Great news! My daughter just found out she has been accepted to study abroad at the University of Cambridge this summer. She is so excited and so am I! She has also applied to study in London for the fall semester. We haven't heard yet about her acceptance to the London program but her advisor indicated she will very likely get in.

So, I am wondering if anyone hear has any advise to give, particularly if they have studied in Cambridge or London. We will, of course, be researching all of this as much as possible as well. DD is a sophomore in college and travelled with us to London (and other places in Europe) for sight-seeing three years ago. The Cambridge program is based at Pembroke and King's Colleges and she will be taking three English courses. Some of her friends have applied to the London fall program but no one else that she knows has applied to the Cambridge summer program.

Oh, I wish there was an "edit" button. I mean to ask if anyone HERE had advice, LOL.

Congratulations, KTravel! I don't have recommendations specific to Cambridge, but our daughter is currently in England for the semester. She is studying at U. of Nottingham and is having a great experience.

It's quite different from her "home" school, where she is a Junior. Classes are run differently and she feels they are not as challenging as here in the US. (Which is what she wanted - she wants to spend as much time traveling as possible!) She will easily make her goal of maintaining a high GPA while still having travel fun.

She finds that President Obama and all the US's financial woes are a hot topic in England. She is constantly being asked to comment on this.

It is expensive in England, that's for sure. She brought several thousand GBP in a check with her and opened a bank account in Nottingham so she wouldn't be charged ATM fees. She needed her class confirmation to open the account. She also brought about 1000 GBP in cash - which turned out to be a good idea as her cashier's check in GBP was written wrong (long story) and that money was not available to her for a couple weeks. She also has two credit cards and her American ATM card to use in an emergency.

She uses the bus when possible but also must rely on taxis to go into town at times. They usually try to get 2-3 students together to share costs. Entertainment and food are also more than here (we live in North Texas). She has a kitchen in her shared flat and they take turns cooking, but do go out frequently for quick dinners. She eats light and spends about 5-8 GBP for a casual dinner. Laundry is twice as much as her home school, at about 3 GBP per load. (

My best advice is to figure out how much it will cost and then add at least 50% more if your daughter wants to have fun and not sit at home. Our daughter definitely wants to travel around Europe on her spring break and on weekends, so that's where the bulk of her money goes. If that is also your daughter's idea, then start socking away the money.

Our DD recently spent a weekend in Amsterdam. Total cost inc airfare was about $200. Investigate BMI Baby, RyanAir, EasyJet for cheap airfares. Luckily, she is near a small airport that is very convenient to where she wants to go.

Any specific questions, I'll try to help.

Soogies, thank you! This is very helpful information. Yes, I know it is going to be very expensive, but I hope it will also be an amazing educational and personal experience. I am socking away the money.

I was wondering if it was possible for a student to open a bank account to try and save on some of the costs as those ATM fees really add up. I will look into this a bit further. I suppose there is no way to set this up on this "side of the pond" before she goes? Did you contact a bank there to know what to bring to set up the account?

My DD will be living in a dorm and eating most of her meals on campus for her summer program (which are included in the enrollment fee) but will be sharing an apartment with other students in London. And, yes, she definitely wants to travel as much as she can!

I'm sure I'll have more questions as we learn more about the details of her programs but, for now, we are grinning with excitement. The challenge will be for me not to hop in her suitcase and tag along!

Banking was the hugest pain when we moved! To open a British Bank account you need to show your passport and proof of address (i.e. utility bill) so be sure to have something from the college to show she is staying at that address.

I would check with HSBC as they have iternational accounts and find out ahead of time what is required. Even after signing up they send the bank cards through the mail, then you have to call the activate, then they send the PINs through the mail, so expect at least a couple of weeks before she will have an active bank card (HUGE PAIN). So definitely ensure cash is available some other way. When she goes into the bank she must always carry her passport if she doesnt have an active PIN on her bank card.

Hope this helps!

Banks need proof of a permanent address in the UK. They WON'T, as far as I'm aware, open a British bank account for summer students. University-linked branches will have special arrangements for accepting letters from a college as proof of residence if a student is living in college or a hall of residence for a significant amount of time. That MIGHT include her

That almost certainly means your daughter won't be able to open an account in Cambridge, unless her London arrangements are really very far advanced by then - and are for a lengthy course. That HAS to include serious evidence of a real, verifiable, UK address where your daughter really WILL be living (ie: NOT "University College London")

Your practical options are - though it's obviously important to talk to the course organisers:
- to open a British account in the US with a bank that has a significant network in the UK. That really means ONLY HSBC, I think OR
- to use a US ATM card for accessing funds while in Cambridge, and open a proper account when she's got a real London address

This, BTW, has nothing to do with attitudes to customer service. It stems from anti-money laundering laws, introduced partly at the request of other countries - especially the US.

I agree FlannerUK...I work for a bank (NOT HSBC)and it is due to the UK's anti-money laundering that the banks require these forms of identification...HSBC has a Passport account, its a 12 month contract but designed for people studying or relocating: http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/personal/c...87G7:11j5bfvdu

I suggest that you find a local US bank that does not charge a fee for an ATM transaction at a foreign bank. (In our area, we use Commerce Bank--now TD Bank--for free foreign ATM withdrawals.)

If the two of you have a joint account, you will be able to monitor the transactions and make deposits as requested/needed/agreed upon.

I've done this many times over the past 15 years for my daughters as studies and work took them overseas. It can be reassuring to both of you that you are able to have access to the account information, to be authorized to deal with the bank, and, of course, make those deposits!

Thank you all. This has been very helpful as the banking info I have been looking at has been a bit confusing. There certainly is a lot to think about!

KTravel -

You're welcome. Another thing I forgot to mention is Skype. I'm sure you've heard of it? Free communication computer to computer and since we both have webcams I get to see DD each time we talk.

ALso, our DD got herself a UK cell phone for keeping in touch with her local friends. She pays about 20 GBP month for the first month and then 10 GBP a month after, I believe. She also still has her US cell phone and uses it occasionally for texting in an "emergency" - much cheaper than calling. She also has a couple US friends in germany and they use their US cell phones to text her US cell phone - cheaper than US to UK phone.

Also remember that "dorm" rooms and/or flats are smaller than US (and this is especially true if you are from Texas, lol!). Of course our DD brought most of her clothes despite my advice. She has run out of space in her room so she may send some back home with us when we visit.

Now, keep in mind health insurance. DD's school required her to buy a policy despite having insurance here that would also cover her in UK. It was a relatively small expense, $150, but she still paid co-pays of 30 GBP for prescriptions and 35 GBP for a doctor visit. (She had bronchitis and required antibiotics.) These co-pays will be paid by our US insurance but it will take 6-8 weeks for reimbursement. Just another annoying expense.

If I think of anything else I'll write again. Through this all, our daughter loves England and has made several friends and traveling buddies. I hope you'll be able to go visit your DD if she studies in London for an extended period!

I'm glad your daughter is having such a great experience and it is great that you'll be able to visit her. I had to laugh about the clothes as my daughter is already worrying about what she can pack and what she'll have to do without. I'm, however, a bit more concerned with the practical details - showing my age, I guess.

We do plan to look into Skype. She'll have US friends studying in other European countries so your advice about a US and UK cell phone is very helpful. We have some information about health insurance which I must review. There certainly are a few things to think about! Thank you for all your help and please write if you think of any other tidbits.

I've studied at Pembroke during the summer, and it's wonderful. What specific questions do you have? I'd be happy to answer any

Oh, thank you, Kyliebaby3, for your message. I believe my daughter's program will be run by King's college and Pembroke. I am going to call my daughter to see what questions she may have but I can think of a few already. How far is it from the train station to the university? Are there ATMs (Barclay preferably) convenient to the university? How was the weather when you were there? Do the students dress pretty casually (similar to what you would wear here?) Is there anything you didn't bring that you wished you had?

We would be delighted to hear any of your recommendations/suggestions. Thanks so much!

Railroad station is a good trip from the colleges, many of which -- including Kings -- are located in pedestrian zones. A bus from the station stops near the edge of the pedestrian area. There are Barclays all over Cambridge, including the market square near Kings. Weather is variable. DH and I participated in programs at Cambridge for two summers. The first, I grew to hate the one black sweater I'd brought. I wore it almost every day. The second, I brought lots of sweaters and was shopping for T-shirts in the market square the first week. The most practical advice I can give her is to wait till she gets to Cambridge to buy shampoo. It will be properly formulated to deal with local water conditions. Be a tourist early on and take the hop=on, hop-off bus tour. It's a great way to get yourself acclimated and she'll get to see Madingley, the American cemetery where World War II soldiers and airmen are buried. It's an incredibly moving experience.

Great suggestions, VirginiaC -- thanks! Your comment about the black sweater made me laugh as I just pulled out my black "travel sweater" and noticed it really is looking past its prime. I will definitely tell my daughter to take several sweaters and T-shirts.