How Survive and Love England Past Review
By Amanda G (Psychology, Hamline University) for
Hamline University: York - University of York
The experience was amazing. I would say it has been the highlight of my life thus far. I got to experience and build a while new life. I am truly more aware of how limiting the American view of the world is. I want to widen my views of the world and be more involved. Being political is not just about focusing on what is going on here close to home. I am much more confident in myslef in that I managed to go so far on my own and make the experience my own. I pushed myself far outside of my comfort zone and the rewards were amazing and life changing.
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. |
The course I took there was structured very differently than any courses I had taken at Hamline before. The class size was very large and there was a lot of things that you had to do on your own time. This was difficult for me but not a bad experience. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The Hamline supervisor was always quick to answer any questions and even when she was no longer in England she was always readily avaliable. It was a bit of a shock when she left and there was no longer the daily check in with an supervisor but that gaave me to oppertunity to be a bit more self reliant and branch out on my own. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I was living in a single dorm room. I was very glad that I was given a single. The room I was placed in was intended to be a double room so it was very large. It was in nice condition. Like with most student housing it was always busy and gave me the oppertunity to meet all of the people living in the block of my dorm. I needed to rent sheets and buy cookware to use in the communal kitchen. |
| * Food: |
The food in the dining hall was always pretty good. I got quite used to cooking my own meals during the second part of my stay and rather liked cooking for myself |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The socail aspect of the experience was amazing. I was able to make lasting friends and intend to return. The progam had a 5 week break in which I was able to go and spend most of my time in London. I was able to really start to feel like that was home for me and really enjoy the culture from and insiders perspective. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
The overall safety on York is very high. It was a small town and there were very few incidents. I did not have to access health care while I was there. The healthcare system there is much more effective. Through my internship there was a lot of progams I was aware of that helped people through their universal healthcare system. |
| 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? | I spent somewhere between 30 and 70 pounds a week while I was there. Depending on what I was doing. I spent most of that money on food and drink so it varied depending on how many times I went out to eat or went out to drink. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I would advise students to only take out with you as much money as you are really willing to spend. I would also encourage them to get used to cooking their own meals as it is much less expensive. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Fluent |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Students who really want to be part of the culture there and see what it is to live in England would get a lot from this program. |
