Many Unexpected Details Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I find the grading system completely unfair because most of my classes were based on the finals 100%. The tutors never taught us what they were looking for in these exams like how to answer them in the format they wanted. There was not a clear syllabus for any of the schedules nor a learning objective clearly pointed out. No homework or practice problems were given throughout the semester either. I had two projects 30% of the grade that gave us partners to work with, these were the only homework I had and I found it completely unchallenging overall. The worse part is when you translate their grade to a U.S. scale you can still pass a class with almost a 40%. And, there were no teaching assistants? If there were they never spoke nor helped out.

On-site administration of your program

They are extremely unorganized with scheduling classes, many of us didn't have a schedule set in stone on the first few days of classes. They only had two people that could manipulate classes for ALL of the international students. But however Arcadia was really good with keeping up and giving suggestions to us as far as our problems are concerned.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Murano Street Student large flat. It was extremely loud and it is the Freshmen dorm that apparently allows parties to happen in very often. The facility was pretty much falling apart, the heater only turns on 6 hours of the day and the toilets never flushed right. Our stove also breaks down almost two times a day towards the end of the year. The senior residents however were all very friendly and they do try to help as much as they could. This place is also a 30 minute walk to campus, the minibuses were helpful but they only fit 12 people per ride. You must be there early to catch it, they also stop running from 11am-5pm.. Oh and the laundry machines never work right, they eat money quite often too.

The food is bad the majority of the time in my experience unless you want to spend a lot of money at restaurants all the time. Afternoon tea, haggis, fish and chips were the more popular dishes. Other than that there weren't too many varieties. They do have a lot of pubs and cafes though to be convenient for the cold. I ended up making almost every meal with flatmates, which turned out to be a pretty pleasant experience.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I do like Scotland as a country and the Arcadia staff put together as many well priced excursions as possible. The local people that we met while traveling such as our host family or tour guides were all very friendly. Arcadia planned things like ceilidh, highland trips, and homestays in another city really did introduced the Scottish culture well. Glasgow Uni also provided us with cheaper trips with Students Tour Scotland, Gary the tour guide is extremely entertaining for students. There are also plenty organizations that were unique on campus such as the Whisky society.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

National Healthcare is pretty great.

I want to say Scotland is one of the safest place I've ever been to.

I would have chosen a less expensive program for sure.

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

Each bus ride is 1.25 pounds, eating out is maybe 15 pounds per meal, if you drink and travel a lot, money will go pretty fast in the UK and the rest of Europe.

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• Dorm

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• International Students

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• Local Students

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