Home Away From Home Past Review

By Lauren (Washington State University) - abroad from 01/02/2017 to 05/20/2017 with

Arcadia: Glasgow - University of Glasgow

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I learned a lot about myself, in my abilities both mentally and physically. I gained a lot of independence on this experience that I would never have been able to gain without it. Although the timing of my abroad program was not ideal (Last semester of senior year) I am glad I had the ability to still participate in this program.

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.	Classes at UG are run a little differently than in the US. I generally had lecture 2x a week for 3 hours at a time. You also are only taking about 3-4 courses at one time, so there is a lot of free time. However, without having assignments your entire grade resides on the final exams.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	We were told ahead of time that bedding was provided, when we arrived we were told we had to purchase bedding. They took about 30-40 people all to one store at the same time and had us buy our bedding then. The store did not have enough bedding to accommodate us so many people did not have bedding the first night.
* Food:	Food was all on my own. I had a full kitchen in my apartment and I did not use on campus services
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I was placed in an campus owned apartment a mile off campus. All the girls in my apartment were also study abroad students. I feel like having a mix of study abroad and home students would have made for a better integration process
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	I felt very safe in Glasgow, particularly the West Side where campus and most housing is located. Even at night it felt safe.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes I think that although the main group of friends I have from this experience were in my same program or were other American students at the same University, I can't imagine trading them or the experiences I had with them, in for anything.

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)	Food in Glasgow is roughly the same price as it is in America, so its entirely up to the individual, if you eat out a lot,, you need a bigger budget. Keep in mind that most likely you won't be legally allowed to work. So you won't be making spending money while you are abroad.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	including eating out, 30 per week on average. But I cook most meals at home
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Save up ahead of time. Pull more money out of the ATM than you need, because service fees add up. Same with using credit/debut cards. some charge service/conversion fees and those add up over time. My Capital one did not have fees so i tried to use that mostly.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Apartment
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans
* 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?	0

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	Making friends through the program who were all in the same "boat" so to speak as myself Overall freedom, while there was the option of having alot of contact with the program coordinators it was not always required. Felt more like being at a home university, not constantly having my hand held but if i needed help they would be there
* What could be improved?	Better communication before leaving for the country
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	How much it would really cost. Its one thing to have the same expenses as when you are home, but its another to have all of those expenses without a job. Something to really think about. I don't want to discourage people from going on a Study Abroad, I recommend it, just save up money before hand so there are no surprises later. And so you don't skip out on trips while you are abroad. I didn't have enough money to go to Italy and I regret missing that experience

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Behavioural Ecology
Course Department:
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This course was challenging as it provided new information that I had not learned in previous courses, but it presented it in a way that it built on my prior knowledge. The only assessment for this course was a 3 hour long final exam consisting of writing 3 papers. I participated in this class about the same amount as back home, maybe less.
Credit Transfer Issues: