Unforgettable study abroad, if you have the money Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The classes were enriching (for me, at least. I took Photography and the required course on Working in the EU) and didn't get in the way of the experience. I never felt like they were a chore and they definitely showed me a different side of the UK.

On-site administration of your program

Arcadia was a little wishy-washy when it came to honoring requests/they were a little disorganized (double-booking events, changing dates of events, failing to clarify if a meeting was required) but it really wasn't a big deal.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in a dorm-style house. Everyone had their own, single bedrooms and it was in East London, near the sort of hipster-trendy neighborhoods of Shoreditch and Islington (good food/good bars). The maintenance issues were promptly solved and our RLA was really great. However, we did have a serious theft issue about one month into the program and it was puzzling. We didn't exactly pay attention to security since we all became friends pretty quickly and would leave our doors open and let people into our rooms.

British food is infamously...not great. I like spicy food so I find it bland usually, but there was one girl living in my house whose internship was with food critics, so she would take some of us to her restaurant reviews. The high-end restaurants of London are good...even though a regular student would never be able to afford them. We got that great food for free!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

My mum actually lives near London, so I felt more relaxed around British people in general/put more effort into actually making friends since I was likely to see them again. But even moreso, it was really easy to integrate with the culture because we had internships working at British companies. Make friends at work and let them tell you about the places in London they love. Don't worry too much about visiting all the typical tourist places, especially if you don't really want to but feel like you have to.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had no health issues, seeing as it's London and not the outback or anything, but I'm sure they would have been addressed because the NHS is pretty good.

London is definitely more safe than Paris, but it's not as safe as Texas (where I'm from). Walking alone during the day is usually fine and you don't really have to worry about pickpockets if you just keep your head down, but I would be wary around nightfall. It's really not much of an issue though, except for the robbery we had in our dorm which was a security issue.

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

Okay, it's London. Prices are extremely high and the pound is stronger than the dollar, so you'll have a little bit of sticker shock. Prepare yourself and prioritize is all I can say. I decided that since London isn't the culinary capital of the world, I would eat out extremely rarely (I think twice?) and save my money for cultural events/the night scene/travel (cover for bars, theatre, tube fare). Try to keep shopping to a minimum as well :)

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• Dorm

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• Americans

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• Americans

• Everything taken care of
• Good classes
• Organized trips

• Too expensive
• Better internship placements