Great professors, classroom experience was great Past Review

By Courtney H (Business Administration, Management and Operations., SUNY - Binghamton) for

SUNY Binghamton: Lancaster - Exchange & Study Abroad Program at Lancaster University

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

Of course it was worthwhile! Even if I had a terrible time, I learned a lot because it is a different culture and it gives you a chance to look at the US from the outside. It is also a great opportunity to travel and it gave me the opportunity to be very independent. And I made the best of friends along the way.

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here:	Lancaster University
The term and year this program took place:	Fall 2009

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	I loved my classes (even though they were quite large) mainly because of the teachers. Academics is held in high regard in England and it is important to be educated. I know we have this association that a British accent means a person automatically sound more intelligent, but Brits really do take their schooling seriously.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	They were very helpful and did a lot to make sure we were settled once we got there. I received weekly emails from them and the organized an international reception the first week were there. They also organized a traditional Christmas dinner for exchange students at the end of the term and it was great!
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I lived in a single room with a sink and I shared 2 bathrooms, 2 showers, and 1 kitchen with 7 other people on my flat. <br /><br /> I loved everything and I couldn't have asked for a better housing situation. Part of me wishes I lived with a host family for the cultural experience, but I made the best of friends in my block.
* Food:	I like to cook for myself, but food (specifically produce) is expensive in England. There were lots of places to eat on campus though.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I had so much fun! :-)
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	Unfortunately, Chlamydia is rampant among students in the UK so they had free weekly testing. There are posters every on campus about all issues, including health. I had a cold for about 5 weeks while I was there, but otherwise I ALWAYS felt safe and visiting the nurse is free. Lancaster isn't a huge city so crime isn't really an issue.
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)
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	food = $30-60 depending on how much I drank
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	The school has fees for everything. Don't buy the bedding pack, it was really itchy and over priced. Go to the Charity shop for cheap stuff, they have everything.

Language

Language acquisition improvement?	I learned some fun words and sayings! Brits have a lot of slang, but even their insults sound proper.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Dorm
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Local Students

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	Go and have fun and take advantage of all the brilliant teachers there. The pound is strong so take the exchange rate into consideration when budgeting. Also, buy a bus pass even if you live on campus.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Marketing Fundamentals
Course Department:	MKTG222
Instructor:	Dr Markus Vanharanta
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	I really liked my professor and he knew a lot about Marketing. I think he stretched the material, but he made up for it with real life examples. I went to his office hours a couple times and he helped me not only in marketing, but with a project I was working on for a different class. The class size was enormous, but for this subject I didn't mind. No group projects or homework which was great- just 2 pretty easy tests (one for 25% and the other 75%!)
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Principles of Finance
Course Department:	Ac.F214 A
Instructor:	Dr Grzegorz Pawlina
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This class just about killed me. I studied so hard and went to his office hours once a week and I still couldn't do it. I never took the intro class so I struggled the whole time. The teacher was so smart and a really nice man, but he couldn't dumb down the examples enough for me. The lecture was in a huge auditorium and I also hated my tutorial TA which is just unlucky. He was a jerk.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Management Accouting for Business Decisions
Course Department:	Ac.F213A
Instructor:	Dr Wendy Beekes
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Another extremely large class, but the tutorials helped a lot. Wendy Beeks is so smart and very meticulous and specific when it comes to assignment requirements. The work load was similar to other accounting classes where it is time consuming but not necessarily difficult. If you don't know the answer you go over it in your tutorial. The lecture was pretty boring but a good introduction for the weekly assignments. She always went over an example in the lecture which I found very helpful.
Credit Transfer Issues: