Advice

“If I’d only known then what I know now”

So what do you want to study at university?

Geography, I think. Yes, Geography. I'm good at Geography and it’s interesting. I mean, I really love English Literature but there are so few contact hours and it’s not really that employable…so I want to do that, but I don’t think I can justify it, not for £9,000 a year. So Geography, that’s better, I’ll do that.

Welcome, Marty McFly!

Today, on the 21st of October 2015, Back to the Future’s intrepid travellers are due to arrive in a time-travelling car that quite literally runs on rubbish – all the way from 1985.

Back to the Future II predicted many wondrous inventions for 2015, only some of which bear any resemblance to life as we know it today.

In June 2015, Aaron Chapman travelled from his home in the UK to Japan, hoping to study for a master’s degree there the next academic year. His motivation was almost entirely selfless; he felt a duty to become a cultural ambassador.

“I feel like it is my mission to ensure that a good level of understanding happens between countries,” he says.

Studying abroad can be an eye-opening experience wherever you go. But if you want to maximise your opportunities and get the most out of your experience, it is crucial to make an informed decision about where to study.

Luckily, there are plenty of resources to help you make a good decision, and I’ll take you through all the factors you should consider.

University rankings

Rankings should not be the sole basis of your decision, but there are many good reasons to use them as a starting point.

Studying far from home is an exciting prospect, full of new places, people and adventures in an unfamiliar land.

But what if your desire to go abroad is more strategic? Securing that sought-after graduate job is a worthwhile aspiration to keep in mind, and a study abroad experience can be important for your future career.

Whether or not you hope to use multiple languages in the workplace, international experience gives you precisely the skills that employers are looking for in a global business environment.