Study Abroad in England Made Me Want to Live Overseas Again! Past Review

By Jamie R (Human Resources Management and Services., Illinois State University) for

University of Leicester: Leicester - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

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

I learned that the rest of the world is very similar to the United States. People are people no matter where you go. I plan on living abroad after I graduate from college. This experience has given me the knowledge that I will be alright on my own and more than capable of making a life for myself no matter where I end up.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	The last few weeks were very challenging because all of the final papers were due then. We barely had any work up until that last week when most students barely slept for a week straight to research and finish papers. Also, I feel that there should be a different grading system in place for the university. One paper at the end of a course is not a good judge of the overall effort of a student.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	I thought things would be easier to figure out and we would have plenty of help having been in a foreign country, but we figured out most everything on our own.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	The only downside of living at the Oadby student village was the 30 minute bus ride to and from campus each day. However, the buildings were beautiful and it was fun to live with all the other students. I needed to buy sheets, but I had brought any other toiletries I needed.
* Food:	The food was not anything like what we have at ISU. It was served cafeteria style and we were only given three options of entrées.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I didn't attend any of these optional events, but I did make many trips to the city center in town which was very nice.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	I did go to a doctor at the university and it was very easy to access. I did not have to pay for the appointment at all because healthcare is free.
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)
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	I spent more money in the beginning of the trip than the end because I began to realize where to save my money instead of buying unnecessary things.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	You can spend as little or as much money as you choose. It all depends on the person.

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?	Exchange

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Dorm
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	International Students
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Local Students

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	Any study abroad student should have a sense of adventure and want to try something new.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	HA1112
Course Department:	Introduction to the History of Art
Instructor:	many
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	I can't say I took much away from this course. The professor expected us to know a lot about art already, so he used terms we were unfamiliar with. Lectures were long and hard to understand because of the complex terminology. It would be nice to have an intro class before this so we understood what they were lecturing on.
Credit Transfer Issues:	Not sure yet.

Course Name/Rating:	EN1010
Course Department:	Approaches to Literature
Instructor:	many
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	I loved this course. Again, I felt that because the students had already been taught a lot of the skills that I hadn't, I was playing catch-up in the beginning. However, this is the only class that had check-points along the way. We had a small writing sample due every few weeks, which was graded by our small lecture professors. I really enjoyed all of the topics we learned about in this course and the way it was structured and I would highly recommend it to any incoming Leicester students.
Credit Transfer Issues:	Not sure yet.

Course Name/Rating:	International Relations Since 1945
Course Department:	PL1015
Instructor:	many
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	I really enjoyed the smaller sessions of 10 or so students. The professor for those was very thorough and I took a lot of basic information away from it. The large lectures on the other hand were very dull with many of the professors reading directly from a script they had previously written. Also, there was a professor for three of the lectures who did not speak English very well and I honestly did not comprehend what she was speaking about. We only had two papers due for this course, so it was hard to judge exactly what the professors were looking for in the paper.
Credit Transfer Issues:	This only transfers as a Global Studies requirement.

Course Name/Rating:	Approaches to Literature
Course Department:	EN1010
Instructor:	many
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Overall, I really enjoyed this course. The only difference I would make is to have the small seminar instructor grade our final exams. She is the one who got to know us well over the months we were there and can see more clearly than anyone how our writing improved. The whole course revolves around analyzing poetry and many of the other English students already came into the class with a solid understanding of how to do this and the terminology involved. I felt like I had a disadvantage here.
Credit Transfer Issues:	n/a