Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Unforgettable Past Review

By (University of Arkansas - Fayetteville) - abroad from 07/07/2012 to 07/28/2012 with

ISA Study Abroad in London, England

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Friends, worldly experience. It was definitely worthwhile, although I am completely broke! I want to travel to Europe again soon!

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: Multimedia Journalism at University of Westminster
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? None

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I enjoyed the excursion to Stonehenge, Salisbury cathedral, the Roman baths, Houses of Parliament, Tower of London. The course I took was very informative and was hands on, it really helped me learn things that I would not have learned in the journalism courses at the U of A.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

I felt that the staff was

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The housing situation was very deceiving, it was not what it said on the website and I ended up staying in a dorm with no other ISA students by myself. I was eventually able to move to another accommodation with other students but it was a very scary surprise when I first arrived.

* Food:

No food was provided through the course.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The course I took had us interviewing the local people and talking to them about our cultural differences.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

I felt that ISA did not care about the students safety and they placed me in a dorm without other students from my program and expected me to get around London by myself on my first day.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? No

Finances

* 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)

Because there was no food provided in the program it was very difficult to live on a student budget.

* Was housing included in your program cost? Yes
* Was food included in your program cost? No
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? About $300-400 because travel was also not included in our program which was not an expense I was aware of.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? 0

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • The Americans I met who I became great friends with
  • The excursions we took
  • My class at the University of Westminster
* What could be improved?
  • Being direct about what was offered in the program
  • Caring more about the students safety
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I wish the program had been more clear on the expenses, ISA gave us a budget to follow but they were off by about $200 a week so I was not able to stay within my budget.