I had the most memorable and amazing year studying in Singapore. You can't plan for everything, but here are my top tips if you are thinking about an exchange. My top recommendation when going on an exchange is just to be flexible. Be flexible with which university you want to go to and the experiences you want from it. An exchange will never be exactly as you expect, but that’s one of the most unique parts about it. Research the culture of the university you are interested in I studied Neuroscience at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and it was the best year of my life so far. If you’re trying to pick a university, something I wish I had known is not to just research the place (which is what I did) as you will probably get an overwhelming amount of info that isn’t relevant. Focus more on looking into the type and culture of the university itself. Join any Facebook and WhatsApp groups for the university/exchange students/accommodation - they can be annoyingly active, but it’s so worth doing to find events and places to go. It was at those (slightly fresher-like) events and through Facebook that I met my flatmates and best friends. Budget for life-changing travel adventures Singapore is so unique - a bustling and multi-cultural city, packed with touristy and business-friendly areas (the expensive side of Singapore), but also some cool areas to eat and drink (Lau Pa Sat and Boat Quay), which you learn about quickly once you arrive. Singapore is a travel hub and this was undoubtedly my favourite thing about it. It’s very common for exchange students to come to Singapore solely for travelling and a frequent conversation topic. We traveled in any reading week we had, and I was so lucky to be able to go to amazing places I never dreamed I would - like Malaysia (by bus that can be less than £20), Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia. Travelling in Southeast Asia was genuinely life-changing and just impossible to describe, I couldn’t recommend it more. Although it was relatively affordable to travel (depending on the time of year) it made me realise how terribly I had budgeted, so I really would recommend trying to get funding/budgeting as organised as you can beforehand (my friends loved their Excel Spreadsheets). Get ready for amazing campuses, pioneering professors and highly driven students I spent most of my time in Singapore on the massive, beautiful National University of Singapore (NUS) campus. It’s super modern, with student-friendly food arranged as Hawker Centres (food stalls) which you will get very used to (but bring cash everywhere for these). The campus was just unbelievable, with their unique study spaces, Olympic size swimming pools, multiple gyms and lots of accommodation. They have an amazing ‘Life Sciences’ programme at NUS which is essentially biological and biomedical combined. It’s not common for students to specialise so there was a bit of confusion when I said I studied Neuroscience. NUS is the top University in Asia, and you can tell. The professors were often pioneers in their field in Singapore and know everyone in the small classes by name. The environment is intense, the local students are very driven and intelligent, some taking up to 6 modules (exchange students don’t need to don’t worry) and study until the early hours. This was a massive shift from the norm, but it’s something I got used to and felt I learnt a lot from. Research your course options and course codes Course-wise (for all exchange universities) I would recommend trying to find out what the course options are and what the codes mean. What I thought meant 3rd or 4th year courses in Singapore (LSM3XXX and LSM4XXX) actually referred to the level of difficulty (with LSM4XXX being mainly post-grads and lots of the neuro/relevant courses) and the workload was quite heavy. Ask questions, everyone is willing to help you If you’re unsure about anything, email professors, SWAY, exchange coordinators and/or speak to local students. Everyone is so willing to help, it’s just not worth struggling with courses, student visas or getting to the end of your exchange and realising you missed something. Speaking with local students especially helped me with course choices. I learnt to email (maybe a little too frequently) for clarification, regardless of how trivial it seemed. Don’t try and overprepare for an exchange - most things you can only learn from being immersed in a place, so just being open to everything when you arrive is the best way to get the most out of it. You can’t plan everything perfectly (trust me I tried) and that has taught me so much resilience and I just feel so grateful for the experience and everyone I met. Rose Tatham, BSc Neuroscience This article was published on 2024-08-05
