Past Review
By Meredith T (Philosophy., Tufts University) for
IFSA: St. Andrews - University of St. Andrews
God yes. It's changed everything and made me want to live abroad for a while.
Personal Information
| The term and year this program took place: | Spring 2008 |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The teachers in one of my classes were fellows, and extremely difficult to understand both their accents and teaching methodology. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Well-organised, provided excellent outings and made many optional, which was good for students' varying schedules. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Five person ensuite accommodations. Private rooms and bathrooms, brand new kitchen and common room. Wonderful living arrangements, though a mile and a half from campus and town. I lived in David Russell Apartments on Buchanan Gardens. <br /><br /> Absolutely wonderful - perfect for my vegan living because I didn't need a meal plan. I wish it had been closer to the library and town, but my quality of housing was far superior to those closer, so it was a nice tradeoff. |
| * Food: |
I am a vegan, so cook all of my own meals. It's hard to eat in Scotland with such a restriction, but there are great resources for food alternatives in town, and the Vegetarian Society provided me with great friends and great potluck dinners. Traveling was difficult on a restricted diet. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Though St. Andrews is only 55 miles from Edinburgh, it takes about an hour and a half to get there because it's not motorways all the way there. That hinders travel a bit, since the airport is there or in Glasgow - two and a half hours away - but it's doable, and I was able to travel to the continent, as well as around the UK a lot. It made the experience amazing. I also really enjoyed the local culture of the gorgeous sea towns that punctuate the coastline. IFSA had incredible trips, too. The Isle of Skye trip changed my life; if you don't go, you're insane. Going abroad has ignited a desire to travel that I didn't have before. St. Andrews itself is an incredible place, and I should have explored it even more than I did. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Everyone had positive experiences with the Health Centre. Socialised healthcare is amazing! St Andrews is extremely safe, and I never in any way felt threatened walking back to my apartment, which was far from town, at late hours of the night. |
| 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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | With the dollar so weak, it's difficult to live on the pound. Bottom line. |
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 take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Don't think you can travel every weekend, and understand that it takes a bit of time to go into the city. Make sure that you get out, though, and don't get suffocated by the small town. JOIN SOCIETIES and meet NON-AMERICANS. It changes everything. Do your best to have a Monday or a Friday off, because it really changes your travel plans. And I had a great experience taking two 3000/4000 level classes. It really freed up a lot of time for me, and if your grades are not going to count, it's a nice experience to have because it's very different. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Contemporary Epistemology |
| Course Department: | PHILOSOPHY 4xxx |
| Instructor: | Elia Zardini/Dylan Dodd |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | The class, though potentially interesting, wasn't well organised. One of the instructors was significantly better than the other, who was a little scatter-brained and difficult to understand. The material is VERY hard, and there's no chance of being able to take this without a significant philosophy background. I felt consistently in over my head. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No, just make sure you get it cleared ahead of time. |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Histories of Photography - 1835-1905 |
| Course Department: | AH3121 |
| Instructor: | Luke Gartlan |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This class changed my life and revolutionised the way I look at photography, art, and has put me on a track that might perhaps have me studying this subject - to which I had no prior exposure - in a graduate setting. Dr. Gartlan was amazing and very accessible and flexible, and he administered very fair tests with excellent scopes. It was a little difficult to adjust to the type of format without having an art history background, but it was the most incredible academic experience that I've ever had. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
