Rigorous but rewarding August 09, 2024

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

MCMRS was genuinely the most rigorous academic environment I have ever been in. It was incredibly valuable and I learned more than I ever have but I also have not had to work harder in my life and oftentimes found it more stressful than was warranted especially compared to the other abroad programs that were offered.

On-site administration of your program

Administrators were helpful and generally available when it came to academic issues but a lot of the people in my program had medical problems/more social problems and reaching administration for help with that was difficult especially at off hours. They often seemed disinterested and cold when it came to non-academic matters.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

MCMRS housing is what you make of it, you get put in a dorm style building along with the other members of the program and are traditionally put in a random double with another student. the common space in st mikes hall was great and people were always around to hangout in the big kitchen/living space.

There is no meal plan for this program which was something to get used to but st mikes hall has a pretty decent kitchen and there are many grocery stores right on the main street. grocery shopping in the UK is great - the food quality was really much better than in the US. you just have to be mindful that you're sharing a kitchen with 30 other students/

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

the CMRS program itself does little to nothing to integrate you with the local students and your classes are 1-on-1 (which I would make sure to look into before committing to this) so you don't really get any exposure to the local population. they tell you that you should join clubs and activities but because you're not integrated with the other students, you have to go very far out of your own way to join anything and they tend to be steep time commitments that given the sheer amount of work we were assigned every week, I felt unable to do.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

health issues were generally fine if you had something that you were prepared to deal with but emergencies were tricky.

the city of Oxford is amazing - its small enough to walk around alone and feel comfortable in the area and because its a student city, it felt pretty young and safe.

Oxford is an amazing city and the people that I was with made the program such an enjoyable experience but the program itself was not what made my time good.

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

food was really easy to shop for, travel is obviously expensive but if you're prepared for that then its fine

Select all that apply

• Dorm

Select all that apply

• Americans

Select all that apply

• Americans

• The people
• Being in Oxford
• Pub Culture

• Isolation
• Student Support
• Academic Advising

The Academic or Linguist