Fantastic experience - I would do it again if I could! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The academic experience was a bit more challenging than I was expecting. I am in a Physical Therapy program so my best subjects are sciences. However, I took an upper level history class at the University of Stirling and, although I enjoyed it, I struggled a bit. I wish somebody had told me that there aren't really "gen ed" classes and this was a course more for students in history majors. Overall, it was a very positive academic experience

On-site administration of your program

The resident director for my program was awesome! She was super helpful with anything any of us in the program needed and planned awesome trips for us!

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The living accomodation was not the best. The flat was about a 10-15 minute walk from central campus, which wasn't terrible unless I was in a rush or carrying groceries from the bus stop in the middle of campus, which occured weekly. The biggest issue that I had was the kitchen. For 7 people, I didn't feel like there was enough counter refrigerator, freezer, and counter space.

I mostly did my own grocery shopping and cooked my meals, but the food that was available on campus was pretty good. There was a decent variety of options, but it was pretty far away from where I was living.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

In general, I felt like there was a lot of cultural integration but I felt like I wasn't interacting much with Scottish students as I was with other students from the US, Canada, and throughout Europe. None of my roommates were from Scotland. There was a fair amount of integration in academic settings, however. I'm not sure if it was just my perspective, but it seemed like overall there were about as many, if not more, international students as there were native.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I did not need to use any health services while abroad other than going to the pharmacy for bandaids and cold medicine. Had I needed other services, it seemed like it would be fairly easy to navigate. During the initial orientation, my resident director thoroughly explained what services the insurance through API covered, how to use it, and how we could get reimbursed. One of the other people in my program did need to go to the health clinic on campus and, although I cannot speak for them, it seemed as if they did not have any trouble getting the care they needed.

I had no issues with safety during my time in Stirling. It is a much smaller city than Edinburgh and London, and much less "touristy", so there seemed to be a lot less talk of petty crime committed against non-locals. On campus, I also felt safe for the most part. It was a fairly long walk back from central campus to my flat and not all of the path was well lit. I was not typically walking back alone at night, but it still sometimes worried me. Overall, I felt like there was minimal threat to my safety.

I had an absolutely fantastic experience. The program director was super supportive and planned awesome trips! I felt like I had a great balance of academics and fun throughout the duration of the program.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Each week, I think I spent the equivalent of about $50-60 USD on groceries each week, which is about what I spend grocery shopping at home. In general, I don't really spend a lot of money on non-necessities so when I did, I was able to splurge a little bit. The other expense I was not necessarily anticipating was buying bus passes. The bus from central campus into town (where the grocery store was) was a regular city bus, not run by the school, so I needed to pay. I didn't want to buy a semester pass because I didn't think I would use it enough to break even. Factoring bus fares into my grocery trips, I think it came to about $65-70 for grocery shopping.

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• Dorm
• Apartment

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• Americans
• International Students

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• on-site/nearby support from the resident director
• Trips!

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