Profile Page – University of Liverpool

“There were many outlets for academic student support, and student well-being programs. Additionally, their responsive exchange team would help direct you to the correct places to address any needs.” – Winter 2024, Bachelor of Architecture

“The university had so many events/ clubs/ societies/ volunteer activities that we could get involved in. Living on residence also increased the amount of activities and events that we could go to. They would send out weekly emails about all the different things happening across campus. Overall, the social aspect of the study abroad was amazing, a 10/10 experience, really easy to meet people both local and other study abroad students.” – Winter 2024, Bachelor of Architecture

“It was pretty easy to find courses that matched with the ones at Carleton. Once we were accepted into the school, the university sent a large, organized Excel sheet with all the courses that were offered for the semester. The only thing I would say is that some that you might see on the website may not be on the Excel sheet, so always have backups for each course. The grading system is very different, and I found that while the assignments were at the same level of difficulty, they grade much harder in the UK. For example, a 40% is a pass and it is normal to get between a 60-75% on most assignments.” – Winter 2024, Bachelor of Architecture

“I would encourage people to browse the full breadth of courses the university has to offer. I appreciated being able to get a foreign point of view on different topics as it offered opinions and context I wouldn’t have been able to get exposure to otherwise. In terms of content delivery and course deliverables, the styles were similar enough where I didn’t feel any sense of awkward transition.” – Winter 2022, Bachelor of Architecture

“I chose to live on campus in the residence called ‘Melville Grove’. I met some amazing people, and was near my classes, stores, and downtown Liverpool. ” – Winter 2024, Bachelor of Architecture

“I lived on residence at the University of Liverpool, and I was very happy with my decision. They grouped you into houses with other study abroad students for the most part, but the entire residence was filled with both locals and exchange students so it was a good mix. There were social events and activities every week (that were all mostly free or extremely cheap!) so it was a great way to take a break from academics and meet people.” – Winter 2024, Bachelor of Architecture

“Due to COVID-19, I was placed in a vacant room in a regular first year accommodation with students who actually had already been immersed in the city. I absolutely loved this as they were able to give me all of the inside information and highlight the less touristy things I needed to see in my short time there.” – Winter 2022, Bachelor of Architecture

“I was able to set up a bank account in England right when I got there at HSBC UK. They have a special international student account. In terms of cell phone plan, I did a monthly plan which was very cheap and used an e-sim so that I could keep my Canadian sim in my phone and use both Canadian and UK numbers at the same time.” – Winter 2024, Bachelor of Architecture

“I didn’t need anything more than a credit card and a small envelope of cash as a backup. While there are fees for international purchases they were insignificant enough that they
just sort of blended into the exchange rate of the Canadian dollar. In terms of a cell plan I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase a plan through my service provider that had the specs I needed to get by. As I understand it, you can also purchase very cheap EU sim cards while over there.” – Winter 2022, Bachelor of Architecture

“Being in Liverpool made it very easy to travel across the United Kingdom. Take advantage of going to Whales, Lake District, and Scotland as train rides are only a few hours and fairly cheap.” – Winter 2024, Bachelor of Architecture

“If the school has organized any trips for exchange students, go with them! Great place to meet other exchange students and they will most probably take you to all the must-see places. For example, I got to go to Lake District National Park in England, multiple places in North Wales like Snowdonia National Park, and did some tours in Liverpool itself to familiarize myself with it. I also made sure to hit all the must-see places in Liverpool (ex. The Beatles Museum, Liverpool Cathedral, the docks, Museum of Liverpool, Merseyside Museum, Sefton Park).” – Winter 2024, Bachelor of Architecture

“Outside of the UK, travel through the EU is almost seamless and ridiculously cheap. For Liverpool specifically, the harbour and waterfront have developed into the main tourist area with spots like the Museum of Liverpool, Tate Modern and others are all worth exploring as a tourist. If you’re a fan of the Beatles you’re in the right place, check out Cavern street or walk literally anywhere and odds are you’ll find something. But also just wandering around checking out the churches (hard to miss), local architecture and just observing the culture I found just as interesting. Be sure to catch a football game in any environment you can, whether its at Anfield or the pub down the road for a rollercoaster of emotions.” – Winter 2022, Bachelor of Architecture