing and rewarding experience, but it is also extremely intimidating. From the application process to boarding the plane, there are probably 100 different experiences for which you are unprepared. Then, you have to actually complete the semester in a new school and country. At least, that’s how I am feeling.

  Welcome to Bex Abroad, The Parthenon’s new column on everything about going abroad! Over the course of the Fall 2023 Semester, I will be studying in Cambridge, England, and reporting back to you, our dear readers, all the tips and tricks I have learned. 

  My best friend is studying at Oxford University. She is not on an exchange program; she just applied, got in and promptly moved to a new country. I am so incredibly proud of her bravery, but that felt pretty extreme, not to mention expensive. I knew I wanted to study abroad for a myriad of reasons, but being able to study abroad in the same country as my best friend quickly topped the list of reasons why I needed to apply immediately. 

  I did some research on the programs offered through Marshall over the summer in 2022, which is when I found out that there is an exchange program with Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge currently open to business and journalism majors only. Luckily, I am a journalism major, so this was going to work out perfectly.

  The application process was easy – so easy, in fact, that I was pretty sure I was doing it wrong. For the Cambridge program, all you have to do is email the Study Abroad Office, say you would like to be nominated for the program and send them your student ID number. So long as you have above a 2.5 GPA, you should qualify for the nomination. I still do not know what goes into the process of deciding who gets nominated, but I applied at a time with low interest due to the pandemic, so there was literally no competition. 

  After receiving the nomination and selection, I started getting emails from Anglia Ruskin to officially apply. Then, I got a student ID number and email and began applying for the courses. The course selection process has been arguably the most challenging part. I am a senior, so I have very few classes left to take. The trickiest part is that the classes from these exchange programs won’t transfer to Marshall as whatever course they were in the exchange school; instead, they have to have a direct translation from Marshall. 

  For this obstacle, I got very acquainted with the College of Arts and Media advisor, as well as a member of the curriculum committee for my major. We worked together to review the courses offered and what I still needed to graduate, and we submitted the courses for approval. There is some wiggle room, though. For example, as a journalism major, I have to take a class called “Emerging Media,” which gives an overview of all new forms of journalism such as podcasting, blogging, content creation and more. At Anglia Ruskin, I am taking a class called “Podcasting 101” to take its place. 

  Now, I have all my courses selected, my apartment booked, my bags (mostly) packed and am in Washington, D.C. visiting a friend and preparing to catch a plane. It was surreal watching everyone come back to campus and start the semester. England uses a three trimester system, so they’re in school all year with shorter semesters. The fall semester, called trimester one, doesn’t start until Sept. 12. 

   I am pretty nervous to begin school. I know how school works in America, I know how weather works in West Virginia and I know which Kroger is “the good Kroger” in Huntington. I don’t really know anything about living in England. Finding my grocery store, the best cup of coffee and my favorite restaurant is my favorite part of moving to a new place but doing so internationally seems nerve-racking. Not to mention, packing was extremely hard since it will go from summer to winter while I am there. 

  Through this column, I hope to inspire more Marshall students to study abroad and quell some fears about the process and experience. If there are specific questions you want answered, email them to me at [email protected]. For now, look forward to the next edition of Bex Abroad where I will talk about the flight, other exchange programs available and how to financially prepare. 

  See you in 120 days, Marshall!