preparing to study abroad in London

Jaime Olivares photography

I'm off for London in almost TWO WEEKS! Earlier this year, I was accepted for summer school at London School of Economics, and I still can't get my head around the idea. I'll be taking a finance class at LSE from July 29 to August 17, and though I already have my class, airfare, and accommodations in London all set up, there are some final preparations that I'm working through this week. I wanted to share them here so I could 1. start off my travel journal, and 2. share them with other American students who will be studying abroad in London! 

 
Here is my checklist:

Make sure your passport doesn't need to be renewed - or apply for a passport if you don't have one! Applying for or renewing a passport will cost you around $100, and will take about a month. So do this well ahead of time! 

Verify whether or not you will need a visa. If you are a student from the EU or EEA, you don't need a visa to study in the UK. But students from the US and other areas of the world do need some type of visa. Because my program is for less than six months and I'm from the US, I qualify for a Student Visitor visa. This means that I only need to show proof of my enrolment (like my acceptance letter), along with proof that I'll be in the UK for less than six months (my return ticket), I'm over eighteen, and I have enough funds to support myself while abroad (cash or a credit card). I'm also bringing proof of my accommodation and tuition payments just in case. I need to show these documents to the immigrations officer once I land in London, and voila! Student Visitor visa. However, students from other countries may need to apply for a visa, for which they will need a visa letter from the institution they'll be attending. More information about this can be found here.  

Also, if you're studying full-time in the UK for more than six months, you must apply for a Tier 4 Student visa once you've been accepted at your institution. More information about that can be found here. Whatever type of visa you'll need, it's best to start figuring this out several months in advance of your program date: applying for and receiving a visa can take weeks, if not months, and it's best to not put off.   

APACS

Get a credit card you can use in the UK. Unfortunately for American students trying to study in the UK, Europe is a step ahead of the US in credit card security. Many retailers in Europe are unwilling to accept the credit cards we use in the US because they're not very secure. Instead, European cards use chip-and-PIN or chip-and-signature technology, which are embedded with a computer chip and are supplemented with a personal PIN or signature to verify ownership of the card. Your traditional American swipe-and-sign credit cards won't work; the chip-and-PIN card needs to be inserted into a machine which will read the computer chip, and then you'll need to enter a PIN or sign. Additionally, many European retailers don't accept American Express cards. If you're going to be in the UK for any extended period of time, just be on the safe side and get a chip-and-PIN card. You can still use it in the US and it'll make life much easier when you're abroad. The problem is that they're difficult to find in the US. Only a few banks offer them. Eli got hers through Bank of America, and I am getting mine through Chase. It's also handy to find one that has no foreign transaction fees, since many cards will charge you an extra fee if you use it abroad.

Notify your bank. Whether you're planning on using your American credit/debit card, or are getting a chip-and-PIN card, notify your bank before leaving the country. It's fine to do this the week of, but even if you don't plan on using your debit card abroad (like I do), notify the bank just in case. You never know if you'll have to use it at an ATM or in a case of emergency. Most banks won't allow transactions abroad (or even in other US states!) if you haven't given them prior notice - they'll just put your account on hold. So do it just to be safe.

Notify your health insurance company, and purchase travel insurance if you think you'll need it. Similarly, notify your health insurance company before you leave. Hopefully there won't be any emergencies, but just in case, you don't want to find out that your health insurance doesn't apply if you're abroad. I called mine (Anthem) and asked if I could use my insurance abroad, and they said that I could use my insurance abroad in case of emergencies, and they had a list of physicians on their website that were covered in cases of non-emergency treatment. Easy! Don't assume that you'll be covered, though - make certain before you go. Many students also like to purchase travel insurance (often offered through your school or study abroad program) in case anything is lost or stolen abroad, or if you have to cancel with short notice and wouldn't otherwise receive a refund.  

Stock up on any medication you take regularly. Because you can't be sure that your medication will be available abroad (or what price it'll be!), stock up on any medication you need before you go. I'm even bringing my own non-vital meds, like ibuprofen and Nyquil. It's better to know you have it rather than having to hunt through an unfamiliar pharmacy in a different country to find the right medication while you're sick. If your insurance covers your medication, you'll need to get their permission to get more than the normal dosage from your pharmacy before you go.

Get any vaccinations required for travel abroad.  As a US student traveling to the UK, I don't need any vaccinations, but if you're traveling elsewhere in the world, it's likely that you'll need to get a few vaccinations beforehand, or at least bring proof that you have the basics already. Make sure to check several months in advance so that you have time to get whatever's necessary.   

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Figure out what you want to do with your phone. There are a number of options to consider when deciding how to use your mobile phone abroad. It seems to me like there are three viable options: use your existing phone with an additional package from your provider, use your existing phone with a new local SIM card, or get a local prepaid phone. If you're going abroad for a shorter period of time (like I am) and want to use your existing phone number, keep your contacts, etc., I recommend just contacting your service provider and asking about the packages they offer for using your phone abroad. Instead of paying huge international usage fees, you'll pay for a certain amount of service to be used abroad, and for your friends and family back home, it'll be no different. I don't plan on using my phone much; I'll rely on Skype and Facebook and the like to communicate with friends and family back in the US. However, I know I'll use my iPhone frequently for its apps and internet. Because I'll be in London (where wireless internet abounds at cafes and the like), I'm just going to turn my cellular data off (in Settings) and Wi-Fi on and use whatever Wi-Fi is available. I also downloaded Pocket Earth, which is a map app that operates offline.

If you're going to be abroad for an extended period of time, it might be wise to get a local SIM card or a prepaid phone while you're abroad. Getting a local SIM card and having it put in your phone will give you a local number (remember to give this number to all those back home!) and may make you lose your contacts, but you'll be using a local provider and be paying local fees. However, make sure to contact your usual provider and have them 'unlock' your phone so that it can be used with another provider. If you're not too attached to your mobile phone anyway, you might want to just buy a prepaid phone (usually less than $50) and load it up with minutes, texts, and data. You'll be able to use it locally and pay for more minutes as you need them.

Make copies of all important documents. Once you have your passport, flight information, course information, and accommodations all figured out, make photocopies of all these things, along with your driver's license, health insurance card, travel insurance information, credit cards, and anything else that you could possibly need in any emergency situation. Give a set of copies to your parents or significant other here in the US, and keep another set of copies for yourself in your baggage. In case of any emergency, or if anything is lost or stolen, it will make matters much easier if your emergency contact in the US and you have copies of your important documents. Also, back up your laptop and phone before you go.

Get comfortable. If you're studying abroad, you're going to be doing hours and hours of traveling, whether by plane or boat or train. Before you set off, invest in a few key pieces that will make your travels much more comfortable. Magellan's is a good source for many of these things. I have a pillow/blanket combo (where the blanket is stored in the pillow) for in-flight comfort, along with a pair of earplugs and eyeshades. I also have homeopathic No-Jet Lag pills to help with jet lag on the nine-hour flight. Make sure you wear clothing that is comfortable (but not just pyjamas, especially if you're flying to Europe!), is layered (so you can adjust to low/high temperatures during travel), but where jackets/belts/shoes are easy to take off for security. And if you're going to London, pack a mini umbrella!

Travelon Executive Wallet

Invest in a passport wallet. It's going to be easier to have all your important forms of identification (passport, ID, insurance, credit cards, cash) in one place when you're traveling between countries and locally. You don't want to end up needing your passport for identification, only to have left it back in your room; you don't want to have to switch between your regular wallet and a passport wallet. I just have one good passport wallet that I'll use while I'm in London. It's also helpful to have one with RFID-blocking technology. All passport wallets made in the last five years have an RFID chip, which can hold your personal information and a photo. However, these chips (and even your credit card) can be read with scanners from up to ten feet away, so many passport wallets now include RFID-blocking technology so that thieves can't get your personal information. Good investment to consider!

Do as much as possible here. It's better to know you have something for a fact while you're abroad rather than to have to search for it in an unfamiliar environment. You might not know for certain that day-to-day products you rely on (toiletries, medication, certain snacks) will be available where you're going. This might not be as big of a problem in London, but if you're traveling from the US to a less-Westernized area, like Africa or the Middle East, you definitely want to pack those day-to-day things that you don't know you'll be able to find abroad. Even things like hand sanitiser, wipes, or tissues might be needed in a hurry when you're abroad but you won't know where you can buy them. Just have them on you in the first place.  

Also, here is my short to-do list of things to do immediately when I arrive in London:

Get an Oyster card. I'm flying into Heathrow, which has a direct Tube line to my accommodation in Holborn. And though my room is only a few blocks from the London School of Economics campus, I know I'll be doing traveling throughout the city as well. If you plan on doing any significant amount of travel throughout London, invest in an Oyster card - it's a prepaid card (the size of your credit card) that you touch to a yellow pad before and after you ride on the Tube. You stock it up with a certain amount (£5-50) and can reload it whenever you need. Additionally, your rides will be discounted if you use this card (rather than buying a ticket for each ride). You can buy one of these cards online or at any ticket station once you're in London.

tfl.gov.uk

Exchange your currency. Though I plan on primarily using my chip-and-PIN card when I'm abroad, I feel like it's also helpful to always have a bit of cash on me, for emergencies or quick small purchases. It's possible to convert some of your cash here (call around at local banks and see who has some of the currency you need), but easy to do it once you're abroad. You can have it exchanged at the airport (usually for a higher fee) or at a bank once you arrive. I'm going to exchange a small amount here (because I feel like it's easier to land in a new country with some money already on me), and then exchange a larger amount when I'm in London to keep for emergencies.

Well, that's my list so far! I hope this is helpful to any students traveling abroad in the future. Please comment if you have any other advice for me, or further questions about anything here!