Lauren Mackenzie

Student Profile

Name: Lauren Mackenzie 

Major: English Literature 

Exchange University: Yonsei University, South Korea

Advice:  “I wish I’d had a better understanding of how costly it would be. And I wish I had put time into planning how I would feed myself and allocated money towards that.”

Questions

Why did you decide to travel abroad?

I really wanted to visit Korea, as I’ve long been interested in Korean food, culture, and media. I figured it was the best way to immerse myself in Korean culture. More generally speaking, I wanted to gain more independence and grow as a person.

Why did you choose to study at Yonsei University? How did you learn about it?

I chose Yonsei after hearing about it from a YouTuber I follow. She studied abroad at Yonsei, and it sounded really fun. I also chose it because the campus is beautiful, and it is a SKY university (one of the top three in Korea).

What was your experience like? What are some of the differences & similarities with Trent?

My experience at Yonsei was very different to my experience at Trent, in part because it is a much larger school within a much, much larger city. I think it could be easy to lose yourself within the crowd of people and feel lonely, but Yonsei receives A LOT of other exchange students, and everyone wants to make friends. It’s a little more difficult to interact with Korean students, unless you have classes with them, but there is also a mentor/buddy program to help increase engagement between exchange students and domestic students, as well as other fun activities and events. 

The workload was also different, as classes, at least for my major, were organized differently than they are at Trent. I found there were less assignments, mostly 2 major papers and that was it. This was nice because it allowed for more time allocated towards exploring Seoul. My biggest struggle with my classes was that not all of them would release assignment marks until the end of the semester, or at all. It made me a little uneasy, particularly as I studied abroad in the same year I was graduating. 

What did you find was the most challenging/difficult while abroad?

The most challenging thing was being away from family. I’m a homebody so I got a little lonely in that regard, particularly when I got COVID and was stuck in my dorm alone, unable to see my friends.

In your opinion, what would you say are the benefits of studying abroad?

Experiencing a new culture is both fun and exciting, as well as beneficial in broadening your understanding of different courses of thought and ways of behaving, which in turn, I think, can help you be a better and more understanding person in your everyday life. Always be open-minded.

What was one of your favourite memories from your time abroad?

One of my friends had his birthday while we were there, and we had a birthday celebration at his place. We ordered pizza, drank soju, and sang him “Happy Birthday” in English, Korean, and Spanish. It was simple, but that’s the joy of it.

If someone told you they were thinking about studying abroad but weren’t convinced they should, what would you tell them?

I would tell them that it’s better to regret going than it is to wonder what would have been (but I promise they won’t regret it).