Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Ups and downs, all around Past Review

By (Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/30/2012 to 06/22/2012 with

University of Nottingham: Nottingham - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
It was definitely worthwhile, and I got a lot out of it. While I've studied at different places/countries, going to the UK was very different from anywhere I had gone so far. I learnt a lot about British culture and loved experiencing it; I loved travelling around the UK and made some great friends at Nottingham. Not taking account of academics, everything else at Nottingham was great!

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

While this did not relate to the University of Nottingham itself, I had a terrible experience with NHS in the UK.

* Safety:

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? No

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)

* Was housing included in your program cost? Yes
* Was food included in your program cost? Yes
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? Varied a lot- I'd say around 30 pounds (not including weekend travelling)
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Tesco is a life saver!

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
  • International Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • 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?
  • People I met, new friends I made
  • The varied social life and the opportunities to do different things, and participate in different activities
  • The location
* What could be improved?
  • The academic aspect of Nottingham was very disappointing in comparison to Middlebury. While I do not at all doubt the quality of Nottingham's professors, I felt that the classes I took were far less engaging than the classes I had taken at Middlebury and I didn't gain as much from them. Having been accustomed to Middlebury's personalized and close knit atmosphere in classes, I found that I felt simply like a number rather than a part of the class in Nottingham's huge lectures of 150-200 people. While extremely well qualified, the professors simply gave lectures and disappeared, and I found them not as easy to approach for queries and questions.
  • Nottingham's orientation was ironically rather disorienting.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? It would be very useful to stress on the aspect of not taking Level 3 classes if you're a junior from a liberal arts college in the US unless you're absolutely confident. I took Economics level 3 modules and while I technically satisfied all the pre-requisites, I found as the course progressed that I had never really learnt a lot of the material that the professors expected students to already know. Middlebury students going to Nottingham need to be made more aware that if you attend during the Spring, a Level 3 module is the final semester module students take before graduation for most BA qualifications (and we still have a year left + their curriculum is not liberal arts and purely oriented towards the subject of study)