Love London but Don't Choose UCL Past Review
By Nathan M (Franklin & Marshall College) - abroad from 09/09/2014 to 12/13/2014 with
IFSA: London - University College London
Learned how to live by myself in cities. Very important. That part was worthwhile.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Humanities are extremely challenging. It is very empirically based and little support system exists for students. It was stressful and unfortunately travel led to some poorer performance than usual on assignments/exams. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
N/A |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
IFSA-Butler stuck me in a dorm quite far from UCL with all Americans. Hard to immerse yourself in that situation. |
| * Food: |
Great food in London |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Definitely a fun city but as I mentioned, I struggled immersing myself due to a poor living situation. I was quite an anglophile before coming too so I had a common ground greater than most students for interaction. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
NA-No experience with them. (Although NHS seemed great) |
| * Safety: |
Safe city. Central London where you will mostly be is very safe but there are some areas you might find yourself that have great scenes but are sketchy such as Hackney, Shoreditch, Brixton, Tottenham. |
| 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) |
I can be rather austere but this is not a cheap city by any means. Extortionate for some items... |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Tesco and I strongly recommend a place called "Iceland" |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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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| 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? |
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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? | Not to go to UCL, it definitely negatively influenced my overall satisfaction with the trip. |
