London: King's College Past Review
By Emma W (History and Theater Studies, Wellesley College) for
King's College London: London - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I really liked the experience, but I felt it could have been better
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
the workload was fine and the teachers were overall good at combining lecture and discussion. They were very good lecturers and very well informed in their subject. However, they made little effort to connect with the students--I had four teachers and only two of them knew my name, despite being in classes of under 30 people. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
the host administration's only strength was that it actually existed, and that eventually things would get processed. When I applied, I waited a month (the length of time I was told it would take for them to process my application), then emailed the admissions office, and was told that they did not have my application. I emailed them again a week later and then they found it. Then I waited another month and asked about the progress of my application, and then they basically said that they had not even bothered to look at it, but that now they would. Then I emailed back two weeks later, and then they emailed me that I ad been accepted. I have no doubt that had I not emailed them I would never have known. By that time, i had missed the housing application deadline. The whole story is too long, but, suffice to say, it went downhill from there. I found the administration uncooperative and unhelpful. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
i made my own food, so I could accomodate whatever I wanted |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I absolutely loved living in London. I loved going to museums after school all the time, and just walking around the different neighborhoods. I would tell anyone going to London to make sure they check out the Hunterian, Wellcome, and John Soane museums as well as all the usual suspects |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
my dorm was VERY secure |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I think I spend under 20 pounds, but it varied from week to week. I know a bunch of people spent more, but they drank and went out, I mostly got food from the grocery store |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | My biggest expense was a monthly oyster card that included the tube, which was very expensive, but which I decided I wanted because my other expenses were quite low. I will say that it was VERY useful for getting around the city |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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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? | I would say that you would have to be a self starter and willing to push the administration to do anything. I would say that you have to be able to read a lot each week and choose sources wisely to read |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
English Reformation |
| Course Department: | Religion |
| Instructor: | Crankshaw |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This was, quite simply, one of the best courses that i have ever taken. I loved all of Professor Crankshaw's lectures; he knew so much about his subject, and seemed so excited to share it with us. I did not have a huge background in medieval history or religious history, but Professor Crankshaw made the lectures work for all experience levels. IT seemed like everyone in the class was having a good time and talked a lot, and he also introduced a variety of sources that looked at the reformation from a variety of angles. I learned so much from this course, and I looked forward to it every week |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no issues |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Museums of London |
| Course Department: | Classical Studies |
| Instructor: | Ellen Adams |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | The course was interesting as were the field trips, I feel like I learned a lot, but I had a very negative experience with Professor Adams. She was one of the professors who didn't know my name, but that was not really the problem. The problem was that after asking for us to submit outlines of our final project, she gave me feedback that I did not understand, and when I had a meeting to ask her to clarify she said that she did not know what I was asking for. I told her that I needed help, that this was my first time writing an essay for museum studies, and I needed to know if I was on the right track. She refused to answer, then told me that I was wasting her time because I hadn't asked these questions in class (even though they were about my specific essay), and that she thought it was silly to even talk to students about their essays. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no issues |
