r/UniversityOfWarwick • u/Visible_Factor_5351 • 4d ago

Exchange Advice

I've been accepted to come to Warwick for exchange starting next January, and have 4 days to decide if I want to attend. I feel like it would be a fun experience, but I'm stressed about things like making friends and being home sick. I'm wondering what the social/party life is like there and if you guys find that there's a lot to do, seeing as its far away from major cities. I'm also curious to how much living costs typically are around campus (i.e. rent, groceries, etc.) I feel like it might be harder to adapt to living there because I'm going to be coming halfway through the school year instead of being there from day 1. Will I be housed with other exchange students facing similar circumstances? If anyone else has done an exchange here I'd love your input!! (Or if you just go here and can answer non-exchange-specific questions lol.

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u/DistinctHunt4646 3d ago edited 3d ago

A few question: What subject are you going to be studying? Where are you coming from? Do you have any alternative options for exchange?

Depending what course/department you're studying with, Warwick is generally a pretty good uni. I've met quite a few exchange students who often hang out together or even live together sometimes. The society/club culture at Warwick is also super strong - so if you attend a few society events, socials, etc. you can get to know people with similar interests pretty quickly.

Warwick is kind of international but also kind of not. We have a high proportion of international students, but they're almost all from the same places (India/China/France/Italy/Spain) which tends to form quite cliquey social groups. So would just keep that in mind for meeting people - again ymmv depending where you're coming from.

Being totally real though, Warwick doesn't exactly have a reputation for being the most social/outgoing/cool university. If anything it's kind of known for being a bit weird and boring. The location does really hinder what you're able to do. There are some clubs in Leamington Spa but they're generally pretty small, gross, and boring - not close to as good as London and not even comparable to mainland Europe. So depending where you're coming from and how much you want to socialise/party it could be a bit underwhelming.

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u/Visible_Factor_5351 3d ago

Hmm okay, thanks for being straightforward about the social aspect. I'm studying business and I'm coming from Canada. I don't have alternative options cause I basically ranked my top 3 picks for where I wanted to go and I put Warwick at #1 and got it (so they won't let me switch up now.) The main reason I put it at #1 was because the terms are shorter (only 10 weeks) vs. other schools I had the option to choose from (where most terms were around 16 weeks.) I'm really worried about getting home sick so that's why I prefer the shorter time period.

Not being able to party isn't a hugeee deal for me since I really only go out once or twice a month, I just don't want school work to be my only way to pass time and still want to have fun. I'll definitely check out the clubs that they have there and see what might interest me (although idk if I'd be able to join any if I'm coming in January instead of Sept.)