Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

The British are coming Past Review

By (Economics, The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 06/22/2015 to 08/14/2015 with

University of Sussex: Brighton - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Going to the UK, I wasn't expecting there to be a huge difference in culture. I was very wrong! Their lifestyle is very different. It was also great to travel to other countries during breaks and weekends. It's just a really cool experience to meet people the first week and travel to another country with them in week 2! I grew close to a lot of different people too. I wasn't expecting to make such close friends in such a short amount of time. But there's just something fundamentally different in who you are that makes it so easy to understand where you and your classmates are in life. You all have the same desire to travel and learn about people. It was totally worth my time and resources and it is definitely true what people say- studying abroad/traveling is addicting! I can't wait until my next international adventure!!

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 0-2 weeks

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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? $250
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? start saving as far ahead as you can! buy tickets for weekend trips early (booking travel arrangements for the entire summer during the first week) because the prices for trains/plans go up significantly the closer to the date you want to travel.

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

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • 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?
  • host school's student staff
  • trips with the school
  • traveling with people you meet in the program
* What could be improved?
  • the host school's living accomadations
  • accesibility to host school staff (especially the last weekend/moving out)
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I was expecting it to be a litter warmer than it was and I didn't realize AC still isn't really used in most of Europe!