The full title could be ‘How to convince your parents to let you go abroad, or, how to blindly ignore anything your parents might think about your year abroad and go entirely based on your impression of how they feel about it’, but let's not get caught up on particulars straight away…

Miranda Clark is studying French and Spanish with a Portuguese module at Edinburgh University, and has spent her year abroad studying at Rennes Sciences Po for a semester, followed by a language course in Lisbon for one month, and is now working as a British Council English Language Assistant in Argentina. Here are Miranda's top tips for living in France on your year abroad.

I'm writing this because I wish I had documented my time abroad better. It has bugged me ever since, especially as my computer had an irrevocable crash and I lost a huge number of my favourite photos (pleeease make sure you print them, or at least back them up properly!).

To help you avoid making the mistake I did, here are some great ways to preserve your photographs: scrapbooking, an intriguing handbag idea, a stop-motion video, a clever keyring, a beautiful printed book, or even a photo patchwork quilt/cushion can all come to your memory's rescue when you're a nostalgic graduate.