Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

St. Andrews is a gem! Past Review

By (Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/19/2016 to 05/28/2016 with

USAC Scotland: St. Andrews - Undergraduate Courses

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Definitely worthwhile. Made wonderful friends. Challenging academics. Became more independent and improved my writing skills.

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.

Honours levels courses in psychology and neuroscience are challenging. My favorite modules had only about 15 students and they were discussion based. Final grades are based on only two large assignments which can be stressful but if you work hard you will do fine!

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I had a single in a hall. Living in hall is a great way to meet people. Everyone in the hall eats together three times a day and you become close with the other study abroad students and St. Andrews that live with you.

* Food:

Dining hall food is not bad. Gets a little boring but there is always a salad bar and entree options. Tons of restaurants in town.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I loved being integrated in the college community rather than studying in a large city. Town is all students. Great social environment. Can be hard to meet older students that live in flats, since mostly first and second year students live in hall.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

Felt very safe. Walking home alone at night was not an issue.

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

I loved being integrated in a college town and university. Always surrounded by students. It is in the middle of no where (which I don't mind) but if you want to be in a city, obviously don't go here. Beach is beautiful. St. Andrews is gorgeous. I lived across from the beach and it was a dream.

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)

The pound sucks but if you live in the hall you don't need to buy your food in town which saves money. There are tons of temptations though (St. Andrews has great restaurants!). Traveling also eats up a lot of your money because you need to take a bus every time you go the airport which is 15 dollars each way - this adds up by the end of the semester.

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? Depends if I was traveling. If I was in St. Andrews only $50 a week or less, since I mostly ate in the dining hall.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Going out for drinks is expensive so buy cheap wine at Tesco. Book flights and hostels early. Save up your money so you can spend it on traveling - totally worth it!

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

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

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • 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?
  • The town is gorgeous and I miss it so much
  • Great friendships
  • SCOTLAND! Go to the highlands. Unreal.
* What could be improved?
  • Middlebury's grading conversion
  • Have a lot of back-up options for courses before you go to registration. Some things aren't available.
  • St. Andrews is expensive but so is anywhere in Britain.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? You need to get a 17+ to get an A which is hard. Achievable but challenging.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Psychology of Visual Art and Individual Differences in Visual Perception

Course Department: Psychology/Neuroscience
Instructor:
Instruction Language:
Comments: Discussion based. Class met once a week for two hours. The two papers were challenging and took a lot of time but if you work hard you will get good grades. Interesting and unique content.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Face Perception and Human Attraction
Course Department: Neuroscience
Instructor: D. Perrett
Instruction Language:
Comments: My favorite course. Fascinating material, super nice professor. Class meets once a week for two hours. Two papers were challenging but not too bad. Fair grading. Professor very willing to give help.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Film History and Historiography
Course Department: Film Studies
Instructor:
Instruction Language:
Comments: Intro level course. Not too difficult. Interesting content to take as a science major who usually would never take a course like this! I enjoyed it. Lecturers change biweekly, some were definitely better than others. Grading can be a little strange but it isn't hard.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Psychopathology
Course Department: Psychology
Instructor:
Instruction Language:
Comments: Lecturer read off the slides. Interesting content but boring class. Two assignments all semester, each worth 50%. Met once a week for two hours. Pretty chill class for honours level, but grading is hard.
Credit Transfer Issues: