England: Study Abroad, Sussex Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload was very little compared to what I am used to in the United states. I felt that I had way to much empty time on my hands because we weren't in class very long and there wasn't much outside work besides 1 paper and an end of term exam. They definitely graded harder than what I was used to in the US and I found it very frustrating because the class size was so large that it was hard to create a rapport with the professor and I don't like that the professors don't grade the students work, it is given to someone in the department.

On-site administration of your program

The school that I attended was a lot larger that my school in the US and after our initial orientation we were on our own as far as finding classrooms understand the assignment hand in system and class schedule. Their class schedule was organized very differently because you had class twice a week but each day you had class it changed place and time, so it was a bit complicated to find.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My housing was very clean and accessible, except the kitchen. The kitchen got dirty very easily and many students didn't clean up after themselves. Also there were about two small fridges for 11 people who are all cooking for themselves every meal, so it was really hard to buy food for more than 2 or 3 days at a time because there wasn't enough space. I also didn't like that I was in a single dorm room all alone because even though i saw people in the kitchen I didn't really get to know them. Also only freshman lived on campus so I never really got to know anyone older, and they were quite loud. Campus wasn't in town and the town was pretty small. It is close to London but it can be expensive to travel there. We were more out in the country side and it took 30 minutes to travel into town by bus

We cooked for ourselves, but the food was good at the few places around campus you could buy prepared food

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Like I said under housing, it was hard to meet people in my dorm because it was very separate. There were a few field trips organized for the international students but they sold out really fast and they didn't have enough tickets for all international students. I feel like they should have surveyed the students before we arrived to find out how many they should arrange for

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

We all signed up for travel insurance which allowed you to be refunded if you had to pay for any care. But that didn't apply to the health center on campus so to be able to use the health center on campus without paying 40 dollars just to see a nurse once, you had to be an enrolled student for more than 6 months (this doesn't apply to study abroad students).

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Select all that apply

• Dorm