London is one of my favorite cities, developed my neuroscience background Past Review

By kaiblee (Neurobiology and Neurosciences., Middlebury College) - abroad from 09/17/2012 to 12/14/2012 with

King's College London: London - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I learned a lot about being on my own in a big city. I loved London, it is now one of my favorite cities. Although classes did not meet as often as they do at Middlebury, I had a lot of free time to enjoy myself abroad and I really got to know London well.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	Had to take first-year level humanities classes, which were not challenging at all. I loved my third-year level neuroscience class, which taught me a lot about neuroscience. I loved how everything was based on recent research articles and lectures were given by the researchers themselves. I definitely feel that my major was supplemented by this experience.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	Accommodating and friendly, but often disorganized and unresponsive. I never received the marks or comments for each paper, which was unhelpful.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	Okay, not the greatest neighborhood, but overall it was clean and with other students, so I was fine with that. I was able to meet most of my friends through the dorms and socials.
* Food:	No catering service, which was fine, as it encouraged me to cook and to try the local foods.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I did feel a bit out of place at first because when I imagined living in England, I thought it would be really similar to living in the US and it's not. But by the end of it, I felt really at home in London!
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	No problem.
* Safety:	I stayed in Great Dover Street Apartments, which isn't in the best location (near Borough station). There were two rapes in one of the parks nearby in the previous year, and I was always a bit wary coming home late at night. I would advise other students living in GDS to always walk with a buddy, take a taxi after 1am, and be alert.
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)	London is expensive. Cooking at home helped the budget.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	100 pounds
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Cook, food is expensive.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Dorm
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans International Students
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Local Students Americans International Students
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?	It's Location in London Deepened my engagement with Neuroscience Met a lot of different people that I will likely stay in touch with for a long time
* What could be improved?	humanities classes
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	Nothing really.

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 Outright Urbanite A social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Perspectives on Pain and Nervous System Disorders
Course Department:	Neuroscience
Instructor:	Anna Battaglia and Isabelle Gavazzi
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Challenging class, but I learned so much. There was lots of engagement with the material: lectures, student presentations, journal clubs, debates, research papers, posters, quizzes and exams. I met a lot of friends through that class during projects and collaborative assignments. I loved how all the lectures were the latest research given by the top-ranking researchers who actually did the experiments.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Intro to Buddhism
Course Department:	Religion and Theology
Instructor:	Andrew Skilton
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Not challenging at all. Assessment was typical, but lectures only met once a week and discussions were not engaging. Coming from a small school like Middlebury, it was disappointing.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Writer in the Text
Course Department:	English
Instructor:	Michael Silk
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Again, coming from Middlebury where literature classes are seminar style and largely discussion-based, this class was disappointing because it was basically all lecture, and I have never had a lecture class in literature before. There was no engagement with the class, no sharing of other ideas other than the professor's. It was just weird because I have always been able to better understand a text when I receive a variety of perspectives and when I participate in class.
Credit Transfer Issues: