Brighton over London, all day every day! Past Review
By Ethel M (Global Business, University of Texas - Dallas) - abroad from 09/23/2013 to 12/23/2013 with
USAC England: Brighton - Undergraduate Courses
Going to Brighton was my first time living away from home and my first time leaving the country. It was an AWESOME experience that I'll carry with me for the rest of my life.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I am a business student and luckily Brighton offered a lot of classes to choose from that were in my degree plan for my home university. There were no tests, just group projects and end of term papers so it was a nice change of pace from what I'm use to. They lecturers did tend to grade harder than my professors back home so you will need to put in some work. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Mary and Becca are absolute stars! They were both such great help when it came to getting my schedule straightened out with classes that would transfer and they planned a number of great field trips! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Nothing special, typical university housing. I lived with other USAC students. At first I thought I would be disappointed over not living with any natives but it actually turned out to be a plus in the end because we all understood that we had very limited time abroad so we planned trips together around Europe and all grew very close. |
| * Food: |
Housing is self catered so we did most of the cooking ourselves. Eating out was quite expensive and not all that great. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Brighton is such a culturally rich city with loads of people but I (and my roommates) found it hard to make friends with the locals. I do feel like I took a part of Brighton home with me though. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
The third week I was there I got really sick with a sinus infection. I was able to go to a doctor in town for no cost and my prescription for antibiotics cost under 10 pounds. The only thing I had to do to go to the doctor was to bring my passport and proof of residency. |
| * Safety: |
Brighton is a city so you need to mind yourself of course but I felt safe the entire time I was there, even when I was out at 3AM. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* 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) |
England is an expensive place to live, I guarantee you will spend over your budget. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 120 pounds |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Work a job before you come so that you are able to enjoy everything Brighton has to offer and so that you can travel Europe at the end of term. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| 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? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Nothing about the program specifically but I do wish I would've known all the people I made friends with beforehand so we could've rented a house together rather than staying in the dorms. |
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 Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
