If I lived here I would still have so much to see. Past Review
By Natalie Alton (Kansas State University) - abroad from 06/16/2016 to 07/29/2016 with
IFSA: London - University of Westminster
So worthwhile. Instead of visiting I now have favorite places to get tea, favorite museums to spend a rainy afternoon, and can give directions to just about anywhere. It was a very different environment than Kansas and I enjoyed "living" there so much. I still carry around an umbrella wherever I go now.
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. |
The course load was appropriate for the summer. My first class had a lot of reading homework and my second class had no homework whatsoever, but I learned a lot from both. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The front desk of Marylebone Hall was very helpful although many times they were gone when I needed them leaving only a phone number to call and it would have cost me a lot of money to call internationally since I only had a texting plan keeping my U.S. number. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Very nice; the lifts were a problem and I really felt that being on the 19th floor (couldn't really walk up the stairs although I did walk down on multiple occasions because it was actually faster than waiting for the lift). |
| * Food: |
It's making me rate this but really it should be N/A I bought all my own food because there wasn't a plan. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt very much a part of the city and the social program was helpful in this. Sometimes I felt extremely touristy with the social program since there were a lot of us all traveling as one but it was worth it. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Addressed at orientation but I had no run-ins. |
| * Safety: |
I felt very safe in the hall. The others in my hall would prop the hall door open a lot which was annoying but there were other safety measures to the building as a whole that I felt fine. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Very helpful, of course, now I feel like I don't need to go with a 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) |
I didn't spend a lot on groceries (thanks to the communal kitchen) but I did like to go out and visit attractions and night activities which cost some money. But overall I didn't have any unexpected costs and the food was extremely manageable. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | About $70/week depending on the week |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Don't eat out all the time. There are plenty of "London" unique foods in their grocery stores. I enjoyed shopping at Tesco, M&S, Waitrose, and Sainsbury's all places that we don't have in the U.S. which meant I didn't feel like I was missing their "culturally" unique by not eating out. I would say spend your money on the Lebanese or middle eastern restaurants. That's worth it more than eating pub food all the time. |
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? | How an Oyster card really works (bus, train, tube); there were safes in the rooms; how laundry facilities worked; keep small bills and coins on hand and only cards with chip readers work |
