Best Summer of My Life Past Review

By Salma A (High School) - abroad from 06/28/2015 to 07/25/2015 with

Oxbridge Academic Programs: New York - Oxbridge in New York

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

It was worthwhile. It proved to me that I was indeed independent, that it's easy to deal with home sickness, that there is so much out there in the world that I haven't discovered and that I get along well with other nationalities. It also made me more goal oriented, especially about where I want to go to college and what do I want to study in the future. But most of all I made a lot of friends that I know I'll stay in touch with constantly from now on.

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.	I studied Medjcal Science which is considered a fairly less exciting subject yet in just one month, along with the lectures, we dissected a heart, went to experiment on mannequins at a nursing school, were taught how to perform proper CPR , and watched a LIVE open heart surgery!
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	I fell in love with America's ever so famous city, New York; the city that never sleeps.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	Living was good. You got a dorm to yourself or shared with a roommate at Barnard University. The rooms were clean and air conditioned. There was enough closet space. The shared bathrooms weren't tedious to deal with because there were many stalls and sinks. It was fairly good!
* Food:	A wide selection of foods every day at lunch and dinner. It suits vegetarians, vegans, meat lovers, people who don't eat pork...etc.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I felt like I BELONGED! New York is super cosmopolitan and is full of creative people that I felt like I've found my home.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	The nurse was available every day at certain hours and if you urgently needed her she came to hell immediately.
* Safety:	It was super safe. Forget the movies and Hollywood. New York is nothing like that. It's pretty safe. There are officers just around every corner, people mind their own businesses, and you just have to act with rationality as you would act anywhere in Earth. The program even got us an officer that told us how to behave in the subway and in certain situations.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

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 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)	I'll have to admit the food was expensive and the shopping was tempting.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	200$ per week
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Make your own food! Don't eat out a lot. Take the subway and forget about cabs. Or even walk! It's good for your heart and your wallet!

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	Local Students Americans International Students
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Americans International Students
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?	Coney Island with friends The people from all over the world that I met The activists directors, teachers, and managers
* What could be improved?	I don't know really. I had a wonderful time!
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	how to not get tempted to spend all your money on food

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:	Medical Science
Course Department:
Instructor:	Dr. Hemant Sabharwal
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Through just one month we got to experience what a Med student goes through. We sat through long lectures of 4 consecutive hours or more about almost everything that concerns the human body, however we did choose to focus more on the heart. We dissected a pig's heart, learned how to do CPR, taught random New Yorkers about coronary heart disease and the vitality of knowing CPR, and watched a LIVE double bipass heart surgery!
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Fine Arts
Course Department:
Instructor:	Annie
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	If I wanted to be taught art, I would've wanted to be taught in NYC. New York is the city of expression and color. It was the perfect place to take a fine arts course. The MOMA, the Whitney, and the MET are so conveniently close and beautiful to revisit up to a thousand times. We went to Grand Central Station and sketched quick gesture drawing of people going on about their business. We build HUGE sculptures that represented our time in NYC. We painted abstract canvases that most accurately depicted the big apple through our eyes. We drew and sketched and went on field trips in the heart of an aesthetic city.
Credit Transfer Issues: