Having an International Student Buddy

International Student Buddies are current students who have volunteered in this unpaid role to help you settle into university life at York.

Your Buddy will share their own University experiences with you, as well as offering friendly advice in response to any questions or concerns you may have. They will have completed training and will also have the support of the staff team who coordinate the Buddying Scheme. 

Providing you request a Buddy by the deadline, you will meet your buddy at one of the matching events:

• Wednesday, 24 September 2025 at 3:00 pm

• Wednesday, 1 October 2025 at 1:30 pm

Please register for only one of the above events.

Some of the things you might like to talk to your Student Buddy about include:

• What will your first month at the University be like
• What is it like to study in the UK
• The different things you can get involved in at the University 
• Ways to meet other like-minded students
• Tips on studying at university level and the differences between school/college study and university study
• Where can you go to get support
• The best place to go on campus for a coffee
• Different things to do in and around York

If you are matched with an International Student Buddy but decide that you no longer wish to be part of the scheme, please email international-support@york.ac.uk to tell us. You will receive an automatic response asking you to fill in a self-referral form. Please ignore this request.

It is absolutely fine to opt out of the scheme at any time, but you need to let us know so that your Buddy doesn't continue trying to contact you. 

If you would like to change your International Student Buddy, you can also email international-support@york.ac.uk, and we will try our best to match you with a different Buddy.