Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

My biggest regret in college was studying abroad at St Andrews Past Review

By (Middlebury College) - abroad from 09/09/2019 to 12/21/2019 with

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

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Not worthwhile at all. I hated my experience

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

It was very rigorous but no matter how hard you work you can't get A's because they are impossible to get there. It makes you feel very discouraged.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Horrible for students who have disabilities.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Was placed in a triple in a freshman dorm.

* Food:

They ration out food and you can't receive seconds and they provide you the servings. I went hungry every night.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Was very hard to integrate into St. Andrews because you're there for such a short period of time and quite a hierarchy socially at St. Andrews.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

There is no health services at the university and only option is to go to the hospital where you are given to wait around 3 hours and have to pay for a cab to get to and from. The advice from the students is if you are dying you go otherwise you suck it up.

* Safety:

Pretty safe besides heard there were attacks at night and a girl who lived in my dorm was rapped walking home one night. Were advised to avoid walking at dark which is hard to do when its only light from 9 am to 3 pm.

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

I hated my experience here. I was hungry most of the time. I am a very social person and couldn't integrate with the local students and there weren't many studies abroad students so I found my self very restricted socially. In addition, the grading system at St Andrew's is very off to ours's so I found my self grinding in the library most of the time and it didn't matter in the long run because I couldn't perform well academically no matter what. I had barely any friends, was hungry, and got bad grades. I had a horrible study abroad experience because I went to St. Andrews. In addition, St Andrews is three hours travel time from the airport so even though you're in Europe it is expensive and is very hard to travel around Europe.

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 very hungry after dinner most nights so had to buy extra food a lot.

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? $150
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Don't live in the accommodation food is horrible and you eat out a lot because you go hungry.

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? Direct Enrollment

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* 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? 0

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Being in Europe
  • Eating European food
* What could be improved?
  • Not have gone there
  • Not have gone there
  • Not have gone there
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? How overrated St Andrews is.

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 Nearly Native or Trail Blazer
Craving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.'

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Economic Growth
Course Department: Economics
Instructor: Dr R L Stefanski
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Very challenging. I have never put more work into a class before and the worst part is the final is worth 75% of your grade so even if you are doing well beforehand doesn't matter at all.
Credit Transfer Issues: No problem.
Course Name/Rating:

Decision and Game Theory
Course Department: Economics
Instructor: Professor A Zapechelnyuk
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Was doing so well throughout the course on quizzes and problem sets. I knew the information very well. But the prior year the professor's average grade was an equivalent to an A so this year he had to make it lower otherwise he would get in trouble. Everything I got deducted on my exam made no sense and it was worth 60% of my grade. I am very disappointed because my grade doesn't correlate to the amount of information I absorbed from this class.
Credit Transfer Issues: No problem.
Course Name/Rating:

Enterprise and Creativity
Course Department: Management
Instructor: Bonnie Hacking
Instruction Language: English
Comments: The only class I liked at St. Andrews was very hands-on. In addition to learning the material by the professor, many guest speakers came to our class. During the semester my group created a new venture.
Credit Transfer Issues: No problem