Carly Francis who is a junior at North Carolina studying business just came back from an amazing semester studying abroad at Port Elizabeth located in South Africa. Students travel abroad for many different reasons. F rancis says you are going to gain experience whether good or bad.   At first studying abroad can be challenging. For example, a couple of Carly teachers did not provide books. Another incident occurred in Math class when the teacher said naught point two, later she realized that naught meant zero.     Students return with more confident. They can negotiate different situations and can accept differences," said UNCW's Denise DiPuccio of the International study program. "I've seen young women go away and they're shy. When they come back, they walk into my office and they're assertive and confident. Study abroad is, in my humble opinion, the most life-changing experience a student can have," said DiPuccio.

You need time to adjust to your new environment and settle in. Don't get too stressed if you are not able to manage your time and tasks perfectly from the beginning. You will be juggling a number of things other than starting classes and you need time to become comfortable.

At uni, no one is going to follow you around and make sure that you are going to class. However, you can easily be left behind the rest of the class if you don't attend the lectures and this may ultimately affect your grades. There are courses with mandatory attendance or participation being a large component of your final grade. Therefore it a good idea to attend lecture, even if you are not feeling well.

3. Don't get behind

There is a lot of information that can be put into a semester-long course and it is easy to fall behind fast. Staying on top of your weekly assigned readings, homework, or lab work will affect your study habits. However, go to lecture even if you have not finished all your reading because you will pick up more information than not attending at all.

4. Have a positive attitude

There is no need to be shy, awkward or anxious about attending new classes. You may feel out of place, especially if you are coming from a small high school, but you need to keep up a positive attitude and be confident in your abilities. Keep in mind that you have accomplished a lot up to now to get into the university and you will become more confident over time.

5. Ask for help

A big university campus can be very intimidating because it may not be easy to find your way around it. If you ever have any questions or you are lost, just ask someone for help. Pretty much every student you meet will either be a first year or already have been one and will understand what you are going through and be willing to help.

6. Take advantage of services and resources

Once enrolled in your University or college institution, you gain access to many campus services and resources. If you are having problems or difficulties, there is always a staff around to answer any questions and provide support. It is better to ask for help before you are in too deep because smaller problems can be easily dealt with.

7. Think and Plan ahead

The initial couple of weeks at your university may seem easy, but then there will come a point where many assignments are due in the same week. You should be given a course outline in all of you classes and this will have a list of the due dates of all your assignments.

Take some time off and write down these due dates in a diary, a wall calendar, your mobile phone, or Google Calendar so that you can manage your time more effectively.

8. Have fun and reward yourself

It can be difficult to see how well you are doing in your courses. There may not be many assignments to judge how well you are progressing or you may notice that you grades are lower than usual. Therefore it is important to reward yourself for any achievements you make. Take time off and have fun after completing an assignment, presenting to a class, attending your classes or just keeping a school-life balance.

During the week, most students have class Monday though Friday. If you have a light schedule some students like to go to the white sandy beaches before or after class depending on their class times.

On the weekends, party goers like to shake things up a little by going to one of Australia large duplex nightclubs. Make sure to take a cab back home if you are going to drink. Australia does not allow drinking and driving and you can get a heavy fine if you get caught.

On Sunday, a lot of students like to relax at the beach. Sunday is also a day where students prepare for the upcoming week. Completing homework or working on projects is a smart idea to tackle on Sundays so you don't fall behind on you school work.

If you enjoy the outdoors, Australia has plenty to offer such as rock climbing, biking, trail adventures, scuba diving, fishing, and skiing during the winter.

There are a few options for eating meals on a daily basis. Some students like to pay for cafeteria food located on campus where it is easily convenient before or after classes. Other students like to cook at home and pick up groceries at a nearby supermarket.

If students want a change from caferiea food or don't have time to cook, eating out is always an option. There is usually a lot of fast food restaurants near our Australian campuses.