King's College London IFSA review Past Review
By MacLean Kirk (Middlebury College) - abroad from 09/13/2019 to 12/14/2019 with
IFSA: London - King's College London
It was worthwhile. I enjoyed the city; exploring, biking, sightseeing, etc.
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. |
The classes at this program were stimulating. In essence, my classes were just 2 hour long discussion sections. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program was pretty weak. Although they applied for me and gave me a ride from the airport, I'm not exactly positive where the money I paid them went. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Housing was far away from campus and largely inadequate. There was no hot water and no heat in my room. |
| * Food: |
College and program do not provide stipend or meal plan, so I had to cook or eat out which got very, very expensive. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Locals were very enjoyable. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had to go the dentist once. The level of dentistry was not the best but at least it was very inexpensive. |
| * Safety: |
London is a relatively safe city. There seems to be a lot of knife crime, luckily I was not involved in any. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
Although I enjoyed the academic rigor, I did not appreciate the lack of caring that a large university like King's exhibits. At Middlebury, a school with comparable academics, the professors and administration actually care about the students. |
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) |
I survived, but it was very expensive. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $400 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Take the bus, its much cheaper than the tube. |
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?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
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 know that traveling to a city like London is very valuable due to the cultural diffusion that takes place there. |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
The U.S. Mexico Borderlands |
| Course Department: | Historyh |
| Instructor: | Dr. Mathias |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Very informative, very interesting. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
