Arsalan Ghogari in Bristol, United Kingdom
Program: University of Bristol
Term: Spring 2026
Major: Computer Science and Business Administration
Minor: AI Applications
The UK had been on my list for as long as I can remember, and I wanted a semester where travel was built in rather than squeezed into breaks. Bristol made the choice easy: it’s a top-ranked university, so I knew the academics would hold up, and it’s positioned well for getting to London and the rest of Europe on a weekend.
People are more reserved than I expected, so don’t take it personally if someone doesn’t match your energy right away. Once a conversation actually starts, though, they’re warm and generous with their time. I struck up a chat with a woman at a bus station in Bristol and walked away with a list of London recommendations I used all semester.
One of my favorite memories is seeing Wicked in London’s West End. It was the first musical I’d ever been to and it completely blew me away, chills down my spine for most of it. If you get the chance to see a show in London while you’re there, take it.
The Study Abroad Centre runs events all semester, and they were easily the best part of the program. That’s where I met most of the people who became my closest friends there. I also loved how walkable the city is; the route from Stoke Bishop down to campus is all greenery and people out with their dogs, and it never got old.
Living in Badock Hall is where the semester really happened for me. The people I lived with became my closest friends there, enough that two of them flew thousands of miles to LA for my birthday in July, and we’re now called the “Badock Baddies” by our other study abroad friends. Even the bus commute from the halls to campus was a gift: sitting at the top of a double decker, riding down to campus with music on, looking out the window and pondering.
The first two weeks were the hardest. It was freezing, I didn’t know a single person, and my instinct was to stay in bed. What got me out was remembering why I came, so I’d layer up and go to whatever event was on that day, and within a few weeks I had people to go with. Adjusting to the academics took work too, since the UK saves everything for one exam or paper at the end, but a steady couple of hours a week per class kept it manageable.
Sort your paperwork before you leave. Get your UK ETA done early, and if you’re an international student, start your Schengen visa well ahead of time, because I didn’t and it cost me travel I really wanted. Also, before you go, register for Study Abroad Centre events as early as you can, and give yourself a couple of hours a week per class so the end-of-semester exams don’t catch you off guard. Past that, just say yes to things in the first two weeks even when you don’t feel like it. Trust me, it’ll change your semester’s trajectory.
USC Presidential Scholarship and the Viterbi Scholar Award covered the entire billable cost of the program, so what I paid out of pocket was flights, food, and travel. If you have merit aid at USC, check whether it applies while you’re abroad, because a lot of students assume it doesn’t and rule out the semester before they’ve asked.