English literature in Oxford Past Review
By student-fall2013 (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE/LETTERS., St. Mary's College of Maryland) - abroad from 09/05/2013 to 12/14/2013 with
Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies - Oxford
What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I read a ton of English literature, learned more about medieval Europe, got to see cathedrals and abbeys, got to experience Oxford for four months, had full access to all the Oxford colleges, made great friends from other American universities (as well as some British friends). It was absolutely, 100% worth it - I'd go back in a heartbeat.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Very rigorous program, keeps you busy with schoolwork. Very good resources through program and Bodleian/Oxford Libraries. Good tutors. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Very helpful, caring people. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The students all had a really strong community bond with each other. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Did not have any health issues while abroad. |
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| 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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 45-50 pounds ($65-$85) |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Save and use the coupons in your receipts from Tesco or Sainsbury (grocery), look around to find out where the cheapest food is (none of the stores are far from CMRS), check out second-hand shops (like OxFam) for clothes and books you need before buying them new, see if the Oxford Public Library has a book you need before you buy it, or see if there's a copy of the book in the JCR library. |
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? |
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 thought we'd be much more immersed in Oxford University/Keble College than we were. Technically, we had access to all of the colleges and everything in Keble, but the actual practise of getting to know English students is much harder than they told us it would be. I joined clubs and societies, but I had so much homework that I didn't usually have time to actually hang out with other society members. Going to Keble was also not as easy as it was made to sound - you have to book meals at Keble in advance, and it's much faster to just make your own food in the JCR, so if you have a lot of homework, Keble's a bit difficult to manage. We also didn't really meet freshers (freshmen) during 0th week at Keble - their orientation was basically us, other international students, and the Keble student gov't. Non-freshers basically already have a circle of friends, so getting into that when you don't live at the college is really hard. |
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