It's What You Make of It! August 19, 2026
By A student (Wellesley College) - abroad from 01/16/2026 to 05/20/2026 with
King's College London: London - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I think I learned a lot from living outside of the Wellesley bubble for a few months. I love Wellesley, but I'd never lived in a city for any amount of time before studying abroad, and I think especially being in such a large international city was eye-opening. I don't have any grand, philosophical takeaways, but I feel like you learn a lot about yourself when you go abroad. You get to have more independence than regular college, and you learn what works for you and what doesn't. You learn about the kinds of places you might want to live and work postgrad. You see firsthand how there's so much outside of what you know, and I think that can be scary and reassuring.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I enjoyed my dorm (Hayloft Point)--it was about the right size and in a convenient location! I liked being super close to two tube stops and also near Shoreditch for secondhand shopping. Easy to get to campus and the heart of things, also close to Liverpool station for national rail services. Had a private bathroom and a communal kitchen. |
| * Food: |
Can't comment on food related to the program, since my residence didn't have a meal plan. So it was very much a mixture of cooking, eating at new restaurants, and buying meal deals at Tesco. I didn't have many complaints about the quality of food, though (maybe just that there's less fresh produce than I was used to) |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
This isn't about healthcare, but I missed the deadline for testing accommodations and so did not get extended time when I took my final exams in the spring. I'm used to Wellesley, where we get emails directly reminding us about ADR stuff, so I guess I was expecting more communication, and it felt like I had to go digging around on my own to find this information. I wish the deadlines had been put in the onboarding student slides shown at our virtual orientation. |
| * Safety: |
Totally fine, in my opinion. No pickpocketing occurred! |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I don't regret studying abroad in London. I'm done with my foreign language requirement, and I wanted to be somewhere that's English-speaking. I really enjoyed being in Central London, and I loved exploring the city. It was also super easy to travel across Europe, and it doesn't feel so far from home (East Coast). I have a few regrets that I would change (explained later), but other than that, I think I would do the same program. KCL is in a great location. |
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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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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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
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? | I had two easier courses and two advanced-level math courses. Initially, even wanted to take three advanced courses. I'm glad I didn't, but given my study abroad goals, I should've just taken one. I worried about "not challenging" myself, but I really just wanted to enjoy my time abroad after a tougher fall semester. I enjoyed myself, but at some academic cost/stress. There wouldn't have been anything wrong with taking three easier (but still interesting) classes. Furthermore, my biggest regret is not submitting my accommodations (ADR, not housing) on time. This led to a lot of emotional stress before and during the exam period, as I did not get 1.5x time as I usually would. If I could go back, I would immediately change both of these things. Otherwise, I enjoyed studying abroad, and I made a lot of great memories. |
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 Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
