An international student’s experience: My first impressions of the UK

Hi! I’m Khijra, a student from India, and in this blog I am sharing my experience at the University of Huddersfield International Study Centre and the UK in general. I’m an International Foundation Year student and my programme is Health and Human Science. I arrived in the UK in October 2019. If you are interested in knowing more about Huddersfield and my experience as an international student, read on…

Why Huddersfield?

As any other student would, I did my research before making the decision to study at the University of Huddersfield. I always wanted to study in the UK because I was always fascinated by its high standard of education. Although I knew I wanted to go to the UK, I was not sure of where exactly. I have always been a small-crowd person so I never wanted to go to an overly busy place where everyone is in a rush. After my research, I knew that this university was perfect— not only because it was in a town which is neither too big nor too small, but the University has been rated gold for teaching in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). In addition, the University won the Global Teaching Excellence Award in 2017.

First impressions

After gaining acceptance to the International Study Centre, I was more than excited to start as soon as I could. I was on cloud nine!

“It’s freezing!” That was my first reaction when I landed in the UK. Everything was so different, but wonderful. Huddersfield was indeed the best choice. I love how it’s so cosy and welcoming, letting you experience both a busy and quiet life, which is the best part about it.

My first day at International Study Centre was mind-blowing. I loved how everyone was so helpful and polite. It was great to see how people would go out of their way to provide me with any kind of support they could. At the University, iPoint and the International Office helped me with my enrolment and all the required procedures before starting my programme.

I can’t forget to mention how astonished I was to see the beautiful campus in Huddersfield—I couldn’t resist getting loads of fancy pictures for Instagram. The campus consists of more than fifteen buildings, each representing a specific school. My favourite spot is the Broad Canal, which passes between the campus, and is a great place to relax with a mug of hot chocolate.

You can experience student life in Huddersfield and meet great friends with people like Khijra by joining us on one of our pathway programmes. We can't wait to meet you too!