England: You'll Dream of It Past Review
By Akeem F (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE/LETTERS., Presbyterian College) for
St Mary's University: Twickenham, Greater London - Study Abroad + Internship, Semester or Full Academic Year
The experiences I had in England cannot be accurately described no matter how much time I had.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
British school systems have more of an emphasis on letting students learn for themselves than American universities. We were told exactly what we needed to write about for our final essays ahead of time so that we could spend the majority of the semester researching instead getting assignments a week or so in advance and expecting quality material as is frequently the case in American school systems. The emphasis in England was more on quality than quantity. Professors in England also provided relevant course materials rather than having us buy books we would not really need. I bought only one book for class, of my own volition, and managed to get a chance to read it instead of skimming it due to pressing amounts of work that I am normally used to doing at home. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Dorms are extremely tidy with weekly visits from the housekeeping staff. Campus security was friendly when approached and quick to respond to incidents that occurred on campus. St. Mary's is extremely close to Strawberry Hill station which will take you into Waterloo in 45 minutes to an hour. Kingston is also close by (about 10 minutes or less by train) and provides night clubs, bars, movie theaters, and shopping centers. The nearby town is less than ten minutes away on foot and provides some light shopping opportunities for random accessories (like a lead for your laptop charger). |
| * Food: |
Better than average food choices for vegetarians. One problem is that there is only one line for the entirety of the refectory food choices and that most times you will probably want to grab a pre-made sandwich to avoid the dinner time crowd. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Our program arranged for us to go to Stonehenge, Oxford, Cotswold, central London, and Bath free of charge. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Campus was secure and safe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* 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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I spent about twenty dollars every week on food since most of it was provided by the school. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I wish someone had told me how much your bank will nickel and dime you to death when it comes to international spending. I was charged a fee for using my card overseas and sometimes double charged for conversions between currency. My first month hit me with about $40 dollars in charges. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | If you are a student who feels that living where you are is more of a burden than fun, I would suggest going to St. Mary's. My words of advice: Try everything that England has to offer. |
