Choose UCL if your goal is to explore London Past Review
By A student (Wellesley College) - abroad from 09/01/2014 to 12/31/2014 with
University College London (UCL): London - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
UCL is ideal location-wise for London - choose UCL if your goal is to explore London. The professors are hit or miss, as are the classes... I was bummed that my Political Science classes consisted of only Americans. Also, I took fantastic art history and history courses at UCL that involved field trips to London museums - these were such a highlight and a treat to take... I learned so much!
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. |
Class attendance required, class presentations and discussion, 2 substantial papers for each class. Professors were hit or miss (I had 2 fantastic ones, 2 terrible ones) |
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Depends on which department you're in. Political Science was well organized though the professors were disappointing (hard to understand, read directly off of the powerpoint slides, uninterested in teaching). |
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My dorm (Ramsay) was excellent in terms of location; the rooms were in awful condition (and there was no Wifi) but the location was great |
* Food: |
Sadly UCL had the worst catered food I've experienced. It was oftentimes inedible - and to add insult to injury, they oftentimes ran out... ?! |
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
UCL is a huge institution. Unfortunately, UCL students are not really interested in making friends with Americans. I was lucky that my roommate was a European on her Erasmus - I became acquainted with a lot of her friends. |
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
N/A during my time |
* Safety: |
I felt very safe in London (it's a well organized, efficient city with lots of police everywhere). Of course, you should always be safe when in a foreign city! |
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
London is beyond expensive! Try to get a student tube card - that helps a bit. |
Language
* Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
* Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
Other Program Information
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
* What did you like most about the program? |
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* What could be improved? |
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* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | -UCL is disorganized (see above) -It's harder to make friends with local students than you think... -Learn about the school you're applying to in addition to the location. All of the schools in London are very different! |