Julia Sumera

I wanted to study abroad to experience another educational environment than Berkeley and to experience other cultures. I knew going to another country would help me grow and push me out of my comfort zone, so that was another factor in my decision to study abroad. I chose UCEAP's program at University of Sussex because they offered me a class (physics) that would fulfill my major requirement while being in a prime location (close to London, England).

The most interesting cultural experience abroad was going to Rome and seeing all the historical and artistic sites! It's so fascinating to see in real life what you've seen only in textbooks and pictures. Rome had so much history, from ruins in Ancient Rome to the Vatican (having the Sistine Chapel and the tomb of the apostle Peter), while being a modern city as well.

The biggest challenge for me was financial issues and making sure I had enough money. I had a Tier 4 student visa, so I couldn't work in England and only had savings. I responded by saving money before the program, and by limiting how much I spent on food during the week. We had a meal plan, so I didn't eat out during the week when I was on campus, so I didn't spend any other money on food. When I travelled, I also stayed in hostels or with family so I didn't pay for hotels.

A typical day on campus would be waking up at 8 AM, and having lecture from 9 to 10:30. I would eat brunch and study a little before having either Lab or Workshop (similar to discussion) at 12 pm. Lab was 3 hours and Workshop was 2 hours, and after that I would go to office hours if I could. I'd eat a snack and study in the library or in Jubilee, a building on campus. I'd eat dinner with friends around 7 PM and go back to the dorm to study more or relax.

I took Physics 1 and Physics 2, which was the equivalent of Physics 8A/8B. I thought I did better abroad than I would have with Physics 8A/8B, simply because it was the only class I needed to focus on; there was no other classes to juggle my time/studying with. While I felt it was easier, it definitely wasn't an easy course--expect to do reading, problem sets, and book problems every day. I ended up studying about 2-3 hours a day, in addition to the 1.5 hour lecture and the 3 hour lab in class. So you'll do about 6-7 hours of physics a day to do well in the course.

The most memorable thing about my time abroad was bonding with the friends I made. I made a lot of new friends and got closer to the friends I already had from Berkeley who also went to the program. Being able to travel with friends, study and struggle through class together, having movie nights and face masks or going out at night, really made it special.

Studying abroad made me more independent. Since I had a single room, I found myself becoming more independent and pushing myself to study by myself and really understand concepts myself instead of relying on discussion/office hours and someone to explain it to me.

I would recommend not really having set plans to travel right when you get there. It's nice to have a spontaneous travel trip, especially because you're going to make a lot of new friends who you can travel with; if you book everything beforehand, you're kind of excluding the friends you could have made on the trip :)

I also recommend saving money and knowing when to save or splurge! For example, I saved money by not eating out during the weekdays, so I could have money to eat out when I was taking a weekend trip to Paris.

And definitely pack light--you don't need to bring your whole wardrobe, and it'll be easier on you if you have less. And that way you can have more room to get souvenirs for friends and yourself.