Profile Page – University of Leeds

“Many different clubs, on-campus events, balls, societies, and volunteer opportunities. There was a student union on campus where many club events were held. On Thursday, they offered a pub quiz at the campus bar. I attended many times with friends and had lots of fun!” – Winter 2024, Bachelor of Commerce

“There were many support services available to us as exchange students, including academic support, wellness resources, and specific orientation events as well as a direct link with the exchange coordinator if we wanted. The Leeds University Union (a student union) hosted many events throughout the year and invited us to them! The University of Leeds offered many clubs and societies as well, and I was able to join sports ones (like touch rugby and motorsports) and general interest ones (like Model United Nations) quite easily.” – Winter 2023, Bachelor of Global and International Studies

“The services I was most aware of were the ones I used, such as academic support from my exchange coordinator and drop-in counselling sessions. Leeds also had a buddy program and disability services. I also joined the university’s hiking club for Sunday hikes every second week and attended weekly conversation groups for Spanish and German.” – Winter 2023, Bachelor of Journalism and Humanities

“I found finding my courses super easy. The university’s module catalogue was extremely easy to navigate. When you clicked on a course, it would give you a summary of the syllabus and what assignments you would be graded on. The grading system was a bit different in the sense that professors generally did not give out marks higher than an 80, which I found interesting. Since people would say that getting 70 or 75/100 was a good a mark” – Winter 2024, Bachelor of Commerce

“I would suggest to prospective exchange students to save as many elective courses for you exchange as possible. This gives you a lot of flexibility that makes the process of selecting courses much easier. Since I was on pass/fail I was a lot less stressed when it came to assignments and coursework. Although I will say that the grading system in the UK is much more challenging, and they grade things much lower. For example, I received a 70 on an essay I submitted, which was considered a top grade and I only received positive feedback.” – Winter 2024, Bachelor of Commerce

“Lecture content was usually quite stimulating, and there were many opportunities to ask questions during class.” – Winter 2023, Bachelor of Journalism and Humanities

“I lived on student accommodation while on exchange and I was extremely happy with my decision. I was about a 5min walk from the university and about a 10-15min walk from the city centre so it was perfect. I lived in a flat of 6 people and we each had our own bedroom and bathroom, so only the kitchen and living area was communal, which was nice..” – Winter 2024, Bachelor of Commerce

“All exchange students were guaranteed accommodation in residence, so I stayed in an off-campus University of Leeds residence that had catered food called Devonshire Hall. I was quite happy with my decision, as it wasn’t too far from university (less than a 10-minute bus ride) and I made friends with fellow residence students very quickly.” – Winter 2023, Bachelor of Global and International Studies

“I lived in one of the only catered residences at Leeds, which was also considered the international residence because half the students were domestic and half were from elsewhere in the world. I liked the building, facilities and community as a whole.” – Winter 2023, Bachelor of Journalism and Humanities

“I did not set up a bank account as I was only there for one semester. In terms of cell phone, the University provided a free sim card in my welcome box through the provider Lebara.” – Winter 2024, Bachelor of Commerce

“I did not end up setting up a bank account because I was able to use my VISA credit card just fine with global transfer applying to each purchase. With our welcome kit to our residence accommodation, we received a free SIM card, and so I used that to activate my cell phone with Lebara for their monthly 10 pound 15GB plan (about $17 CAD).” – Winter 2023, Bachelor of Global and International Studies

“I didn’t need to set up a bank account, as I instead ordered a Revolut debit card which I loaded money onto from my Canadian bank account for a small fee and used freely around Europe. Revolut also gave me the option to withdraw money from bank machines free of extra charge, and I could switch currency and send money via the Revolut app as well. – Winter 2023, Bachelor of Journalism and Humanities

“Explore the Yorkshire region if in the UK. York, Harrogate, Knaresborough are great to visit on a day trip. I loved visiting Italy and the Amalfi coast. This was probably my favourite place I have been ever! Portugal and Spain are stunning and are quite easy to get to from the UK. If you are studying in England, go to Ireland. It is probably the cheapest to get to out of other European countries from England and its stunning. Overall, I would recommend checking the RyanAir/Easyjet websites and see what’s easy and inexpensive to get to. Go as many places as you can and see everything!!!” – Winter 2024, Bachelor of Commerce

“I think must-see places include London, Oxford, and Stratford-Upon-Avon in England, and certainly if you have a chance, go up to Scotland as Edinburgh and the Highlands were absolutely gorgeous. If you’re a Harry Potter fan, be sure to do the Warner Brothers Studios Tour and the Jacobite Steam Train ride in Scotland! If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan, I quite enjoyed following J.R.R. Tolkien’s footsteps around the UK, including in Oxford and in Birmingham.” – Winter 2023, Bachelor of Global and International Studies

“In Scotland I visited the go-to cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow but also the smaller towns farther north of Aviemore and Inverness, which I largely felt I connected with more. My girlfriend and I had a fabulous and exciting time travelling through Slovakia, Austria, Germany and Holland by train in less than two weeks. Vienna and Salzburg were easy favourites for us both, and Amsterdam is usually a must on the European itinerary. From my other travels in England, Scotland and Ireland, I especially liked Scarborough, York, the Lake District, Edinburgh, Inverness, Kinsale and Killarney.” – Winter 2023, Bachelor of Journalism and Humanities