London is a great city to live in as a student
I am studying at Middlesex as an exchange student thanks to the ERASMUS+ programme. I was given a list with universities to choose from for the exchange by my home university, and Middlesex stood out to me for three reasons. One is the location. It had always been a dream of mine to live in London for some time, and the exchange seemed like the perfect opportunity for that. London is a great city to live in as a student. There is always something to do or see. And while living here can be a bit expensive, there are lots of student discounts that make it more affordable, and Middlesex’s MDXworks not only helps students find part-time jobs, but even has flexible employment opportunities itself.
My second reason is the university’s diversity. Much like London itself, Middlesex is home to students from various nationalities, and I had hoped that this would make me feel more welcome. My expectations were definitely exceeded. With their International Orientation, Middlesex made it really easy for me to find friends and settle in right from the beginning. And when classes started, the other students in my course as well as the staff made sure I felt accepted.
Thirdly, I found the course particularly intriguing. At my home university, I study German and English Philology, which is quite theoretical. My Middlesex course, Creative Writing and Journalism, however, promised a very different approach. The teaching is much less formal than what I am used to and more practical – instead of writing only academic texts, I am mostly graded on the creative content I produce. Since I had never really done any proper creative writing and knew only very little about journalism, I was a bit worried at first. But my classmates and teachers were incredibly helpful, and having the Learning Enhancement Team there to help me is also really reassuring. Being at Middlesex allows me to learn skills and gain knowledge I could not have gotten otherwise, and I am convinced that my time here will prove very useful for finding a job in the book publishing industry after I finish my studies.
- Sandra