Good friends, tasty food, strong drinks Past Review
By Leonard G (Physics and Mathematics, Brandeis University) - abroad from 10/04/2016 to 06/16/2017 with
University of Oxford - Visiting Students
I think that I benefited tremendously from the social atmosphere of my college and Oxford in general. It was great to just strike up conversation with other students about whatever. Also the academics were very challenging, and that definitely made me a strong student.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Very rigorous and thorough treatment of the material. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Seamless. They basically had me take the second year physics curriculum, which made coordinating things very easy and I could ask other second years for help. On the math side, I could take pretty much whatever I wanted, which was glorious. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Housing was top notch, my room had plenty of space and a sink. The scout service was also nice. A bit far from campus, about a 10 minute walk. |
| * Food: |
Amazing. The Teddy Hall chef really runs a great kitchen, the food was always delicious. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Visiting students are encouraged to participate in freshers events, which include socials and activity fairs. Once you've joined a few activities, you're pretty much entirely integrated. I noticed that physics did a much better job integrating the visiting students, on the math side, I don't think I ever met any math students other than first years. They must have been studying. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I didn't really have any health issues, but I got a few vaccinations at the beginning of the year, and that went smoothly. |
| * Safety: |
Oxford is a city, and like any city, there's some crime. There were a few incidents close to my dorm, but I believe those were unusual. |
| 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) |
It was a bit tough, and I had to skip on a few things like travelling, but I also spent heavily on social stuff. So my tight funds were my own doing. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | About 3-5 pounds per day, so about 30 pounds a week |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Cook for yourself. I ate out all the time and that really burned through cash. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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? | I wish I had known how academically rigorous it would be. I think that would have led me to budget my time better. |
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! |
