Tube strikes, air drying laundry, broken tv, sirens, limited internet :) Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

-workload is manageable, but gets a bit more difficult as the semester comes to close - preparation for Final exams and departure from London. -grading system is much the same as US grading, in theory. The percentage scale for grading is 1-70% instead of 1-100%. London professors tend to focus on details NOT said or things you did WRONG in papers, instead of focusing on the things you did correct. -teaching methods rely heavily on discussion, very similar to Rollins

On-site administration of your program

Getting to the flat from the airport on our first day in London went smoothly. The directions for getting to the Anglo-American study centre were not thorough enough. It was just a clustered map of the area, unclear and in black and white. It was no wonder we arrived late for our first day of orientation. There was a woman who introduced herself at the orientation, some sort of student liaison person, and she said she was there if we wanted to talk at all. I never saw her, nor heard a word from her throughout the entire semester. The Wednesday night classes were a bit much and I don't feel like I learned anything from them. It was extremely tough to get to, considering most of us had a full day at our internship on Wednesdays, and tiring by the end. I feel the email system with Emma Coelho was not the best, I never received any emails from her and sometimes she never responded to my emails. It was definitely unclear whether Anglo would get us our student Oyster cards or we would have to arrange it ourselves. It ended up being that we were totally left in the dark and had to get them ourselves. I thought it was stupid to pick up our stipends on the first of every month and not on that Wednesday. Like I mentioned before, it was difficult to commute to the study centre on days when we had class at night and to make the trip twice in one week to just pick up the stipend was ridiculous. I think we should have received it during class on Wednesday. Sometimes I arrived a little early on Wednesdays to pick up my stipend for that month and the accounting ladies had already left - even though it was before 5 pm. RIDICULOUS!

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The housing was on North Gower Street and very close to a main road with a hospital; therefore, it was extremely loud and noisy with all the sirens and cars whirring by. There is a pub directly across the street, which also got noisy on weekends and the weather was nice. There is a school not far down the street as well and on most mornings the yelling and general obnoxiousness of the girls walking to school was annoying. The flat is within walking distance of three different tube stations: Euston, Euston Square, and Warren Street, it was very convenient. It was about a 15 minute walk away from Birkbeck College. We did not have to bring sheets for the beds, but we did need to bring bathroom towels.

no matter what price you pay for the food you eat in London, the portions will still be considerably less than those of the United States. Generally, the food is much more bland than the US as well. Fish & chips are great, just not at the tourist destinations. Restaurants in Soho generally have better quality and quantity for your money.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

ON MY OWN: Going to the theatre to watch Les Miserables was incredible. FIELD TRIP WITH LIT. CLASS= Imperial War Museum, was such a thorough and great museum. FIELD TRIP WITH SHAKESPEARE CLASS= to watch production of Hamlet at the National Theatre. It was PHENOMENAL!

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Safety is alright, CCTV is in operation everywhere - which didn't actually make me feel any safer. I had no health issues during my stay so thankfully I never had to go to the hospital or experience the national healthcare system firsthand.

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

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