St Andrews Fall Semester Past Review

By A student (Mathematical Sciences, Middlebury College) - abroad from 09/09/2013 to 12/21/2013 with

University of St. Andrews: St. Andrews - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

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

I loved the traveling I got to do while in St Andrews and met some really fantastic people. The courses I took were interesting and very different from those I could take at home. However, St Andrews is really not all that different from a university you might find in the US. I would go abroad again in a heartbeat, but I think I would go somewhere that is not as similar to my home institution.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	2 weeks - 1 month

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?
* 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)	St Andrews is an expensive town in general, and the meal plan does not include weekend dinners.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Trying to cook food rather than just buy will definitely help.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Dorm
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Local Students Americans International Students
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Local Students Americans 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?	Scotland is a really beautiful country and traveling around St Andrews was fantastic. A much wider range of courses to choose from than at home.
* What could be improved?	The food in halls is really not fantastic. I found the grading system there very hard to adjust to.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I wish I had known how popular a destination it is for study abroad for American students.

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 Linguist You 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!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Sustainable Development: Priorities and Pathways
Course Department:	Sustainable Development
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The course was not extremely challenging, but the content was very interesting and spread across the disciplines. It was assessed primarily through a final at the end of the semester, a concept map project and an essay.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Statistical Modeling
Course Department:	Applied Statistics and Data Mining
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Very challenging and intensive. The instructor was very knowledgeable. The course was assessed through four short reports and a final.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Data Analysis
Course Department:	Applied Statistics and Data Mining
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The course was challenging, but mostly because it was very disorganized. Work was not handed back in a timely fashion, if at all, and the lecturer was mostly unavailable for questions. It was assessed through a final, an online open-note test and two reports.
Credit Transfer Issues: