Glasgow: Fantastic educational and cultural experience Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Absolutely amazing selection of courses. UofG has a great Geography department. Students are expected to do a lot of reading and work outside of the course. Most courses asses students through one essay and one exam, so it's important to not slack off on those assignments! Critical thinking is valued and encouraged on these assignments. The system is quite different to the US - I took 3 courses a semester instead of my usual 5 at my home university, but that allowed me to dive deeper into the course material.

On-site administration of your program

The office for exchange students was very responsive when I had any questions.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I stayed in student accommodation. I had my own room and shared the kitchen and 3 bathrooms with 11 other students, also exchange students so that was a great way to make friends quickly. However, I stayed in Murano, which is a ~30 minute walk from the campus. Also, there were issues with the hot water and heating, and the oven would constantly break. The appliances are not of the best quality and the housing office is quite slow with repairing things.

Food was not provided. I cooked all my meals and that was fine (I have done that in the past).

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

It was easy to meet other exchange students, a bit harder to meet local/Scottish students but I joined two student societies which allowed me to become friends with students who were studying at Glasgow for their entire bachelor's. I also attended many events outside of the campus at the museums, community organizations, etc... so I felt quite integrated with the local culture. Glaswegian people are very friendly but it is easy to stay in the exchange student bubble, so you have to make an effort to go out and explore the city!

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had no health issues during the program, so I cannot comment on this.

Any advice that pertains to big cities will apply to Glasgow: avoid walking alone at night, etc... Overall I felt quite safe in the area around the campus (West End). Don't recommend walking alone at night.

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

Campus housing is quite expensive for the quality you get but it was the easiest for me as I was not able to view flats before arriving. For food, it depends, most of the staples are inexpensive (especially if you go to Tesco, Aldi, or Lidl) but avocados and exotic fruits are very expensive of course. I traveled around quite a bit, so spent a lot of my budget on train tickets and hostels, but if you book in advance, you can usually get a pretty good deal.

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• Dorm

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• Americans
• International Students

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• course offerings
• meeting fantastic people
• Glasgow: amazing city, not too big, not too small, lots of culture

• more information about housing
• more information about courses before enrolling
• more opportunities to meet local students

The Avid Adventurer