Study abroad: Bevan's story
Published on 28 October 14
Ahead of next week's Study Abroad Fair, we spoke to students who have been there and done it. First up is Bevan, who spent a year at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Here is his story:
I spent the best year of my life in California! My exchange institution was the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB); a part of California I had never heard of before I started researching the UC system. I can honestly say I had the best year I can imagine and I can't put into words how much I loved my time abroad!
I found out about the California study abroad opportunity on a UCAS open day for the Physics department here at Manchester. I knew I wanted to apply for this amazing opportunity and I remember going home and telling my family about what I had heard straight away. Every time I saw an American college film or a US TV series, I knew I wanted my own American adventure. I can definitely say that UCSB did not fail to give me a proper college experience.
As a physicist, California was the only place I could go a for full year exchange; this year, however, they have also added the National University of Singapore (NUS) to the Physics programme so new students have more opportunities. I feel fine that I could only go to California because it's the state I think suits me best anyway. The best things about California are the culture of hard work and fun times, diversity of its population and ethical values, whether you look at the locally grown organic produce everywhere or the on-campus campaigns for lower energy usage.
I chose UCSB simply for its academic prowess (2nd best in the US for Physics), its location near the beach (something totally different for a lad from near Leeds) and the chance to get outdoors (whether that's surfing on Goleta beach, backpacking in the San Rafael Wilderness or rock climbing in the Santa Barbara hills). I can honestly say that this is not a holiday, you can't go to an academic institution such as this and expect to spend the year partying and lying on the beach, but you certainly do get a chance to enjoy yourself if you work hard and finish your assignments early.
Whilst abroad I had so many opportunities I never dreamt of, and got a ridiculous number of CV boosters! I had the chance to go skydiving, canoeing on the Colorado River to the Hoover Damn, paragliding, riding motorbikes on Pismo Beach and so many more things I don't have space to write about. I had chances to face my fears by going rock climbing and cliff diving, independently organise a Spring Break trip for thirteen exchange students I met online with extreme time constraints (one of my big stories for recruiters that I never would have had without my time abroad), visit American families' homes to experience Thanksgiving, Christmas and general family life. I met some of the best people I have ever met and I have taken a lot from what they taught me and embraced it in my own life.
In the future I would love to move back to California, potentially San Francisco (my favourite Californian city), but this experience has given me such a lot of confidence about moving abroad that Europe might be my next stop on the way to America. I just love the challenge and excitement of moving to totally new places now and I know I can handle the associated stress and thrive under these new conditions.
To conclude, I had the best opportunities I could imagine by studying abroad; it has improved my attitude towards work and shown me a world of outdoor activities I never thought of trying before. I met amazing people from literally all over the world (Australia, Japan, Turkey, France and Kent to name but a few), and I will definitely keep in contact with as many of them as possible. My entire outlook on life has changed; I definitely have the whole Californian laid back 'everything will be fine in the end' attitude now, and I'm not afraid of taking on a lot of work because I did so much last year."
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The Study Abroad Fair is taking place on Tuesday 4th November, 12pm-4pm in Academy 2 in the Students’ Union and gives you the opportunity to explore the options for spending a period abroad at an overseas university as part of your Manchester degree.