When Should I Study Abroad? – Journey to Start Studying in the UK

List of contents

  • Who I am
  • The journey until I decided to study at UoS (University of Surrey)
  • Reflection for the past 5 months

Who I am

Very nice to meet you, everyone reading this blog. I am Sakura from Japan and an international student studying at the University of Surrey in the UK. My major is Digital Marketing in Master’s.

The View of London from an Airplaine

The Journey until I Decide to Study at UoS

As I am studying at the master’s level, some of you might think I have done my Bachelor’s in an English-speaking country. However, this is my first time studying and living outside of Japan. Therefore, the decision was quite a big step for me as many people studying in a foreign country also experience that.

In terms of having an interest in studying outside of my country, I have always known that I wanted to do so to experience a different culture and acquire new perspectives to view the world and myself. Therefore, I specialized in English from high school to approach the goal, and at university, I studied both Business and English. Developing a new interest in business, specifically in marketing, I was ready to study abroad for one year during my university days. However, the pandemic happened, and my study abroad planning was canceled after two postponements and cancellations.

It was not easy to maintain my motivation to prepare again for studying overseas. Nevertheless, as I knew that I needed to be in a diverse culture somewhere in my heart and did not want to give up studying overseas, I decided to follow my interest and study at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom while I was in undergraduate university.

Reflection for the Past 5 Months

It has been about 5 months since I started studying at UoS, including a pre-sessional English course. So far, my experience here has  been successful. Of course, there are many things to overcome to adapt to a new culture, such as making friends and studying in English, as home and international students may also go through. However, gain points outweigh the challenges because I built more confidence in myself, obtained living skills, and learned things I truly enjoy and am curious about in a high academic level environment with people from various countries.

Before The End of Today’s Blog

These are all my personal experiences, but I hope these help you have some new ideas about studying at the University of Surrey. I am looking forward to sharing my other experiences in the UK in the following weeks. Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you have a happy holiday.