Oxford: Beautiful, Old, and Life-Changing! Past Review
By Jordan P (Accounting and Computer Science, Trinity University) for
IFSA: Oxford - Oxford University St. Peter's College Summer Program
It was so worthwhile--it opened my eyes to a part of the world I had never seen before, and it was amazing. I became so much more independent being on my own, and I loved every minute of it. I met amazing people, saw beautiful sights, and got to travel to places that I've never been before!
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload was manageable, and there was still ample time to travel. The grading was similar to that in America as well, which was nice. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The people from Magdalen College were extremely helpful and nice to everyone, and the IFSA Butler-London staff were also extremely accessible if we had any questions. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The campus and dorm were absolutely beautiful, which was so nice, and it was in a great part of town--you are super close to shopping, restaurants, and bars. The downside was the dorm was over 300 years old, so the internet connection wasn't great, and everything in the rooms was very basic. |
| * Food: |
They did offer vegetarian options at most meals, but the food was very repetitive. You got about 3 options for lunch and dinner, and there is so much fish. Seeing as I don't like fish, I had a rough go of it, but it was manageable most of the time. If the dining hall food was bad, there were LOTS of restaurants close by that were real good (At Thai!). |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
There are so many fun, college bars around Oxford, which were really fun to go to. There is also so much history throughout England, so it was fun to travel. Additionally, Europe in general is so easy to travel through, so getting to somewhere like France was super simple! The 4 Day British Landscape Excursion that my program put on was amazing--we traveled the entire country of Wales, as well as Southwest England, and it was amazing! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I never felt unsafe in my dorm at night. There are 24 hour porters, who are watching the campus, and the dorm is locked from the outside. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | A lot--I bought a lot of souvenirs, and the shopping in Europe is amazing, so I bought a lot of clothes as well. You will spend more than you initially think, so don't bring too many clothes with you! |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | It's the little things, like foreign transaction fees, that all add up and make the trip super expensive. Food is more expensive, the exchange rate isn't great right now, and you are bound to find stuff that you buy that you didn't plan on buying beforehand. Definitely don't pack your suitcase to 50lb for departure, because it will absolutely be 15lb heavier when you come home! |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
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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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | The best part about Oxford is you can study anything there. The classes are taught by amazing professors, and the university itself is incredible! |
