A time of meditation Past Review
By A student (Medieval & Renaissance Studies, Wellesley College) - abroad from 01/05/2012 to 04/14/2012 with
Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies - Oxford
Absolutely. I gained new friends and better self-knowledge, especially about my post-collegiate life.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Most of my courses were fairly rigorous. In fact, I thought it was too much work to be doing 2 tutorials and 1 seminar in the same term, whereas normal Oxford students stick to 2 tutorials. It was overwhelming at times - and that's coming from a Wellesley junior. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administration definitely cared about us and were pretty good at doing their jobs. The only weakness is communication; occasionally we weren't notified about a meeting time or change until the day of, which for Americans is fairly frustrating. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Fabulous location, great facilities. It helped not having roommates. |
| * Food: |
Cook-it-yourself, which was fine. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt somewhat integrated, but not through CMRS. I joined the local Christian group and met friends that way. If I hadn't joined them, I doubt I would have felt integrated at all. CMRS students are almost entirely separate from the rest of the university, unless the students themselves join a club, etc., which takes a lot of initiative as British students aren't necessarily looking for new members. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
Oxford was fine. We were advised not to walk home alone late at night, but I almost never felt unsafe or worried about safety. There's a lot of bars around our location, which meant a fair number of bouncers outside who could have lent a hand had anything bad happened. |
| 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) |
It wasn't too bad. I didn't keep great financial records. It took me a while to figure out how much I should actually be spending, but once I did, it was okay. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
| 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? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I should have made a better budget, and taken more initiative with friends. |
