Exciting Past Review
By A student (History, Brandeis University) - abroad from 10/06/2014 to 06/19/2015 with
University of Oxford - Visiting Students
I learned to be adventurous and approach new situations with confidence.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Tutorials require students to be highly motivated. Reading lists and essay assignments are intensive. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Oxford program coordinators were helpful and kind. Students who attend Oxford through programs like IFSA or Acadia had more perks than students who directly enrolled, including opportunities for group travel, making friends in other colleges, and early arrival. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
Meal allowance was included in the program cost. Great, inexpensive food offered in 2 locations. In all 3 terms, I was unable to spend all the allocated money. An average meal at hall cost 4 pounds. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Visiting Students tended to always be a bit removed from full-time students no matter how hard we tried to integrate. Sports provide the easiest way to form connections with British students. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Year-long students have benefits with the NHS, so medication was free and appointments with doctors were easy to make. |
| * Safety: |
As in any city, just be aware of walking alone at night. Oxford colleges have welfare taxi programs. If you feel unsafe at any time, just call the lodge and have them send you a taxi. You pay the fare at the end of term. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
Oxford is very expensive. Save money on meals by eating at the farmers' market/food trucks and shopping at the cheaper supermarket, Tesco. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $130 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you are studying abroad in one place for longer than 3 months, create a local bank account. That way, you can withdraw a lot of money at a time and put it in one place. You won't have to worry about foreign transaction fees every time you make a purchase. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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? | It is important to plan to do something fun every week to break up the work. Traveling during the weekends at Oxford is not as doable as it is on other programs. Instead, take a day trip to London or Wales, or go to a fancy event in Oxford. |
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 LinguistYou 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! |
