I know how confused and worried I was about organising my Year Abroad, even in my first year. As it turned out, there was nothing to stress about, but I put together this timeline for freshers, like me, who just like to know ahead of time! This takes you through what happens in the first half of your second year to prepare you for the lead up to your Year Abroad:
Early October - Year Abroad information session
This is a one hour compulsory school-wide session usually led by the Year Abroad Committee. It provides general (not country-specific) information focused on the research, decisions and practical steps you'll need to take to make your choices.
Mid October - departmental Year Abroad information meetings
These four sessions are, again, compulsory and language-specific. They will go into more detail concerning the planning and activity you'll need to undertake to make your Year Abroad choices by the first deadline. This forst choice is a general one between whether you would like to study, work, or do a combination of both during your YA. For these meetings, you’ll need to attend more than one session if you're considering going to two countries. So for example, if you are studying French and Spanish and would like to go to both places during your YA, you would attend both language-specific sessions.
Early November - 'Help, I'm going on my Year Abroad' information exchange event
This is an optional event consisting of short talks by final year students who have recently returned from their Year Abroad. For these sessions you can again decide which sessions to go to. Everybody is usually encouraged to stay on for the full hour to hear as many talks as possible in order to help your decision-making. Once again, if you are looking to split your YA between two countries you should probably attend talks concerning both countries.
Mid November - British Council Language Assistants workshop
This workshop is aimed at students who want to explore whether being a British Council Language Assistant is something they’d like to do on their YA. The session also explains what the application will entail.
Late November to early December - work placement-focused events
These events deal with matters that will be of interest to students who would like to do a work placement during their YA. Topics covered in previous years include things like CVs and a job-hunting workshop.
After these events you’ll hopefully feel more comfortable in your decision-making process and start researching and applying for opportunities. Remember though, if you still need more help or want to talk over your options with someone, the Year Abroad Committee is there to support you every step of the way!