Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Diving head first into the unknown Past Review

By (Utah Valley University) - abroad from 05/21/2012 to 06/30/2012 with

Utah Valley University: London - Literature and Theater

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I gained so much confidence in myself from this study abroad. I proved to myself that I could live in a foreign country and take classes that had subjects I had never been exposed to and succeed. I loved this experience and was able to grow so much from it. It was 110% worthwhile.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? None

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:

You purchase your own food but it was really easy to find others to split food with or find cheap and delicious places to eat!

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I felt really in touch with the culture in London because we were given the opportunity to make the experience our own by adventuring by ourselves on days we did not have plans. It was nice to be able to navigate the city by ourselves to find favorite spots and meet new people.

* 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? 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)

* Was housing included in your program cost? Yes
* Was food included in your program cost? No
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? 200
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Split meals and buy a flat of water bottles to use throughout the trip!

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
  • Hotel
  • Hostel
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
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?
  • I liked how much freedom we had to really make the program our own through deciding what to visit and not always being with the whole group.
  • When you learned things you could actually experience them. It was so much easier to understand because I had just seen it happen.
  • I loved the friends that I made on the program and how we really felt like a family.
* What could be improved?
  • I wish I would have had a little more information as to activities before the program had actually started.
  • A breakdown of a budget for how much we could expect to spend would have been nice.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I wish I would have done a bit more background research about what I was going to see and learn. If I would have done this I think I would have appreciated some of the sights more. I would get there and learn about it and thought it was super cool but would have loved to know more!