Wonderful personal and cultural experience, but unsatisfactory academics. January 24, 2024
By Josiah D (Political Science and Government, Middlebury College) - abroad from 09/18/2023 to 12/15/2023 with
University of Edinburgh: Edinburgh - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Learned new things about all of life in general, and the UK specifically. Absolutely worthwhile.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
It was so much fun. Getting away from my home school, diving in and making entirely new friends was truly the time of my life. Bad academic experience hardly mattered in the end, and I will always love Edinburgh and the people there. |
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) |
Easy to shop; was on a meal plan. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 100 |
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
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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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? | How un-time-consuming the academic work is and thus how much more time could have been spent exploring. |
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.' |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Russia's Foreign and Security Policy |
| Course Department: | Politics |
| Instructor: | Kasia Kaczmarska |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Interesting readings, very unengaging lectures. Unideal grading system resulting in curved grades; almost impossible to get an A. |
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| Course Name/Rating: |
Economic and Political Geography |
| Course Department: | Geography |
| Instructor: | Mary Lawhon |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Worst class I have ever taken in my life. Ridiculous material and unengaging lectures and readings; tutorials were sometimes mildly interesting. |
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| Course Name/Rating: |
Celtic Civilization 1A: Barbarians, Saints, and Scholars |
| Course Department: | Celtic Studies |
| Instructor: | Kate Mathis |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Great class, fairly graded and wonderfully taught. |
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