Highland cows, haggis, and traveling! August 16, 2024
By Alex T (Psychology, Wellesley College) - abroad from 01/15/2024 to 05/22/2024 with
Arcadia: Edinburgh - University of Edinburgh
That it’s really beneficial to get out and introduce yourself to as many people as possible (including your lecturers)! You never know who you might run into.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I found the environment to be less intense than my home institution. I wasn’t stressed and the workload was very manageable. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The office for visiting students gave me a difficult time when trying to register for certain courses. They felt I wasn’t qualified for certain courses even though my school only accepted those courses as being our 200 level. It took a lot of persistence to get my classes. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My flatmates were very kind. We only ran into the usual issues when sharing a space with 4 other people. |
| * Food: |
I preferred the food I ate when I traveled. I was not a big fan of my options in the UK. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Loved everyone I met. People were very sociable and kind! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had no issues getting healthcare assistance when I needed it. Also prescriptions were free which is not the case in the US. |
| * Safety: |
Felt very safe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I loved the program however I didn’t travel as much as I had liked to. |
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) |
Food is so much more affordable than in the US. 5/5 stars. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I didn’t spend much. I mainly spent money on food. There are many free activities to do. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Make a grocery list for the week before you go shopping. And shop at Lidl! I never spent more than £30 on groceries for the week. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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? | I wish I knew to spend more time exploring Scotland instead of other countries. |
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 Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Architectural history in Scotland before 1650 |
| Course Department: | Architectural history |
| Instructor: | |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | It was definitely challenging given the amount of information you had to learn however it was my favorite course to take! The lecturer was very kind and understanding as well. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
