My Oxford Abroad Experience! Past Review
By Chenyu Zhang (Lafayette College) - abroad from 01/05/2018 to 06/16/2018 with
IFSA: Oxford - Oxford University
How to be more independent! I also had lots of self-reflection time where I could just sit down and think about what I really want to do, what I like and dislike etc. Plus, I made many new friends, and I could also travel around the UK and Europe! It was eye-opening and humbling.
Review Photos
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. |
At Oxford, I was taking second and third-year undergraduate courses in Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences. I attended lectures and tutorials, which required preparation of essays each week and a one-to-one meeting with the tutors. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
IFSA provided me with great support, from start till end! The initial orientation at London allowed me to make new friends and be able to settle down and get accustomed to the new environment before getting started. While at Oxford, our advisor Andrew met up with us for coffee and chats to find out about our progress, and also organized walks and trips around town which was lovely! We also had a big IFSA program excursion to Lake District and I really enjoyed it! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Visiting students were housed together in a guest house that was about 15 minutes away from our Oxford College, and the rooms are big and comfortable. It is also really close to the city centre, and 5 minutes away from the main Sports Facility! |
| * Food: |
Teddy Hall had good food usually, and formal dinners were exceptionally nice, with our in-house one-star Michelin chef. Desserts are the highlight! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
There was ample chance for interactions with the students, but these usually took place outside of the lectures and during activities that we went for/signed up. We also had a more flexible schedule, so there was opportunities for us to explore and get to know the local culture better. I managed to make many friends who were locals! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
IFSA was organized, supportive and awesome! I had the chance to also take a Community and Cultural class as part of IFSA, and I think it helped me to learn more about integrating into the local culture. And of course, the whole Oxford experience was beyond amazing, and I managed to connect with several professors and tutors that I potentially would like to work with for graduate studies. |
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) |
Food was usually catered and included in the meal plan, but there was also a 6-week break in between the two Oxford terms and we had to settle our own meals then. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | around 50 pounds |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Keep a log of your expenditure! It helps to keep track of what you are spending (necessarily and unnecessarily). :) |
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? |
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? | Travel tips, study tips, and perhaps hearing from a previous student on the program about his/her experience and what they would have done differently if given the chance to go again! |
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 Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
