International perspective: a desire to broaden my horizons led me to the UK

I’m currently studying a postgraduate degree in humanities at the University of Manchester in the UK. Before that, I was an undergraduate student at Western University in Canada. I ended up doing five years of undergraduate studies because I decided to do a six-month exchange at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland during my fourth year.  

Although it was risky and anxiety-inducing, I can now say that choosing to study abroad was the best decision I’ve ever made. However, they’re right when they say that once you leave home you never go back. 

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I grew up in Cairo, Egypt, in a cosmopolitan family, where everyone speaks at least two languages and has lived in a minimum of two countries. I’m lucky to have relatives dotted around the world, which most likely led me to develop a thirst for knowledge in the forms of studying and travel.

My dad has seen and lived in many countries, and he spent a good part of his youth studying in the UK, so I’d heard many stories about it growing up. I’d always wanted to live there but it remained a distant desire for years.  

After 12 years in Cairo, we moved to Ontario, Canada, where I experienced massive culture shocks but adapted quickly. We didn’t have much disposable income growing up, so there was never much travel during my 12 years in Egypt and 10 years in Canada.  

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I eventually became tired of living in the same place and desperately wanted to improve my French, so I began to consider the idea of studying abroad in a francophone country. I gathered every penny I’d earned from part-time jobs, scholarships and research grants over the years, and left Canada in January 2022 for my exchange programme in Switzerland.  

The places I visited in Switzerland and the people I met there changed my life. Living and studying abroad showed me how much opportunity is out there, and only strengthened my desire to see as many places and to learn as much from other people as possible. When I got home, I knew I wanted to pursue my master’s abroad, I just didn’t know where yet. 

I wanted to cast a relatively wide net, so I spent a few months applying to six master’s programmes around the world: one in Canada, two in the Netherlands, two in the UK, and one in Sweden. When the acceptances came in, I agonised about which university to attend for months. When you commit to a programme, an academic institution, and a country, you inevitably gain and lose certain things and I was worried about closing doors. I was set on the Netherlands until my UK acceptances arrived. To my surprise, I ended up in Manchester.  

I can’t describe how much time and effort went into my decision to ultimately study in the UK, but broadly, I considered the cost of living and studying there; the type of cultural fit; the university, programme content and structure itself; the location; and the opportunities I’d get afterwards. In addition, my family’s familiarity with the UK education system certainly helped.  

I’m nearly four months into my master’s programme now and I’m already learning so much. I hope that my experience shows other students that your journey is never linear, and that sometimes, things fall into place when you least expect them.  

It’s important to always keep your options open, to keep learning, and to never lose sight of what you want. Things really do happen when you least expect them, but you have to work for them.