Planning your travel

Coming to study with us will be an exciting time in your life and, like most things, you'll need to plan ahead and get yourself organised.

Our International Arrivals team provide a free airport pick up service and International Orientation programme in September and January.

New Pre-departure guides for September 2020 and January 2021 will be updated here in July. In the meantime, to help you prepare we recommend you read our previous Pre-departure information below. It will answer most of the questions you may have about coming to study at ARU.

The most important things you need to do as soon as you have accepted our offer to study are:

• make sure you have somewhere to live. Book your accommodation before you travel. If you want University accommodation it’s best to apply early, especially if you want campus accommodation or have a limited budget.
• make all the necessary financial arrangements to pay your fees and have enough money for your living costs (rent, food, books). If you're not sure how much money you will need in the UK there is a sample budget in our Pre-departure Guide.

Download our Pre-departure guides:

Pre-departure guide - Part 1: Planning your arrival

Pre-departure guide - Part 2: Arriving and Living in the UK

Our guides include:

• University semester dates
• our Welcome and International Orientation Programme
• applying for University accommodation
• how to pay tuition fees
• examples of the cost of living in the UK
• how to travel to our campuses
• visa and immigration advice
• arrival in the UK (what to expect)
• healthcare provision in the UK
• University contact details.

Making your travel plans

If you are flying from within the EU we recommend flying into Stansted Airport. Flights can be less expensive and it’s the closest airport to ARU, so very easy to get to our campuses in Cambridge and Chelmsford by train or coach. Public transport is reliable, frequent and relatively cheap.

We also advise those using Emirates Airlines to travel to the UK, to check London Stansted Airport as an option especially for those flying from South Asia and South East Asia. They are currently operating two flights per day.

London Heathrow Airport is usually the main option for those travelling outside of Europe, but we recommend you check updated flight information. 

Preparing for your studies

Doing some preparation before you arrive will help you adapt quicker to your course. You can visit websites such as prepareforsuccess.org.uk; these self-access materials can help you refresh your English language and improve your study skills over the vacation period before you arrive.

Aside of that, we know it can take time to get used to the way we study in the UK. Once you arrive we can help with your English language as well as study techniques via our Study Skills Plus sessions.