Jolly Old England: Fast and Fun Times in York Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Overall I felt like my quality of education was below standards at the University of York. I was enrolled in two modules, my entire grade for each class was based on one essay. There was no need to attend class (although I did), no need for homework, outside readings, in-class discussion, nothing. I feel like all these components together create a good learning environment and my classes had none of these components, just straight lecture. I felt like the grading system doesn't accurately reflect the effort put into the class or the material learned. To me, assessing someone on one essay over an entire semester could not possibly provide enough to fairly grade the person on their entire semester performance. The work load was non-existent, all the work required, I did the last week of class and I feel like in order for a class to be good, it must actively engage the student the whole semester. Overall, I would say going to school in York really made me appreciate the education I am getting at Hamline.

On-site administration of your program

Our faculty member from Hamline was excellent! Frank Shaw was great from the beginning, he knew all about how to get around town, where good shops were, how to use the bus, point us in the right direction, help us register, help us with housing issues, had a vast knowledge about York history and culture, just overall a great instructor

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Neighborhood safety was top-notch, aesthetics were adequate , proximity to class and nightlife was very poor, about a 25 min walk to class and an hour walk into town. I bought a few pans and utensils but otherwise bedding and other items were provided for the most part. Overall, I quite despised my housing assignment. My house mates were nice, but also very loud and extremely unhygienic leaving the kitchen a disaster zone (empty alcohol containers, used dishes, open food containers, split food on the floor and table, colored on the table, broke tiles off the wall, and never took the trash or recycling out). The house overall was very dirty, the room I moved into looked like it had never been cleaned after the last person moved out, the carpet was stained and the window was left wide open when I arrived so leaves and spiders were all over my room. Besides the unsanitary conditions, my dorm was the farthest building on campus from everything else, the proximity was terrible.

Quality and quantity of food provided by our meal plan was poor. Our meal plan didn't kick in until a month after we arrived, which we were not informed of, so we arrived in a foreign country with no food and no idea where to find food. A rough few days to say the least. Once the meal plan started up, we got one meal a day, 5 days a week. Technically we got two a day but no one ever used their breakfast meals so they essentially went to waste because they couldn't be reused at a different time. Not only did we not get enough food, but most times it was very low caliber food, and not a lot of variety. The meal plan we had (MAD) was a waste of money.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Travelling around England to London, Scarborough, Goathland, Manchester, and Leeds as well as travelling outside the country to Scotland, Ireland, and Germany. We toured Canterbury Cathedral and all the London sight seeing spots which was awesome and then going to Oktoberfest was one of my personal highlights. Only the trips to London and Goathland were pre-arranged, everything else I set up myself.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I always felt safe in York, in town or around the dorms. Just stay in a group or in pairs and you will be fine. Healthcare was not easily accessible, if you had a problem, basically your only option was to go to a free clinic and wait for 3 hours to be seen because the university healthcare system was book 3 weeks in advance so it was almost impossible to get an appointment. The only vaccine I got before going to York was a flu shot.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

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