Definitely not Vermont Past Review

By A student (Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/10/2018 to 05/25/2018 with

University of Edinburgh: Edinburgh - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

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

I learned a lot more about being independent and living alone in a large city (which I'd never done before). I feel very thankful to have had the opportunity to balance my three and a half years in rural Vermont with five months in a cosmopolitan European city. It broadened my outlook, and gives me the confidence to enter my senior year knowing that I am capable of living out in the world beyond Middlebury, and that graduation will not mean the end of my intellectual life.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	Lots of resources are available to you, especially in the University's libraries. However I found that the 2 courses I took with first/second years were not at the same caliber as courses I've taken during my 5 semesters at Middlebury.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	The buildings of where I lived (Robertson's Close) were old and quite dirty in some places, but the location was terrific, so I really can't complain. Flatmates ended up being inconsiderate and filthy, but that's not the university's fault.
* Food:	Scottish food is so-so in my opinion (lots of fried pub food), but Edinburgh has some very nice restaurants offering lots of different cuisines.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	Edinburgh is a very cosmopolitan city to begin with, so the number of true Scottish people & places you'll find isn't that high, in my opinion. I don't think that's a bad thing, though--there's plenty of opportunities to venture out into the Highlands and travel around other, more regional, areas of Scotland.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	It's a large city, so you just need to be smart and aware. If you take care of yourself, odds are you'll be fine. I rarely felt outright unsafe.
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?	Plan your meals ahead!

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	Dorm
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Local Students Americans
* 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?	Independence/self-structured daily schedules Location
* What could be improved?	Course caliber
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I wish I had read more Scottish literature before leaving for Edinburgh, but that's also likely because I'm a student of literature. If I'd done that, I think I would have felt more connected to the city while I was there.

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:	Introduction to New Testament Greek
Course Department:	School of Divinity
Instructor:	Elizabeth Corsar
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The teacher was a PhD student, which was unfortunate, but not uncommon. What was more unfortunate was that she oftentimes made mistakes while teaching us the material, and at times I found myself doubting how well she knew Greek herself. Most of what I learned in the course I ended up teaching myself outside of class.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Old Testament Texts 2: The Song of Songs
Course Department:	School of Divinity
Instructor:	Prof. Timothy Lim
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Prof. Lim is clearly very knowledgable in the field of study. But the format of the class was focused primarily around scholarly articles discussing the Song of Songs, and provided fewer opportunities to engage with the text directly than I'd anticipated. I was led more to read about and critique other academics' opinions about the Song than I was to form my own opinion. I did not like that format, though it was interesting to encounter a different pedagogy like that. It was also very refreshing to be in an upper-level seminar, since both my other classes were filled with first and second years. I do believe the course challenged me, though I was disappointed that it felt so far removed from engaging with the text directly.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Introduction to Japanese Literature
Course Department:	School of Literatures, Languages, and Cultures
Instructor:	Dr. Helen Parker
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The material covered in this course is interesting and varied enough that it could have been a great class, except that the majority of the other students (mostly first and second years) felt absent, both literally and figuratively. By the end of the course only a fraction of the students attended class at all, and of those who did, many of them clearly didn't do the readings or didn't care to participate in class. A very different atmosphere than what I've grown used to at Middlebury.
Credit Transfer Issues: