Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

London Summer Art: A Never Ending Adventure Past Review

By (Interior Design., University of Wisconsin - Stout) for

University of Wisconsin - Stout: London - London Summer Art

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I went into the trip open minded, and being a part of another culture was a wonderful experience. It opened me up to so many new perspectives about life and the world.

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.

There was a good deal of work to do, but it was very managable. It was a lot of exploring with different medias with some guidance from the professor.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Charlie was very knowledgable about London including good shopping places, museums, transportation, food, etc. He also seemed to know quite a bit about the education systems of the US and London since he was a professor at Stout and his children went to school in London. The program size was good, we had 8 people, which is not too large of a group for everyone to go out together but also allowed us to rotate who we went out with in smaller groups as well if we prefered.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Housing for us was like dorms with perks. They supplied bedding/towels and cleaned the rooms 5 days a week. There were community kitchens available if you wanted to cook your own food instead of eating out for every meal and there were a limited number of dishes that were shared as well.

* Food:

I did a lot of my own cooking and there's a great deal of fresh produce daily for cheap if you take a 10 minute bus ride to the Lewisham Market. There are also a few take-aways,pubs, and a small convenience store down the street to get food from.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

London has a huge art scene!

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

I felt safe most everywhere there. I didn't use the healthcare system there, and i didn't get any vaccinations before I went either.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

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? I spent about $150 a week on food and personal expenses.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Food cost is higher than anticipated unless you cook almost of your meals and eat out only a few times.

Language

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? None

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • International Students
  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Learning to use watercolor
  • The amount of students that were in the program.
  • Being able to see such a large variety of art.
* What could be improved?
  • The length of the program could be longer, it's a lot of things in a short amount of time.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Be sure you are interested in sketching and painting and also being on the go because this program has you all over the city of London seeing art and many other things!