Time of your Life Past Review
By Alex W (BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, AND RELATED SUPPORT SERVICES., Stonehill College) - abroad from 09/03/2013 to 12/15/2012 with
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: London, England
From this experience I gained valuable knowledge from my internship on how to manage my time and what a real work environment is like. Also, being emerged into a global city allowed me to find a sense of myself in the real world. Cooking my own meals, commuting to work and to class and managing my time without any assistance from others has greatly prepared me for life after college.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Overall CAPA offered everything needed to have a successful study abroad experience. With helpful staff, challenging courses, and opportunities to explore outside of the classroom, I would give the program a 9/10. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The CAPA administration may have been the best part of the program. They were always available and were concerned into the students well being. It wouldn't have been the same without them! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My school actually found housing separately as to put us more centrally in London. |
| * Food: |
You receive a weekly meal stipend based on what your individual college decides it to be. You then make your own meals so it is what you make of it! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Living in the center of the city was the best way to be a part of the culture. By not having a dormitory and actually living in an apartment with other people living around you who aren't college students, you feel as if you are becoming part of the city itself. In addition the extra programs offered by CAPA really allowed for the students to get to know the city. and become part of it even further. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
N/A |
| * Safety: |
Never had any issues. Safety is something more taken into your own hands. Be smart, go out at night with a friend and try to avoid dark alleys! |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
With a meal stipend of 40 pounds a week the life of a student budget was very easy to get by on. I decided it was a good idea to make dinner with one of my flatmates in order to cut down on expenses, and the only personal money that I used was on extracurricular activities and outside travel. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 10-20 pounds depending on activities |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Save up everything you can over the summer and work two jobs if you can. Money gives you the chance to travel and if there is one time in your life to travel it is now. If you're already 80% of the way to the rest of Europe make sure you have the funds to go the extra 20% |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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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? | I wish that I knew that my commute to work was as long as it was. While I was the furthest outlier in terms of travel times, I most likely would have requested for a change in internships as to not spend so much valuable time on the train. |
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 Avid AdventurerThe wardrobe you packed was better suited for a semester of camping than club hopping. Outdoorsy, you might forgo a crazy night out for an early all-day adventure. You'd rather take in the rich culture of an old town than the metropolis of a modern city, but for you getting off the grid is ideal. |
