Good courses and good fun Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Classes at the University were extremely academically rigorous. Edinburgh Uni is one of the best universities in the world and you can tell. The resources they provide for students are wonderful though, better than those provided by Fordham. The coursework also involves more personal study and your education really is in your own hands. Personally, I got a lot out of the format of the courses: huge lectures without attendance taken and then tiny seminars with discussions of texts. You really get to know your tutors and other students in your courses well.

On-site administration of your program

In terms of the Arcadia staff, I barely had any contact with them. They were there if you needed them, I'm sure, but I didn't. Arcadia is still very much an American university - babying you along the way. I didn't have much use of them except for the trips and other planned events - which were great!

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

With this program you have the choice to live in a dorm or student flats - choose the flats! I had the best flatmates in the world (all enrolled British students) and they, more than anything else, really made my study abroad experience. The flats themselves are fine; there's a cleaning service provided by the uni for the common areas (ie kitchen and bathroom) and you're responsible for the rest. The closet space alone would make any New York apartment blush.

My flatmates and I bought groceries and cooked homemade meals almost every day - I ate better this semester than I have in my life. I know this has more to do with the girls I lived with, but my God, it was good.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

None of my flatmates were Scottish, (one was from Northern Ireland and the other two were from England) so we all were trying to get a lot out of the city, which was cool. Through the traveling we did and the courses I took, I feel like I have a really good understanding of Scottish culture. I just wish I'd met more Scots while I was there! The University is so huge I hardly met any.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Universal health care! I don't want to go into details, but I burned my hand pretty badly but I was able to talk on the phone to someone from the NHS and got it all sorted. I don't think you can find a better country to study abroad in in terms of health care. And of course, Scotland is a western nation so their only major health concerns are obesity and smoking.

As long as you're not walking to the meadows or Leith at night you'll be fine. I walked around alone at night more than once and never felt unsafe. Definitely not the case in the Bronx. Men don't even catcall you on the streets there, what a breath of fresh air.

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

It's really what you want it to be. For me, we hardly ate out because I was living with full-time enrolled students. However, Edinburgh is a pretty expensive city (we did our grocery shopping at Tesco - which is crazy expensive) and we had to deal with that. However, mixed drinks at the Hive are only a pound! Unfortunately you have to go to the Hive...

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• Apartment

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• Local Students

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• Local Students

• The people I met - particularly my flatmates
• Edinburgh! One of the best cities in the world
• The University of Edinburgh - great classes, great people

• Preparing us for the start of classes a bit more; if it weren't for my flatmates I'd have been so lost