Highly Recommend! Wish I chose Edinburgh for all 4 years! February 01, 2022
By A student (Business and Economics, Brandeis University) - abroad from 09/20/2021 to 12/22/2021 with
IFSA: Edinburgh - University of Edinburgh
Tons about being independent, balancing academics and social life, budgeting etx.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Classes require a lot of time and effort but overall I thought I learned a ton and had pretty decent professors. Just annoying being in classes with 100s of people, but tutorials make it a bit better |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
It seemed like every time I was in a situation where I needed help, my one point of contact was on vacation. Also, very little program organized experiences. Granted it was during a pandemic, but I know other programs still found workarounds. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Got very lucky with flatmates and got my first choice (very close to everything). Research your options VERY carefully and make the decision that is right for you. You will be so grateful that you did. Hermits croft was great. |
| * Food: |
Get your own kitchen and food from grocery stores is superrr cheap. Week of groceries would be like $50-60 if you go to the right places. Cannot speak to dining hall food though. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Clubs and activities are great for this. You'll meet people from many different cultures. Its a melting pot city as it is dominated by the student population so definitely less scottish than other cities but arguably thats not a con. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Very thankful I had no issues but if you are only going for a semester, they likely will not let you sign up with most GP's (general doctor). If you are going for a year, they likely will let you. They misinformed me about this piece of information and said I should try and sign up with one...IFSA apparently didn't do their research. So either stay healthy or be okay going to emergency room (which is quite cheap actually! Just long waits of course) |
| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
Super cheap groceries, slightly pricey to go out for food and drinks though. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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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? | Make plans to do optional traveling ahead of time because once you are there, things get busy! |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
