Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

London went by fast, but was an incredibly fulfilling experience. Past Review

By (Marketing., Fordham University) - abroad from 01/10/2013 to 05/11/2013 with

Fordham University: Gabelli School of Business in London

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I had never been to Europe before (only Africa) so I learned a lot about European culture. Although London has become very Americanized, it was very fun and exciting to be in such an old city with so much history. The classes definitely hindered my experience in that I was almost always too busy studying and doing homework to do anything fun. But overall, it was definitely worthwhile.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Very difficult courses that took up most of my spare time.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Graham Bolton was an excellent head of the program. Very helpful and was genuinely interested in students' feedback. He was easily reachable at all times and was always walking around checking on how classes were going, where students were travelling on weekends, and asking about what he could do to make the program better.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Flats were very comfortable and have a great location.

* Food:

British food in general is not very good. The food at the London Centre was ok, but I rarely ate there anyways.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Would've liked more trips to other UK places, like Oxford, Bath, or Dover. Didn't feel as immersed in the culture as I would've liked.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had food poisoning during the trip that lasted 4 days. Graham quickly gave me a list of places I could go to get medical attention and gave me helpful advice.

* Safety:

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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? Probably around $150-200.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Everything in London is extremely expensive. Don't go shopping immediately after arriving, there are a lot of things that you can learn to live without. Also, book travels way ahead of time to save money. Get a Groupon account: There are a lot of very cheap travelling coupons.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
  • Hotel
  • Hostel
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
  • International Students
* 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? 0

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Location
  • Professor Bolton
  • Trips
* What could be improved?
  • Classes/Professors
  • Internet
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I did not know the classes would be so time-consuming. I spoke with a few people that had been ont he trip before and all of them said the classes were not a problem. It definitely put stress on all of the students and took away from the experience.

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 Outright Urbanite
A social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Financial Management
Course Department: Business
Instructor: Eduardo Nuzzo
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Extremely challenging. Professor was very nice and tried to help students learn the material, but failed to do so. I had to teach myself everything and even then, the tests did not test us on subject matter learned in class or in readings, but on things we had never gone over either in or outside of class.
Credit Transfer Issues: No.
Course Name/Rating:

Managerial Accounting
Course Department: Accounting
Instructor: Rajiv Maluste
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Subject matter was easy enough to understand after doing readings and completing homework, but the Professor used students' homework answers as correct answers for test without checking to see if the answers are ACTUALLY correct. Grading style is unfair. Never once saw professor actually walk through a problem with us or provide us with an actually correct answer that we could rely on.
Credit Transfer Issues: No.