Prepare yourself better than I did!

Hi there 😊 When you read this, you are preparing yourself probably a little bit better than be. When I first arrived in Reading, I arranged the most important stuff such as insurance, ETA, accommodation, provisional modules, etc. But what I haven’t really dived into was everything else. I didn’t know how the campus would look like, where buildings are, what shops or restaurants are nearby or which activities exist – which doesn’t mean that they can’t be still arranged. I wasn’t informed about the culture or the city, and although I feel a little bit ashamed about that, I wasn’t totally clueless. Of course, I had some ideas and stereotypes in mind how my life would look like in England, where they really like to drink tea (but fruit tea isn’t a flavour you will find so often) and where the weather isn’t that sunny all the time (although we had beautiful autumn days with fabulous sunsets).

Despite all that non-existing preparation, I was looking forward to exploring and discovering everything in person! I admit, it highly depends on your goals, expectations, and personality. I was fine with not knowing what activities and events I could miss due to not being informed, I really appreciated all the nature and green on the campus and my goal was to make the best out of it, BUT that doesn’t include the same ideas and goals for everyone. Some people may like to visit all the sight-seeing spots they researched, for me it was living a relaxed student life, finding exchange and friends of other cultures and enjoying my time at university as much as I can.

So, it all comes down to how you want your semester to look like – of course there are some limitations you have to consider e.g. assessment or budget. But apart from it, you can still create beautiful experiences. For me, one of my highlights was going to the Show Act of the Drama, K-Pop, Songwriting, Acapella, Latin and ballroom Societies in which two friends of mine performed. It was a great evening, and it was directly on campus.

I hope, you find the best choice for yourself and can enjoy your study abroad experience! If you feel overwhelmed at first by all the tasks you have to do, take a deep breath and take one step after another until you reach your goal 🙂

Oh, and I totally forgot: My name is Amara, I am from the University of Graz, Austria and was here in Reading for the winter semester 2025/26 by the way.

Incoming Student