The magic only grows! Past Review
By A student (Computer Engineering., The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 09/15/2014 to 12/12/2014 with
University College London (UCL): London - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Oh goodness isn't this an open-ended question. Was it worthwhile? Most definitely yes. What did I gain? Lots of things. I'm sure that if you're reading a review about studying abroad, you already know by now the values in 'broadening your horizons'. And me harping on that will take too long. But I suppose it will happen inevitably. I will start off saying this: I am a computer science major that studied abroad. If there's any major people will say 'oh but why would you go somewhere that isn't as good as the US for (some major)', CS is probably one of the top. Do I think that perhaps my major's education was still better at home? Yes. Do I feel like I missed out on my major's education because I went abroad? No. Do I feel that it was worth missing out a little on my major's education to gain what all I've gained in all other aspects of my life? Definitely. There's more to an education than the skills and subjects directly involved with a person's immediate study/major. And I think everyone knows stuff like 'interpersonal skills', 'communication', 'leadership abilities' or even the well-rounded education skills like writing, math, history, etc. However, there's definitely something to be said about being immersed in a culture/place that's different from the one you're familiar with. The first step in learning something is understanding what you don't know. And the fact for many students living in America is that they have no idea what they don't know about the world. Moreover, they have no idea how heavily this lack of knowledge is affecting them. London is a great place for the students who have never been abroad before, because at least the language is not a barrier. Yet, as people have said, Britain and America are 'two nations separated by a common language'. Britain is still very very different from America in a lot of ways (it's European). Imagine being an 11-year-old Harry Potter walking into Hogwarts for the first time. We've all imagined that feeling. Well...it can be pretty real actually. I learned a lot about the culture and history. That's a given. But the other interesting thing is that I gained a whole new perspective to a lot of world issues. London is a very international place. So I got to hear first hand a lot of views of people from various European countries about what was going on in their home country. And also you begin to understand a lot of policies and politics more...and see everything in a more realistic light. Some policies and attitudes in America are so behind those of Europe's. At the same time, European nations like Sweden and Switzerland aren't some magical utopias either. You start to understand the multiple facets and dimensions to lots of world issues, or even just issues specific to countries, and realize why things are the way they are and why they aren't 'simply like (some country)'. Of course, it almost goes without saying that anyone pursuing anything remotely creative needs inspiration. And if they need inspiration, the best and easiest thing to do is to open themselves up to a new culture and understand new ways of thinking. And I hope no one thinks science and math fields don't require creativity. Basically...there's a lot to gain that I can't put down in words. But yes, so worthwhile and more.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
UCL has a decently rigorous load. Aside from one class that I took which was comprised mostly of exchange students (which still had an average workload), I was directly enrolled in classes. In terms of CS (and perhaps overall course load), it *might* be a bit lighter in comparison to US schools (although definitely not all). There's a lot of factors to consider however. Instead of having lots of midterms keeping you accountable throughout the term, most of the weight comes in tests at the end (unless you somehow end up with an American professor like I did for one class and see the midterm styles still). I didn't feel as if I wasted time or anything. That said, I didn't feel any less busy than being back home. Since term was 10 weeks in comparison to the US 15 weeks, everything was on a shorter timeline. Things are more self-paced (less midterms and coursework). So in a way, it could be as much work as a US institution or more depending on what your study style is and what you're accustomed to. Resource-wise, the only thing bad was the lack of space. But then again, it's London. It's hard enough for even professors to get enough space for their class (I had one class that had several students sitting on the floor for the first few lectures). Finding a study space is really hard, especially for collaborative work. For individual work, you can easily go to the Senate House Library or British Library for more space, quiet and gorgeous atmosphere. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
There were some very amazing individuals who made the program work for several of us who had a lot of program issues in the beginning. The program as a whole is good, but probably not outstanding or anything. There's not much follow-up or oversight throughout our stay, but I was the type who didn't require or seek any anyways. I do believe there were resources available. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in Max Rayne House in the Ifor Evans Hall complex near Camden Town, which is 20 min away from campus by a direct bus route. My flat was entirely comprised of international and exchange students. I'm not sure if that was intentional or not, but my flatmates were great. I do wish we saw some British students though. As for the hall itself, it's decent. Everything was clean and functioning, so that's the majority of what keeps me happy. The main qualms we had were with the size of the kitchen fridge. There were 2 mini fridges shared between 10 people, which was basically no fridge space at all. I could only ever have maybe one or two small items in the fridge at one time, which got annoying. Also, most places outside America don't do central a/c or anything of the like, so it gets really cold during the winter. There are heaters, but depending on which side of the complex you're facing, you may feel more cold. Personally, I didn't find it too problematic. You adapt by putting on more clothes. However, I know it's not something most Americans are accustomed to. |
| * Food: |
I didn't do catered because I didn't want to be locked into certain meal hours and be forced to travel back to my hall for food. So no comments on the dining hall for me. Overall, food in London can be expensive. There are marts everywhere, but obviously there's not as much variety as back in the States. It does get boring after a while (you can only choose so many things to cook with when you don't have a full kitchen and no fridge space), but it's not the end of the world. Food in London is expensive is all I can say. You can get good and even great food if you're willing to spend the cash, but you certainly aren't going to get the kind of great food deals for a few bucks like in the States. Thus, most people I knew ended up eating not so great food all the time. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
If I could double the stars, I would. London is AMAZING. Just the city itself is conducive to cultural and social integration. The school doesn't really even have to do too much because everyone in London is from somewhere not London, and everyone brings something to the table. It's a comforting yet still exciting experience to know that not knowing the local culture is actually the norm but everyone is equally as interested in you to get to know it and share their own culture with you. UCL does have quite a few events put up by ISOP (international student orientation program I believe) that brings students together which is great. the UCL union also has a calendar of events which people are free to go to. There's a whole fortnight of trying out clubs and societies which are all fun and casual. I would definitely advise all exchange students to check out the societies and join one if they can even if it's only for a term! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Can't really comment on it too much as I wasn't in need of it, but my friends who needed it said it was great. However, they just went to the general hospital since it was right around the corner. Obviously in comparison to America, the UK Healthcare is way better. The process of getting checked out was straightforward, quick and free. |
| * Safety: |
London is pretty safe. Obviously it's still a big city and you ought to watch out for pickpockets perhaps at the touristy areas, but overall it's quite safe. I never had anything stolen or anything. |
| 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) |
I didn't have to worry about money much because I'd saved up over my summer job. But obviously this is London. To keep expenses down is like fighting a losing battle. After a while you give up doing the mental currency exchange math. Still, I think $100 or so is manageable if you're not spending lots of alcohol and going out all the time. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Around $100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Make your own food (Sainsburys and Tescos) or if there's a Poundland or Lidl around you, those are even cheaper. Argos is great for all your home good needs. It's like a distribution center opened to customers. You place an order online for duvets or pillows or pots and pans, etc. and pick it up at a store near you. Or, if you know an item is already at the location you want to go to, you can go to the storefront and they have lots of iPads you can use to place your order and wait a few minutes before picking it up at the counter. Movie theatres - Odeon has cheap student prices for usually 6 GBP. Stage theatre - Keep an eye out for ticket offer type stuff and know that there are sometimes day tickets where you can get tix for cheap if you queue up the morning of a show. Primark is the goto for cheap clothing. But beware that they usually don't last very long (you get what you paid for). A pair of boots I got broke after 3 months...but it kind of worked since that was almost the duration of my stay. Stay away from coffeeshops and sandwichshops! It can be tempting to walk into Costa's or Pret's, but those things add up... If you're staying for a year, you can get the student discount Oyster card. If not, you're out of luck. But getting an Oyster card still offers you some discount...just not as much as 30%. Although they don't advertise it (at all???) you can get Bus+Tram or Bus+Tram+Tube week/month long passes. It doesn't actually help you save too much if you're only traveling a few times a week, but if you know you're taking the bus 2X a day for 7 days a week, the bus/tram pass for a month does help you save. When I was there it was around 70-80 pounds I believe for the month Bus/Tram. You can check it out at any of the ticket machines in a tube station. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
Hmm...not really applicable...but seeing as Britain is like the US in that we all only speak English...you kind of have to know it yeah. |
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
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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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? | Not much for me personally...but I know a lot of people have expressed regrets at not spending more time in just London itself. They didn't realize it would pass so fast and that school still ate up a lot of time. So my advice is...travel when you can. Do weekend trips. Go out for a bit during Reading Week. Arrive early/leave late before/after term. But most of all... *****SEE LONDON****. I know it's tempting for a lot of first-time-abroaders to spend all their time traversing Europe. That's fine. Definitely take advantage of you being there. But don't leave out getting to know London as a local. That means going to the markets, the parks and the museums and heading down streets whose signs aren't on postcards and in souvenir shops. Visit the Thames several times throughout the term, go see a show or two. It's always easy to plan another trip to Europe if you want. But having a place in Central London to stay in that doesn't cost you 30 pounds a night? And then wanting to just lounge around London for two weeks exploring the streets? You'll never have that chance again. (Not unless you move to London, but even then you won't be living in central London unless you're really banking it). If you travel the continent during your term abroad or years into the future, it'll feel the same - you stay in hostels, hit up all the touristy spots, do some fun touristy things and head home. Living like a local in London on the other hand? Only when you're studying abroad (again, unless you moved here). |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
