Why should I take a year abroad?

If you choose to study abroad, you can do so with financial help at a world-renowned university and develop your subject knowledge from a different angle. If you’re working, you gain invaluable experience and make yourself more appealing to international business recruiters. If you’re volunteering, you are adding vital global skills to your CV, such as adaptability and communication skills, whilst also giving back to the community. If you’re teaching, you can get a real insight into the world of learning languages, and improve your own techniques. You also learn about time-management and leadership skills, and can try out a potential career path. You learn about the foreign culture and society which will help you work on international teams in the future. You have access to new resources, such as libraries, as well as cultural and career centres. You open yourself to new learning techniques which aren’t necessarily common in your home country, and can benefit from these later on in life. You improve your language of choice, by constantly speaking, hearing and reading it every day. You make new friends, and perhaps, new possible career connections which can really open your horizons. You don’t have to be tied down for longer than a semester at times - it’s really up to you. You can split your year abroad, either by country or by placement type (work, study or volunteer). You learn to stand on your own two feet and experience life in another country and another culture, which will make you more independent and resourceful. You don’t necessarily have to be a linguist to apply, thanks to the various schemes on offer. You get to ‘test the water’ abroad for a year, if you are thinking of moving abroad after you graduate. You are showing future employers, and yourself, that you can put up with a variety of situations, good and bad, and get something positive out of them. It’s a brilliant opportunity to start again if your Freshers' week is but a distant blur, you feel like you need some change to your routine or feel stuck in a rut. Many students say it's the most fun, exciting, challenging and life-changing experience of their student life - and we completely agree! If you need more convincing, please get in touch with us to talk it all through.

So just a very few of the thousands of reasons why you should go on a year abroad, but here are 100 more just in case. You will most definitely have a talking point in interviews, you’ll get the chance to study at some of the best universities without having to fork out vertiginous fees, you’ll learn about the workplace, you might decide on your career path out there... One thing is for sure, judging by these reviews, from our Mole Diaries section, it’s bound to be the year of your life.