A Life-changing Semester in Bath June 04, 2026
By Miriam G (English, Creative Writing, Environmental Studies, Brandeis University) - abroad from 01/26/2026 to 05/16/2026 with
Advanced Studies England: Bath - ASE Study Centre
I gained a ton of friendships, lots of independence, and plenty of examples of how I can balance working hard and having fun.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The academics were definitely a bit more rigorous than I expected out of study abroad, and the classes were all pretty reading-heavy with each expecting you to read about a book a week on top of other assignments. They were also almost all seminars, so be prepared to talk! Overall though, the classes were all so unique and interesting, and the course offerings were so different from the kind of classes we have at Brandeis. They also allowed students to do internships or advanced tutorials in a subject area of choice, all of which were positive experiences for me and all of my friends who participated in them. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
All of the staff at ASE were lovely, and always around to answer any questions, provide accommodation, or offer help and advice whenever we needed it. I did have one run in with a faculty member being insensitive towards me and another student, but the conflict was taken seriously and thoroughly resolved. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The flat that they put me in was lovely, and all of my flatmates became such good friends. The way that ASE works is that they randomly split students up into various housing throughout Bath, so we were all in different neighborhoods of the city, and I got lucky that my flat was right near the study center! I will say that the way this housing split up worked meant that most people really only got to know the people who lived in their building, so it was hard to meet the other students outside of class. |
| * Food: |
Each week they provided us with grocery allowances, which was perfectly fine because there was such a variety of grocery stores and awesome restaurants all very nearby. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt pretty well-integrated, especially because of the internship I did through ASE where I was working at a local businesses, and interacting with Bathonians and customers every shift. They also had a slew of social and cultural activites which they organized that really helped us see all of Bath (a highlight was a Rugby game ASE took us to) and it was easy for me as an individual to engage with the local culture through participation in festivals and events, group fitness classes, and exploring the city. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Honestly, I had no health-related experiences. |
| * Safety: |
Bath was a very safe city, and I felt safe walking home at night, and walking around through busy areas. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
Of course, it depends on what you were doing, but ASE gave scholarships to many students, as did Brandeis, and ASE also had an assistantship program you had to apply to where you could do some work for ASE in exchange for a bit of extra money, so there were definitely opportunities to earn a little more money if concerned, but in general groceries were cheap, everything was walkable, so you had few transportation costs, and from there, it really was dependent on what you wanted to spend. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | ~50-70 pounds |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Sometimes it's cheaper to fly in and out of different airports, take public transport to the airport when you can. Also, in England, there were student discounts everywhere, just don't be shy to ask for one! |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Don't compare how many weekend trips you do or side adventures to everyone else, do what you want and don't worry about them. Take advantage of your host city, don't just leave every weekend. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Worlds Beyond Oxford: Tolkien, Lewis, and Pullman |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Debby Thacker |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This was hands-down one of my favorite classes I have ever taken. We had to read all of the Lord of the Rings and all of His Dark Materials and a couple of the Narnia books which was no easy feat, but the conversations we ahd were so interesting, all of my classmates were passionate and engaged, and Debby's interest and passion for the subject was evident. We did a really cool study trip where we walked around Oxford to see different spots that these writers had frequented, written about, or been inspired by, and it really taught me a lot about the critical study of fantasy literature, and how much their is to glean from all of this super well-known stories that I had never thought about before. We had lots of papers, reading, and presentation, so it required effort, but it was 100% worth all the effort I put in. |
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