Wonderful city, difficult university administration! Past Review
By A student (Brandeis University) - abroad from 09/10/2014 to 12/12/2014 with
IFSA: London - University College London
personal growth experience. Really got a chance to experience a big busy city and found that it was exactly what I needed. Easy to travel to other places in Europe. definitely worth while, but personally would have been better suited with a different academic programme.
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. |
Two of my courses were academically rigorous but the other two were almost jokes. I was disappointed through the difficult course selection process that I was stuck taking courses that were about things I had already learned about or was actively was uninterested in. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
UCL was incredibly difficult to work with when registering for courses. While attempts at guidance were made, each and every single department has a different registration process for affiliate students so it was really hard to find courses outside my home department to take. Had I known this before I would have applied jointly to two departments. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
lived in UCL housing with 7 other americans in a flat (single rooms shared kitchen). Isolated area from the University, but generally a good location and good quality accommodations. |
| * Food: |
I had self-catered accomodation so I cooked for myself |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
super difficult to meet british students where I was living. Tried to join clubs but still found it difficult to get to known people well in such a short time. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Didn't have any issues. IFSA butler is quite prepared for emergencies. Used the NHS and the UCL Gower Street Practice to get a prescription filled and it was really easy. |
| * Safety: |
Never had an issue, living in London you just have to be smart. Did know two girls that had minor incidents with men touching them in public places. Generally though, the university is in a great and safe area of London. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
London is simply expensive, theres no way to get around living cost even while being frugal. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | ~$170 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | take the busses! they're great, and cook for yourself when you can. Also the UCL pubs have super cheap drinks (about half the price of a pub). They're great for pregaming or just grabbing a pint. |
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? | 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 wish I had known how difficult the department would be in course selection and that most of courses I looked at before going would not be available to me. I just got the short straw and got courses that I didn't enjoy. I wish I had applied to a program that was more intensive and a department that was better suited to my interests. |
