A Mile From London, A Whole New Experience Past Review
By Zina K (Santa Clara University) - abroad from 09/10/2014 to 12/12/2014 with
Arcadia: London - Queen Mary University of London
I learned a lot about myself from being abroad. It was a completely different culture, and QMUL was in a non-glitzy area of London. I loved traveling and it was worthwhile to have a new experience.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Engineering classes were difficult, but faculty did not seem to help much to associate students. Geography classes were fairly rigorous, while Film classes were unstructured and not worthwhile. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
QMUL was extremely disorganized in all aspects. Administration was not prepared to deal with associate students, nor were faculty. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Dorms were randomly assigned, so some were much better accomdation than others. Bathroom facilities were broken, doors were broken, locks broken, ovens broken. Essentially, I called Housing Services many times, and received no help whatsoever. The shower in the 6 person flat was broken for 2 months, and I received a maintenance request 2/8 times I filed a report. Some students were abandoned for housing when the electricity/power went out in one dorm, and were told to "stay somewhere else for the night" with no alternative housing provided. |
| * Food: |
I ended up purchasing a meal plan. There are 2 options each day, vegetarian or non. This was not satisfying for me. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The school was very international. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I was very sick during program orientation. I went to the university's health center for help. I paid the 40 pound private fee for 2 minutes of a doctor's time, because my program's health insurance was not adequate, nor timely, to help me in a time of need. This was a huge issue. I was not able to get assistance. A friend also needed to be hospitalized but could not because they were extremely ill and unable to have the program assistance. I left messages for the program center 24 hour phone line and received no response. |
| * Safety: |
The area was a bit unsafe, but no incidents. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
London was very expensive. Traveling, food, transportation added up. My program did NOT provide an Underground Tube card, which others programs did. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 100 dollars |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Share food with flatmates, buy group discount tickets, book flights early. |
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? | 0 |
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? | An accurate description of the dorms, how much time/effort to spend on school, what the campus is like, how friendly (non) the students are |
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: |
Brazilian Cinematic Cities: Regional and Historical Diversity |
| Course Department: | Film/Language |
| Instructor: | Else Vieria |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This class was poorly taught and disorganized. The lecturer frequently showed up to class late, and as consequence, many students did not attend. Lectures were dry, bland, and off topic. There was no mention of relevant topics. Students were required to watch films outside of class time when the technology did not work. Professor made no attempt to prepare students for assignments ahead of time, and seemed disorganized. Although professor did seem knowledgeable to the subject, it was not communicated effectively. We wasted much time in class. I did not learn very much. 100% of the final mark grade for the course was based on two essays, which were not given adequate feedback. This was the worst class I have taken in my college career. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
