AMAZING experience! January 10, 2025
By Hope J (Earth Sciences, Middlebury College) - abroad from 09/07/2024 to 12/20/2024 with
IFSA: St. Andrews - University of St. Andrews
From an academic standpoint, I learned a lot more within my specific sub-field of my major that I haven't had access to at Middlebury because of its small size. I learned a lot more about budgeting and keeping track of my finances, and I am much more comfortable being independent.
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. |
IFSA was really great upon arrival about giving us resources for any and all purposes and for giving us an introduction to St Andrews' academics. The academic system was extremely different than at Middlebury, especially because we did not have homework and grades were based on two or three major assignments/tests. This was quite a hard adjustment, even though IFSA had told me about it. Academics were rigorous; as I took typical third- and fourth-year classes, a lot was expected of me. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
On-site IFSA Scotland personnel were very available and approachable for any questions, no matter how small. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The housing process was very easy and the dorm was clean and accessible. |
| * Food: |
I was self-catered, so I had no issues with food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Participation in local events and clubs made me feel more integrated with the town and culture, specifically going to ceilidhs! The dorm was 20 minutes from town, which did sometimes make it harder to feel integrated. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
It was very easy to seek medical advice for minor illnesses and injuries at the local pharmacy. There were a few hoops to jump through to get an appointment with the GP, especially as I didn't have a physical UK SIM card, though the GP was very friendly and helpful. I did not seek assistance from my program with this appointment. |
| * Safety: |
I always felt very safe in St Andrews, even when walking into town to catch a bus for a field trip at 5am! |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
IFSA was amazing about organizing events and providing support and resources. I quickly made many friends through my classes and clubs; professors were always kind, understanding, and helpful. I immediately fell in love with the town of St Andrews upon arrival and I was in constant awe of Scotland's beauty. |
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? | $80 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Get a membership at your preferred grocery store; Tesco has really good savings! |
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? | Going abroad is hard, and while it might seem like everyone goes abroad to take easy courses and country-hop, it's completely fine (and still fulfilling) to take harder courses and explore more locally! But it's important to have fun no matter what. |
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! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Coastal Processes |
| Course Department: | Geography |
| Instructor: | William Austin |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This course was amazing and Bill was very knowledgeable and passionate about the subject. I participated in a day of field work with other students in my class on a Loch in the western highlands, gathering mud samples for a PhD student's research. There was also a two-day class field trip to an island and salt marsh in the western highlands to learn field methods and view indicators of the glacial history of Scotland. Assessments consisted of three written assignments -- a trifold or video about the coastal processes seen on our field trip, a blue carbon assessment lab report, and a final essay about coastal policy; all assignments were 1500 words or less. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Oceans and Atmosphere |
| Course Department: | Earth Sciences |
| Instructor: | Simon Lee, Michael Byrne, Andrea Burke |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This course was a new course that was a revision of a previous, harder iteration. This course was quite difficult, even for St. Andrews students who had already met the expected prerequisites. The first half of the course centered on atmospheric science and fluid dynamics; it was unexpectedly very physics-heavy. The midterm exam, worth 50% of the final grade, was based on this material. The second half of the course surrounded biogeochemical oceanography, which was much easier for all of the class to understand and digest. The final assessment, also worth 50% of the grade, was a 10-minute presentation on student-generated figures on biogeochemical processes for an assigned ocean region. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Geochemistry |
| Course Department: | Earth sciences |
| Instructor: | Paul Savage, James Rae |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This course was challenging, though well-taught. The module was split into two sections, each taught by a different instructor, both of whom were very knowledgeable and passionate. This was a very large class, sometimes making it hard to get the proper attention. Weekly online quizzes were of average difficulty and made up a total of 35% of the final grade. The final was worth 65% of the grade and quite difficult, particularly as it was a comprehensive test. |
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