Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Parliament! Past Review

By (Government, The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 06/04/2012 to 07/28/2012 with

Arcadia: London - London Internship Program

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Good friends (even if mostly American), great experiences in a great city, and a fantastic job reference. It was absolutely a worthwhile experience.

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: City University London
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

Food was left to the student, but English food was quite good.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The class was just with other American students, and the housing was mostly the same. British culture was really easy to adapt to though.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Never needed to use it aside from some medicine for a cold.

* Safety:

I never had any problems, but London does have a lot of parts that are pretty gritty. It was never necessary to go to any of those areas though, and Arcadia's offices were in very nice areas.

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

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)

London is an expensive city. Food and transportation can take up a lot of money, especially since I had to take the tube (~$3 one way in the center city) most days.

* Was housing included in your program cost? Yes
* Was food included in your program cost? No
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? Roughly $200.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Try to avoid eating out all the time and make your own food from a grocery store whenever possible.

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

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
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?
  • Working for a Member of Parliament was extremely interesting.
  • Living in a city as dynamic and exciting as London was great.
  • Even if I was mainly living with other Americans, the group dynamic in the dorm helped me adjust to differences.
* What could be improved?
  • The administration could sometimes be slow to respond and inaccessible.
  • More help with saving money and finding cheaper ways to do things.
  • The structure of the course could be improved, or made to work better alongside the academic project.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Who I was actually working for, and more about what the class and living arrangements were like.