What are your plans for this summer? David from Foreign Students takes us through his top tips for international students’ summer holiday options…
If you’re an international student in the UK right now, chances are you’re in the middle of exams and feeling pretty stressed. However, before you know it, exams will be over and you’ll be faced with a three month summer holiday.
If you haven’t already made plans for the summer, then you have a few different options. Here we go through what choices you have and give you some top tips on how to make the most of your summer.
Go Home
The most obvious choice is to go home for the summer. You’ve probably missed your family and friends during your stay in the UK, and they’ll certainly have missed you. You can spend the summer reacquainting yourself with freshly cooked dinners, free laundry and no rent.
At home you can either get a summer job and save up some extra spending money for when you return to study, or else simply relax, recharge and get a head start on next year’s work.
Positives: See the people and things you have missed, save money
Negatives: May get bored a week after getting there
Stay in the UK
Even though you won’t have any lectures to attend, you may still want to stay in the UK over the summer. If you are settled and you are paying for your accommodation over the summer anyway, then it may be the best option.
The summer is a great chance to get some work experience that can improve your CV. Working full time or part time can help you save up that extra bit of cash to help you out during term time, and doing it in a job relevant to your degree can be really useful (you can search & apply for jobs here).
However, the best way to give your career prospects a boost is by trying to get an internship. Doing a one-three month internship in an industry you’re interested in will help you make contacts and will look brilliant on your CV. The only downside is that many internships are unpaid, so you will need to have some savings to help you through.
Alternatively, just relax and enjoy exploring parts Britain you haven’t had a chance to yet. You can travel around the UK really cheaply if you’ve got the time to take a bus. Plus, who knows, you may even get to see the mythical English sun!
Positives: Could get good work experience
Negatives: Accommodation expensive, may miss your family (?!)
Go Travelling
University summers are pretty much the one chance in your life that you have long periods of time with zero responsibilities. Therefore, it is the perfect time to travel the world.
If you are from outside of Europe, using the UK as a base and exploring the many wonderful cities of the continent would certainly be memorable. Travelling by train can be great value and very sociable, whilst staying in hostels means you can do it all on a budget (read this guide for top tips).
Another alternative is to volunteer. There are loads of programmes open to volunteers who want to travel and live in an unusual part of the world, whilst also helping others.
Positives: Unique experience
Negatives: Expensive
Now that you’ve seen some of your options, maybe you’ll think twice about simply going home and sitting in front of the TV for the whole summer. For three months you have total control over your time – make the most of it!