Canterbury Tales at the University of Kent Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The classes I took were very enjoyable and challenging in a good way; the professors expected a lot of us. It is a fairly large campus with a good library and sufficient resources as well. Because the credit system is very different in England, I only took two modules, so I had a plenty of free time and time to do my work. I often felt like I could have been doing more school work to receive more credits, but ultimately having a flexible schedule was really nice.

On-site administration of your program

The London IFSA staff were absolutely amazing--informative, friendly, and helpful. They gave us a lot of information during the orientation period, and kept up with us throughout the semester over lunches and events organized for the program. Even though I was outside of London, I always felt that the staff was available and the events were accessible.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I was housed on campus with the first year students (most of the older students live off-campus). Although the accommodation I was in was older and not necessarily the nicest, it was a comfortable living experience with a single room and shared kitchen and bathroom. It was really nice living with the British students rather than just with other Americans as well because I felt like I got more involved in the student culture.

I lived in a self-catered accommodation, so I mostly made my own food. There were lots of options for food on campus though, and it seemed pretty good when I had it.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I felt welcomed by the students and got involved in the university culture, but since the campus is slightly removed from the town itself, I didn't feel as integrated in the local culture. However, I'm sure that I could have gotten more familiar with the area with some extra effort.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I didn't have any health issues that couldn't be solved by picking up some items from a nearby pharmacy, but the university had accessible healthcare and provided information about how to go get state healthcare as well.

I never had any issues with safety; I think being outside of London may have helped with that. But I did have a local friend who had a close call on a night out, so my advice would just be to be as wary as you would be anywhere else.

While I really enjoyed my time abroad and many aspects of this program, I might consider a different program because I feel like being in a different location, like a bigger city, would have offered more varied opportunities and challenged me more.

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

Eating and drinking out could be pretty expensive, but I found grocery prices to be reasonable.

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• Dorm

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• Local Students

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• Local Students

• Living with and taking classes with local students
• Relatively few classes, allowing lots of time for studying, hobbies, or travel
• Hundreds of varied student clubs and societies--great way to try new things and meet people

• Access to program events--they worked to make them accessible, but they were often scheduled on the same day when I could not attend, but I imagine there's only so much they can do about that
• Student involvement in the process of picking housing

The Academic or Linguist