A lot of fun but not very academic Past Review

By A student (Dickinson College) - abroad from 01/02/2013 to 06/01/2013 with

University of East Anglia: Norwich - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

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

It was absolutely worthwhile. I got to travel both in the UK and in mainland Europe. I really felt like I was a part of UEA even though I was only there for a semester. The university is a lot of fun, but it was definitely a break from the academic rigor I am used to. I did not like the academic system very much, but the social and cultural aspects of UEA and Norwich made up for it.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	Lectures were basically useless for all my classes except one. There was not a lot of motivation to try hard in academics at UEA.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	Did not like the required Dickinson course AT ALL. Was a complete waste of time and not at all something I was interested in (sustainability). Required courses should be for a general audience and the professor should actually teach something they know about. Otherwise on-site was pretty good... no major issues.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	Loved having my own room and bathroom, but the University Village is a little far from camps/the bus, which made it a lot harder to interact with the other students at the university and get out into Norwich as often as I would have liked (especially with the snow!)
* Food:	Food on campus was good but I mostly cooked for myself.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	Living either in Norwich or in central campus would have been MUCH better.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	No experiences
* Safety:	Felt safe in the city always and very safe on campus (walking home alone at night from campus to the Village was never a problem)
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)	I thought the budget was fair as it allowed me to buy staple groceries, coffee/lunch once or twice a week on campus, plus a little extra for spending. You definitely have to be frugal but I think it was reasonable. I did not like that our stipend was withheld during spring break. I still had expenses during that time and I didn't think it was fair for me to spend 180 GBP of my own money during that 3 week period where I was still on campus.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	60 GBP plus or minus 20 GBP
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	If the program doesn't provide one, purchase a young person's railcard and coachcard if you plan on traveling around the UK. It will save a ton of money. Also try to buy portable foods and your own coffee/tea so you aren't forced to pay cafe prices if you have a long day on campus.

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?	Exchange

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Dorm
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Local Students
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Local Students Americans International Students
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?	Culture of city/school Travel opportunities
* What could be improved?	Academic support
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	Nothing! It was supposed to be a learning experience and it certainly was. Wouldn't have changed my prior knowledge at all.

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 Academic or Linguist You went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Graphics
Course Department:	Computing Sciences
Instructor:	Rudy Lapeer
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Coursework was fun but VERY time consuming. Lecturers did not teach material relevant to the coursework so I had to teach myself almost everything using online tutorials and help boards. Rudy was aggressive and downright mean to students sometimes. Would not recommend this class to someone who doesn't have solid grounding in C++ and doesn't mind pouring hours of time into a project and then receiving an arbitrary grade for it.
Credit Transfer Issues: