Across the Pond and at the Beach Past Review
By Gordon E (American University) - abroad from 09/02/2014 to 12/13/2014 with
IES Abroad: London & Oxford - Health Practice & Policy
My study abroad experience in the Health Practice and Policy program was great. All of my professors were very qualified and experienced in the subjects that they taught me. I had a Study London course that was taught by an Oxford lecturer who regularly explored European politics in his research. For my three HPP courses, I felt that I received up to date information on health systems, social welfare policy, and health and disease. My Health systems course looked at health systems not only in Europe but also in Asia and Africa. I thought that made the course very comprehensive. My professor for that class was a global health lawyer who helps to craft global health policy for the World Health Organization. For my social welfare policy class, one of the two professors worked for Parliament and researched the effects of specific social inequalities in different groups. The second professor for the course was a lawyer who regularly protested for and represented disadvantaged clients. The health and disease course was at the Institute of Human Sciences at the University of Oxford. Every week, an expert in a different field of public health gave a lecture about different public health concepts like bioethics, research bias, and more. We created a hypothetical public health intervention for the final presentation. It trained me to consider a wide variety of complex related issues when trying to put an intervention together. This program truly gave me real world experience.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
My study abroad experience in the Health Practice and Policy program was great. All of my professors were very qualified and experienced in the subjects that they taught me. For my three HPP courses, I felt that I received up to date information on health systems, social welfare policy, and health and disease. My service learning placement, was related to my field of interest, epidemiology. I volunteered at a Healthwatch organization and contributed to improving the health of the people in Tower Hamlets. Outside of academics, there were so many things to do every week. I visited Amsterdam and Paris and the IES Abroad staff gave me advice on places to visit before I left. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
There was always a person in the office who I could ask questions about how my classes would meet or grades would be reported. We received emails about emergency updates in different countries as well as England. For the Jamaica program, an IES Abroad Advisor accompanied us to Jamaica and stayed with us for the entire trip. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The rooms were very small. My bed and my roommate's bed was separated by my desk. One side of the room was obviously better than the other. The shower, sink, and toilet were close to one another. I had enough closet space for my clothes and storage space for my suitcases. |
| * Food: |
Indian food in Britain is absolutely amazing. Fish and Chips can do no wrong either. It is especially great with lemon juice on the fish. It is also possible to have affordable and good tasting food on the go for lunch. The supermarkets were near by and offered a wide range of food. I did not go broke when I shopped for my groceries every other week. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
It was very easy integrating into the British culture because I am American. Everyone spoke English. It was difficult to be a student and feel connected to London through other British students. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I personally did not use the health services in England, but I know that my friends were able to see a doctor the same day as their health problem. One of my friends had a minuscule piece of metal stuck in here eye. She could not wash it out or see it. She called the IES London center about the issue and saw a doctor who removed it from her eye that day. |
| * Safety: |
Nothing ever happened to me but I know that London is a big city. A police officer gave us some tips the first day we had orientation. I also did not travel to places at night that I had never been to before. |
| 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? | I spent 25 to 30 quid on groceries weekly to a week and a half. I had lunch for 3 quid every day. I definitely spent more than $100 per week but no more than $150 per week. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I saved all of my receipts and put them into an Excel spreadsheet for my first month abroad. It helped me track my expenses and gave me an idea of what i spent most of my money on. Most importantly, I had an idea of how much money I would use for the next two months because I knew how much I had spent in my first month. |
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 wish I had planned my trips to other countries rather than wait because tickets were more expensive and I ran out of time. I wish I had planned out which countries and activities in London that I would do. |
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 Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
