Cambridge: Exploring a Historical University Past Review

By Naveen M (Applied Mathematics - Economics, Harvard University) for

University of Cambridge, Pembroke College: Cambridge - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

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

My study abroad certainly benefitted me from an academic standpoint, in terms of my satisfaction with the coursework I enrolled in. The program was not as immersed in the British culture, which was somewhat upsetting given my intentions for studying abroad.

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	The workload for classes was very minimal with very little work assigned on a daily basis and grades determined strictly by a final exam and 2000-word final paper. While my Finance instructor was very engaging and genuinely enthusiastic about his material, my teacher for the International Management course was less competent and capable of a teacher. Regardless, both classes seemed to emphasize final evaluation more so than daily or weekly homework assignments.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	This program offered a considerable breadth of courses to choose from, making the academic experience relatively worthwhile. However, from a cultural standpoint, there was very little interaction with actual Cambridge students and locals. Unfortunately, most of my time was restricted to solely communicating with other American college students.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?
* Food:	Food was very expensive in the dining halls and the prepaid amount they provided students on their ID cards was certainly insufficient.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	Was not too difficult to make friends with others in the program and arrange social activities.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	The city of Cambridge is fairly safe and small suburb located about one hour removed from London. Healthcare was relatively accessible within the program but certainly not 24/7 (outside of the local hospital). Additionally, pharmacies were not 24/7 as is most often the case in America.
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)
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	The dining plan definitely is not sufficient in terms of the money they provide you. Expect to allocate an additional 200 pounds strictly for dining hall food.

Language

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program?	None

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

* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Americans

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	This program is best fitted for those who are not looking for a tremendous cultural change from America. The program allows you to pursue academic interests while taking advantage of geographical proximity to travel destinations on the weekend.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Intro to Finance & Methods of Quantitative Analysis
Course Department:
Instructor:	Warapong Wongwachara, Qiang Feng
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This course was largely focused on statistics rather than introductory finance (as the course title seems to imply). Hence, the material was not as helpful as expected. Teaching was divided between the two instructors listed above. Mr. Wongwachara was a very effective lecturer on the material concerning basic financial terms (e.g. stocks, bonds, etc). Mr. Feng was much less engaging of a teacher and was intended to serve as the statistics teacher.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Advanced Empirical Finance
Course Department:
Instructor:	Warapong Wongwachara
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This was a fantastic course that introduced me to the necessary financial tools one might encounter in an interview process. Likewise, Mr. Wongwachara opened up my interest in the field of finance and its interaction with economics.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	International Management & Business Ethics
Course Department:
Instructor:	Raphael Silberzahn
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This course was not as interesting as I anticipated, as most of the lessons seemed largely speculative and subjective. At the end of the course, I feel like I have very little tangible knowledge that I can claim to have gained from this class.
Credit Transfer Issues: