London felt like home Past Review
By A student (Corporate Finance and Accounting, Bentley University) - abroad from 07/29/2013 to 08/17/2013 with
London School of Economics (LSE): London - General Course, Year-Long Study Abroad Programme
I made many friends, some who I didn't know from Bentley and many from all over the world. Learning with and about people from different countries and backgrounds on a whole new level than Bentley was incredible. I would do the program again in a heartbeat
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
VERY challenging, far beyond what the course description described, but also interesting and stimulating |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The Welcome Address, social programs, and leaving party were all very well planned, informative, and fun |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Rosebery Avenue Hall was about a 25 minute walk from LSE's campus, but the rooms were clean (and cleaned daily by housekeeping) and this just gave me more opportunities to explore London on my walk to/from campus every day. London Public Transport cuts the walk and travel time down greatly (~10-15 mins), although I rarely used it to get to class |
| * Food: |
Rosebery Hall's breakfasts were decent, and included. Breakfast did close early, so I didn't take advantage of it very often |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Living in Islington, I was in the prime location to get around all areas of central London. There always seemed to be something to do for college-aged kids within either walking distance or a few stops on the Tube |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
N/A |
| * Safety: |
I was pick-pocketed at a night club and lost about 60 GBP. Overall, I felt very safe walking around during the day and at night, however all venues seemed to have posted PSAs that pick picketers were on the rise all over the city. |
| 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) |
London lived up to its reputation as an expensive city. Trying to cram a lot of experiences into 3 weeks, I spent a lot more money per week than expected |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $750 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Stick to pubs and bars if you are trying to save money. Clubs may be fun but are easy places to lose money (on entry, drinks...or by getting pick-pocketed) |
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? | 10+ |
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? | The intensity of the courses at LSE. Also, it would have helped to have had more pre-departure sessions to get to know the Bentley students on the trip better. However, we all eventually met up and became good friends |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
AF202: Analysis and Management of Financial Risk |
| Course Department: | Finance |
| Instructor: | Dr Georgy Chabakauri & Dr Philippe Mueller |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Very challenging. The professors were brilliant and even brought in guest speakers who currently work in the industry of financial risk management. Lectures were just that, lectures. However class sessions were highly interactive and I was able to ask questions and get feedback. Grading depended 40% on the midterm, 60% on the cumulative final |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No, I had the course approved prior to enrolling |
