Edinburgh is Amazing (but Beware of IFSA) June 23, 2022
By A student (Political Science, Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/12/2022 to 05/27/2022 with
IFSA: Edinburgh - University of Edinburgh
Lot of independence Relationship management in a brand-new environment
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Classes easier than Middlebury, only meeting 1x weekly with comparable work per class section as Middlebury Semester much shorter, plus faculty strikes shortened the semester further. Only half as many weeks as Middlebury actually in class, and each week had half as much class as Middlebury |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
IFSA was TERRIBLE - Poor communication before the trip, repeatedly misled me about what to expect in terms of courses despite me repeatedly stating my academic requirements (and their reassurement before I committed to the program that I would be able to satisfy my requirements). I didn't know whether I could actually go until less than a week before the program started - Orientation was largely non-existent, just 3 MS Teams meetings that failed to provide any useful information - Working with IFSA throughout the semester was a headache IFSA charges $3k for 3 hours on MS Teams, 15 minutes in-person, and a whole lot of unnecessary hassle |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Pretty nice room, convenient location. Bit dirty and WiFi didn't work too well |
| * Food: |
Not sure how to rank as no dining hall. Edinburgh has great takeout options around (haha) |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Very difficult to meet locals, my friends were all Americans on exchange / living in the same accommodation |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
No experience, not applicable (feel free to discount this) |
| * Safety: |
Edinburgh felt very safe, never had incidents or episodes of feeling unsafe |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
IFSA is SO bad. Would return to Edinburgh in a heartbeat but via direct enrollment / another program |
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) |
No dining hall so buying food all the time |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Maybe ~$400? That said could definitely do it more frugally than me |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Partying is a waste of money Learn to cook |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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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? | Spend more time doing valuable things in Edinburgh instead of partying |
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 UrbaniteA 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: |
Energy Policy & Sustainability |
| Course Department: | Science, Technology, and Innovation |
| Instructor: | Kirsten Jenkins |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Class was okay, too big to be effective No reason to do readings Assessments (2 essays) seemed appropriate |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No issues, ES department approved promptly |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Politics and Public Policy |
| Course Department: | Politics |
| Instructor: | James Mitchell |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Loved it, Prof Mitchell very engaging, class small enough to facilitate participation, readings highly relevant to class, interesting topics |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No issues, prompt approval from PSCI department |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Politics of the Middle East |
| Course Department: | Politics |
| Instructor: | Jamie Allinson |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Interesting enough, pretty big but discussion courses offered 1-1 attention Could tell prof was very well-prepared |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No, Midd has a very similar class so approval was prompt |
