Ups and Downs, but the Experience of a Lifetime! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

This was a lot easier than I was led to believe it would be. It was a nice break from the rigor at home, but it also made me feel like I was missing out a little bit on the quality I would have otherwise had. We were not in class all that often and it made me feel like I had nothing to do, so I could have had more class time. The first-year course was easier than my high school AP history courses. The minimal assessment that occurred made me feel like too much hinged on the few assignments I turned in.

On-site administration of your program

Arcadia was amazing! But the administration at Aberdeen was lacking. I felt unconnected to the University and like I didn't have much help with anything after I arrived there. Everyone from Arcadia was extremely helpful when I contacted them, but there was only so much they could help with as they were 2.5 hours away in Edinburgh.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I know there wasn't a way around it, but I really didn't like living with first years all that much. It made it more difficult to become friends with them, and I would have rather lived with all exchange students. I also thought that the student flats were going to be closer to things, but not much can be done about that either.

I cooked for myself, and didn't eat out all that often. The rating doesn't really matter because I am not a great chef.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I felt that it was hard to make friends with students from the University my own age because I only ever saw them in class. I would have liked some more outlets or something to meet more people my age from the University. It was also kind of difficult to see a lot of the city because the bus didn't go everywhere. However, the bus was good for exploring the surrounding area. I felt like I saw a lot of Scotland and Aberdeenshire, but not all that much of Aberdeen itself.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

It was way more complicated and annoying than it should have been for me to get help when I needed it. I needed some prescriptions and had to go to too many places and talk to too many people before figuring out what to do. I think I would have been better off if it was an emergency.

Everything was great except for the distance from campus to the student flats. The best way to get from each place is through a park, which was pitch black at night, so it made me feel like I couldn't go to the library after dark.

I would choose the same one if everything happened in exactly the same way, but just as a whole I would not choose the program again. I didn't really like Aberdeen all that much and it was not a convenient place to be located.

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

There was a cheap grocery store very close to where I lived, so that was nice. I made sure I stayed on a budget, otherwise it would have been harder because of the exchange rate and needing to go down to Edinburgh to catch all of my flights.

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• Apartment

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

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• Local Students

• The exchange students I met
• The surrounding area
• Getting double credit for classes

• Transportation
• Host University Support

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