The best four months of my life

Keen to try out living in North America, Temima Rigg loved her student exchange to Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) in Canada.

Temima Rigg

Why I chose my host uni:

I had never been to North America and I wanted to experience living in a big city, so Toronto really appealed to me.

How I found applying to my host uni:

I found it quite difficult to apply to my host university because the courses on the website are confusing, and they don’t give you the proper list of courses available until after you get accepted. I recommend submitting as many courses as possible to the faculty at AUT for approval, so that when the list is released there’s a higher chance they match up.

The visa process for Canada is very simple and only $7; all you need is an eTA which you can apply for online.

How I found learning in a different academic system:

Studying at TMU was very different to AUT, I found that it was a lot more written work compared to hands-on learning, and frequent assessment hand-ins throughout the semester rather than one big hand-in at the end.

However, I found the assessments were generally easier than at AUT and there are lots of resources provided. They use a programme called D2L Brightspace which is similar to Canvas – you can stay up-to-date with all your work on there.

What I gained from this experience:

I can honestly say that this experience was the best four months of my life. I gained so much independence and confidence living away from home in a completely new environment. I made wonderful friends from around the world and learned about lots of different cultures.

I did lots of things that I never would’ve done before, like spontaneously going on a skiing trip in Whistler with three girls that I barely knew – and having the time of my life! I learned so much from travelling to different places and meeting new people, and it made me realise how many opportunities there are out there and how many more places I want to visit!