Bristol the City- Better than Bristol the University Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

A lot of this rating has to do with one particular class. Due to the original professor going on paternity leave, it was taught by a last-minute substitute who did not know the subject matter fully; students were not informed the class would be taught by a sub until the day before the class began, despite the university knowing this fact much earlier. The local students in the class constantly complained about how bad the class and substitute were. The way credits work in UoB's history department, I essentially only took two classes, so half of my semester (academically speaking, at least) felt mostly like a waste of time. I would not recommend history students going to UoB for study abroad, as most local students I talked to had many complaints about the department as a whole. It was my impression that other departments outside of the humanities are better run.

On-site administration of your program

IFSA-Butler staff in England seemed to be a mixed bag. A few staff members were very nice and helpful, while others seemed to be constantly disorganized. It was hard to figure out which staff member to ask about various questions. More internal organization and delegation could have helped this.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The housing I had for most of the program was wonderful. It was newly built. I had my own room in a 10 person flat, with my own en suite and a large built in desk/wardrobe combination, plus a nightstand and a large bulletin board. There was a shared kitchen, which was often disgustingly messy, though that was the fault of my flatmates, not the program. Before my main assignment, I was placed in temporary housing for the first week of the program. This housing smelled horrible, had doors that were nearly impossible to open with one arm, showers that were falling apart, etc. Overall, my experience with housing was very good, but it easily could have been much worse had I been living in a different building.

I made my own food.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

English culture is fairly similar to the US, so it wasn't too hard to feel comfortable. However, I was never able to meet any locals who I would call friends. I think a lot of this had to do with me arriving in the middle of the year, when friend groups are already established.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I did not have any health issues while abroad and did not experience the healthcare system.

While I absolutely loved Bristol as a city, and am very thankful I got to experience it, University of Bristol was not a good place to study history, one of my majors. Moreover, when I initially chose Bristol, I thought I could also work towards my second Environmental Studies major, but could not the way credits vary in size between departments. I wish my academic experience had been better, and also that circumstances had facilitated making friends a bit more.

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

I'm not entirely sure how much I typically spent. Most of the time my grocery bill was under 20 pounds, and I went to the store 1-2 times a week.

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• Dorm

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• Local Students

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• the city of Bristol

• University of Bristol history dept
• IFSA Butler organization
• more opportunities to make friends

The Academic or Linguist