Write Every Day With Oxford All Around You September 18, 2023

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Writing skills improved significantly because of the intensity of academic experience, but I personally feel some of the rigor was unnecessary and in fact harsh expectations such as needlessly short deadlines produced worse results than students were capable of giving.

On-site administration of your program

While the field trips were spectacular and during orientation, CMRS administration greatly helped us connect to Oxford resources, overall their organization among students was considered notably bad and not much of the weekly invited speakers' research was applicable to our own research paper at the end of the trimester and so was difficult to find entirely worthwhile.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Facilities worked extremely hard to upkeep our space, and I enjoyed my room very much. The kitchen itself, living arrangements, and location in Oxford were amazing. The building itself is old, though, and there are some issues with bathroom flooding, door locks, etc.

For the very small amount of pocket money we're given for the Keble College dining hall, the quality of the food doesn't really justify buying every meal there yourself. The experience of the old Oxford dining hall is extremely cool, but most students attempt to shop locally for themselves and that can be a shock to students who were expecting more of a reliable dining hall food plan.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I do feel that CMRS administration should have taken more of a hands-on approach in engaging us with the Oxford community. At the beginning of the trimester, they gave us a list of clubs we could potentially join at Keble, but that is as far as mingling between our program and Oxford goes. We were very much in our own bubble. It was something quite a few students lamented and there was this general air from the administration and emails after the program ended that "there wasn't much more they could do." And I honestly really doubt that is the case. However, since our location was in the middle of Oxford, I felt very well integrated into the city by the time the trimester was over.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

We were given satisfactory information about what to do in medical emergencies, insurance abroad, etc. I personally made great use of their counseling services. I think, though, that in general, mental health among Oxford CMRS students wasn't up to par, considering the transition to abroad living, academic rigor, administration's hands-off dynamic, and lack of assimilation into Oxford as a campus led to some loneliness among the students. Some more mental health services might be beneficial in that environment, if possible.

I always felt safe, personally, in our building and in the city. Just be aware that we are in a city and there's crowds, potential for things to be stolen, homeless etc.

I found my experiences with specific Oxford academics priceless, but as for the program itself, I think I would try something more imbedded in Oxford life instead of separate.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Food was my worst expense, to be honest, and it was frustrating to try and budget in a new country with minimal administrative assistance on the subject.

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• Dorm

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• Americans

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• Americans

• One on one work with academics
• The location in the city
• The field trips around England

• Administrative organization
• Connection to Oxford (campus)
• Communal activities/mental health support

The Academic or Linguist