Absolutely Amazing! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload was definitely easier than Middlebury, which was a nice break. In three of my classes, I only had two essays, and in the other class, I only had one exam. I didn't have any other graded coursework in the semester. Doing the readings for the classes really wasn't necessary because we were not being graded on it and we weren't made to participate (participation had no affect on our grade). Although I didn't learn as much as I could have because I didn't do a lot of the readings, I really liked this because I was able to focus on enjoying my abroad experience to the fullest (traveling and exploring London).

On-site administration of your program

The administration was pretty unorganized. At Middlebury, we are given detailed and specific information on our classes, professors, and expectations. However, at Queen Mary, we were not given any of this. Study abroad students had a very short orientation where while they were welcoming, they were also very clear that we were on our own to organize our schedules. I was definitely overwhelmed at first; I had to rearrange my schedule and had no idea where any of the different academic departments were located. I also wasn't even sure when classes started! When I tried to email departments, they wouldn't respond or wouldn't tell me where the appropriate buildings or people were. Though this seems very worrying, I was able to get my schedule organized in the end and it was also sort of nice to be completely independent.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I absolutely loved my housing situation and think a large reason why I had such a great experience was because of this. I lived in a flat (apartment-ish within a dorm) with six other people, five British students and one other American. All first year students and abroad students live on campus in a flat (so we are all near each other). Since everyone is arriving together, no one knew each other so it was really easy to get to know people. I'm SO thankful Queen Mary has a campus (that's part of why I chose to go there) because I think it made meeting people so much easier. Also, the flats were really nice. I shared a kitchen with my flat mates and had my own room AND my own bathroom! I did have to buy items to settle in but it was not a problem at all. Before arriving at Queen Mary, I was told that the area of its location was sketchy. It wasn't in the best part of town, but I never felt unsafe. I was comfortable walking around by myself and there was a tube stop two minutes walking distance.

I cooked for myself and also went out to dinner a lot.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

There were some events arranged for Study Abroad students at Queen Mary such as football games, but I didn't attend. I traveled a lot (most weekends) because I really wanted to take advantage of being near so many great destinations. While I wasn't there during the weekends, I was still able to socialize and explore London during the weeks because I didn't have very much work (and I only had class two days a week). One great thing about being in London in December was the christmas markets, which were all over and which were so much fun.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I unfortunately did get sick a few times while I was abroad, and there was a health center on campus that i was able to go to. However, because I wasn't covered for insurance over there, I had to pay each time I visited. While that was annoying, it was nice to have a health center so accessible and close by.

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

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• Dorm

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• Local Students
• Americans

• Campus
• Lots of free time - academics weren't time consuming
• People

• Administration
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