Wonderful life full of love and joy in London Past Review
By Mengqi Tian (Brandeis University) - abroad from 09/11/2019 to 12/12/2019 with
IFSA: London - University College London
I feel like I have made full use of my time in London because I went to explore the city almost everyday, and I made lots of friends in UCL. I came to the US wanting to experience the culture the most and I have definitely done that! All the trips were excited and unforgettable and I really wish I could stay there longer.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
All the teachers are very patient, kind and knowledgeable, and there were many courses from different department we can choose. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administrators are very friendly and gave us lots of useful information during orientation. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The dorm rooms are nice and clean, and my roommates are very nice. However, I hope the dorms could be closer to my classroom because I spend 20-25 minutes walking to school every morning and it is not far enough to take a bus. |
| * Food: |
Our dorm do not have catering service and the canteen is not cheap. The food in canteen is not bad but still can be improved. I cook for myself most of the time. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I love the location of UCL! It is right in the center of the city and it is close to everywhere. My friends and I usually go out by foot or take the tube after class to visit local places. The location is really convenient for students to explore the city. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did not had a experience with health care but our school is very close to UCLH so I assume the health care should be good. |
| * Safety: |
Our campus and dorms are very safe, and requires id card or keys to enter. I think London is safer than most cities in US as long as one don't go to dangerous place in the middle of the night. However, do hold on to your phone cause my friend's phone has been robbed when she was walking on the street. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
The location of UCL is absolutely amazing! I love city schools cause it is very convenient to explore the city if living in the center of the city. And the public transportation in London is so convenient that I could go anywhere I want without driving. Also, the opera tickets are cheap, most museums are free and many places have student discount so it is really nice for students who want to explore more but worry about money. And it is very convenient to go to other cities through train so I went to many other cities with my friends and we had some of the most amazing times in multiple cities. I LOVE UK! |
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 a very expensive place but I kind of expected that. And some of my friends helped me to find some cheap stores for foods and groceries so it was actually better than I thought. Also since we are kind of living in the city center, it is hard not to go out with friends at weeknights or on weekends, which increased my budget a lot. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I did not keep track but I would assume around 150 pound. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Go to Poundland or ALDi or other stores to get food and groceries with much lower price but high quality! Also keep track of the money you spend. |
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? |
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 knew more about the fun activities or places to visit before I came to London because most of my trips are not planned and was a bit rush. Also I wish I knew how short three months would be so I could cherish my time in London more!!! |
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: |
One-Term Research Project |
| Course Department: | Psychology |
| Instructor: | |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | It was not hard to get into a research project, and the supervisors are friendly and knowledgeable. However, we did not have a basic standard or structure to follow and it was a chaos when I first started my project. It took us months to finalize what to do and we did not start collect data till late November. I really wish there could be a clearer standard and some more instructions from supervisors. Maybe it depends on supervisors but I really hope there could be more regulation on projects. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
