Prepar­ing for Lon­don: My jour­ney from shock to re­lief

I had just finished a semester abroad in Romania when I received the news that I would be able to spend two semesters at Imperial College (IC) London – hurray! Surely the preparations would be just as easy as for my last exchange – or so I thought. Oh, was I wrong! I had considered, but not fully understood what it would mean for me that the United Kingdom (UK) is no longer part of the European Union: Basically, all the privileges of spending time abroad visa-free no longer applied.

Therefore, with my departure planned for September, I started researching how to do things as soon as March. My Erasmus Coordinator at Imperial College, luckily, was very well-informed and sent a really long document early on. The 20+ pages explained the perks of being an exchange student at IC and what to do when. Reading it was pretty challenging for me: As it turns out, native English speakers are much more sophisticated in their choice of words than I had been prepared for. Let's say it was a useful primer for the exchange programme itself!

First things first: applying (again) to Imperial College. This was mainly a formality, but I still needed to send in a proper language certificate. Luckily, the HU Language Centre certificate was enough, so I was spared spending several hundred euros for another, more expensive test like TOEFL. As I learned, the requirements depend heavily on the exchange university, so it had been a good idea to read the document carefully.

Financial shock: Unexpected charges and London rent prices

Then, after some time, IC officially offered me a place, which meant I was able to apply for the visa I needed for spending more than six months in the UK. I was taken aback when I found out that the visa application would not only cost me about 600 euros, but that I also needed to pay an "immigration health surcharge" of about 1000 pounds for the year I was going to study in the UK! That's a lot of money, given that choosing the UK meant I was already taking on a financial burden.

Luckily, during a previous semester in Romania, I had learned an important lesson: I knew how to gather information. So I found out that, in fact, for EU residents, there is the possibility to get an "immigration health surcharge reimbursement", which meant that I had to pay the extra insurance money but could get it all back once in the UK. This option was very well hidden, so doing some research really paid off.

The next thing to sort was housing. Renting in London is extremely expensive; even a single room will cost you more than 1200 pounds per month if you're staying close to the centre. As I was spending the whole year there, I was allowed to apply for a place in student halls, which are normally reserved for first-year students.

Good news and the joys of train tavel

But where was my email inviting me to apply? I got a bit nervous as the application deadline approached, and after asking my Erasmus Coordinator, it turned out that they had forgotten to send me an email! Luckily, I had inquired in time. I opted to apply for shared (twin) rooms only, as this was much cheaper, at only 130-190 instead of 300 pounds a week (!) which would have been the rent for their newest single rooms. I eagerly awaited the outcome of my application.

While waiting, I started making travel plans. As I had successfully managed a nearly 24-hour train ride when I went to Romania, I decided to take to the tracks once more. I had got Interrail tickets before, so I knew that those would be much cheaper than buying individual train tickets. Luckily, this term the EU introduced a new Erasmus Interrail ticket: It costs 212 euros and can be used on four days within six months. And I could get it as well despite not officially being an Erasmus student. It's also valid in the UK, which meant I would save even more. Just as I had finalised my travel plans, I received the long-awaited confirmation: I got a shared room in a new hall just opposite Imperial College in the noble district of South Kensington! What a joy!

At the end of September, the time had finally come: I boarded my train in Stuttgart and was off to London. In Paris, I had to change from the train station Gare de l'Est to Gare du Nord, which fortunately is only a ten-minute walk. I even had time to buy a pain au chocolat and a baguette! Arriving at the Eurostar terminals, I quickly went through security and then waited for the connecting train to arrive. The time to London passed very quickly, and so, in the late afternoon, I got off the tube in South Kensington, eager to see what this year would bring!

07.04.2025