Small, isolated, and not academically intriguing Past Review
By A student (Economics., Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/31/2012 to 05/24/2012 with
University of St. Andrews: St. Andrews - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I honestly didn't enjoy my abroad experience. I would have loved to be in a big city. Also, I wasn't 100% sure that I actually wanted to go and made the decision very last minute before taking the time to really look at the school. I think that College is a very special time in a persons life and looking back, I would have rather traveled after school. I didn't like that my choices abroad were limited by not being in a certain level language class at Middlebury. I learned that unless you have the means to travel a lot, Scotland is a very isolated country and there isn't that much that you can do in it. I also learned that the European school system was very different and that I actually loved to be challenged academically at Middleubury.
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. |
The overall educational experience wasn't extremely profound. I took one upper level Economics class that was absolutely fantastic. However it was very hard for me to get used to the European school system. Your grade was based on 1 paper and 1 test. I found myself with too much free time, and it was hard to consistently study without much due. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The dorm that I lived in was very nice, however I was placed in a freshman dorm. This was hard for me because we are at different places in our college careers. I am sure it would have been different if I lived with upperclassmen or in a flat. |
| * Food: |
I disliked the dorm food. Unless you like potatoes and a lot of meat, I would recommend not doing the meal plan. Food in general was very expensive though. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
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| * 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? | Because I didn't like the food, I spent a lot of extra money on food. |
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
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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 new how small the school was going to feel. I thought that because it was 3 times as big as Midd, that it would feel bigger. I should have gone to a city like London where I could have experienced a little more culture. It was also hard not going with friends that I already knew. Living in a flat, as opposed to a freshman dorm would have been great. I wish I also knew how expensive everything was going to be. Because the school was isolated it was very hard to do things on the weekend. |
