Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Living in London Past Review

By (Computer Science, Wellesley College) for

King's College London: London - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I learned how to be independent and had a lot of fun in the city. But, I was not impressed with the education abroad.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Wellesley provides a significantly more impressive education. Wellesley has more intelligent and attentive professors, more driven and interesting peers, and more rewarding classes. King's was not necessarily poor, but they just could not compare to Wellesley on any level.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Very good at responding to emails. Not so good with person to person contact.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Single rooms and nice facilities.

* Food:

Grocery stores are decently priced for such an expensive city.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

My program didn't organize much that didn't revolve around drinking. So, if you aren't a big drinker, that limits your choices. Also, there activities were REALLY expensive.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

never had issue with heath. A couple burglaries happened at our Residential Hall and the school handled it very poorly. No additional security measures were put in place and I'm not sure if the residents go reimbursed for their things.

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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? $150 US
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Travel get's expensive.

Language

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? None

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Hotel
* Who did you live with?

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  • Local Students
* Who did you take classes with?

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A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • London
* What could be improved?
  • Academics
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Take advantage of the new environment.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

The History of the IRA
Course Department: History
Instructor: McBride
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Very fascinating professor and topic. Only meeting 2 hours a week really limited what you could learn from the course.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Ethics I
Course Department: Philosophy
Instructor: Littlejohn
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Interesting Professor. Really light coursework.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Cryptography and Information Security

Course Department: CIS
Instructor: Mouchard
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Best of the four courses I took. Peers really lacked the mathematical background which held back the rest of the class.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Object-Oriented Specification and Design
Course Department: CIS
Instructor:
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Hardly any work. I feel like I learned very little since I never applied the skills I was learning on actual software design. Really dull professor.
Credit Transfer Issues: