Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

My Semester at King's College London September 12, 2025

By (Computer Science and Applied Math, Brandeis University) - abroad from 01/02/2025 to 05/23/2025 with

Arcadia: London - King's College London

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I learned how to love being by myself. Traveling, taking public transportation, and just spending hours a day discovering new parts of London let me become very independent and okay with being alone. Obviously I was homesick, but I was able to call/text my family whenever I could.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The courses were challenging but very doable. Prepared me for the classes I took when I got back to my home school.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

The Arcadia moderators were incredibly helpful and answered any questions I had throughout the semester.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Did not live walking distance from campus, but our dorm was right next to an underground station and a bus park.

* Food:

Only had the food on campus once. It was good but rather pricy.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Upon getting there, our program let us wander and get acclimated for a few hours before orientation started. They also gave us tips how to acclimate ourselves to the culture.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Healthcare as a whole was really bad. Unless you have a private doctor, you will be waiting in "urgent care" for hours. My program advisor did a really good job at helping me get a private doctor, but I still ended up having to go to "urgent care".

* Safety:

Out of the 5 months I was living there, I only felt unsafe once on the second to last day I was living there. Stay in groups, but if you are traveling by yourself, just be aware of your surroundings.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

The best program ever. The school was very nice and the teachers were very nice. The coursework and lecture still was what I'm used to from my home school, so acclimating was very easy.

Finances

* 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)

The exchange rate got really bad during the last few months. Things are really expensive so BUDGET!! Save as much money as you can because you will spend most of your money on trips and traveling. It was worth it though.

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? about $200 USD
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Just save as much money as you can

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? 0

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Location (London is awesome)
  • Culture (such a multicultural city)
  • Food (good food everywhere)
* What could be improved?
  • Currency exchange rate lol
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Save more money and pack more cool clothes. I left all of my stylish shoes and jackets because I was gonna shop while I was in London (I did). But I wish I had a wider range of shoes to choose from.