Type of housing: Apartment/House

Arranged by: Host university

If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House

Why? More social then on campus living. Liked having cooking facilities and not having to rely on set dining hours.

Personal comments:
Housing locations at Leeds vary greatly. I was less then a five minute walk to campus, while other housing options were 4 miles away or in dodgy areas. Montague Burton was the name of my flat complex and in my opinon is the best choice for a foreign student. It was close to campus, had laundry facilities on site, and each room had high speed internet access.

Describe host city: Students equally interact with the local and student community

Activities, Nightlife, Travel: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment

Personal comments:
Where you go out will depend mainly on where you live. If your housing is in the city you are close to the clubs and pubs downtown. Near campus there are plenty of student dominated pubs with cheap drinks. Further north of campus in the Headingly area is throughly student dominated pubs. Night clubs are downtown, with one in the student union. Try to get to a Leeds United match (even though they have been demoted!) or a rugby match, they are a nice change from a night drinking at the bars.

Course recommendations:
Registering for courses is kind of a nightmare at Leeds. I would advice to look through the course offerings at Leeds and make sure the ones you are interested in are available the semesters you are there. Then make a list with plenty of backups in case times conflict or courses are full.

Personal comments:
Coming from the US, the acadamic style was very different. There is less hand holding in terms of frequent examinations or assignments. I felt like I learned less in the courses then I would have at my home institution. On the plus side, the smaller workload allowed me to enjoy all sorts of travel.

Language of instruction: English

Main source of funding:
Family

Other sources of funding:
None

Work opportunities:
I didn't explore any work options

Personal spending habits:
Students from pretty much every country will find the UK more expensive due to the value of the pound. However Leeds wasn't nearly as expensive as London. It was nice to be in a student dominated city that had to cater to students with discounts, cheaper drinks then London.

Travel, Nightlife, Overall, Telephone, Housing: was more expensive than at home.

Food: was the same price as at home.

I wish I had known...
Just go with an open mind.

In my opinion:
I loved it but I'm not sure everybody would.