Wish it could last forever! Past Review
By Alejandra M (Nicaragua Christian Academy International) - abroad from 06/14/2015 to 07/11/2015 with
Oxbridge Academic Programs: St Andrews - Oxbridge at St Andrews
St. Andrews not only affirmed that what I had wanted to study in college since my childhood was indeed what I was passionate about and what I should study in my coming years. Everyday, I learned something new wether that was from my friends, teacher, or the town itself. Experiences such as putting next to the oldest golf course where the golf Open was going to be held to eating haggis on the streets of Edinburgh opened me to take risks and to make the most out of all the opportunitues that layed before me. I gained memories that will be treasured forever. Most importantly, I shared the entire experience with 59 other talented and unique people that surely became friends and even family.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
St. Andrews gave me the opportunity to indulge in the academic courses I have planned to study in college since childhood. The experience not only affirmed my love for medicine, it even increased it! The best part was that I got to explore college- level courses in an amazing university while exploring the town and everything it had to offer with people from all over the world. People who became very close friends and even family. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The director, deans, program assistants, and activities coordinators were absolutely amazing. They were kind and funny as well as very proactive. They had everything well organized. They were very friendly and made instant connection with the students and they certainly made the alot more interesting and fun. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The dorm was always clean as well as the showers. Our cleaning staff was very friendly and very attentive to us. They treated us just like any other St. Andrews University student would. On top of that, we had free access to the internet! |
| * Food: |
The food was delicious! There was always variety and dessert was always present. They incorporated traditional scottish food in the menu during some days. We even got all American food during the Fourth of July which was an experience as I myself am not American. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt well integrated with the local culture from day 1. Our very first activity after courses was to do a scavenger hunt around the town. That not only inted me to cultural and famous spots in St. Andrews, but also let me get to know the town better. Other activities, such as having our own private bagpipe concert put is into more contact with the culture. I think just exploring the town better was what really made a connection between me and St. Andrews. The program also facilitated all of those who wanted to attend to church, the oportunity to do so as well as provided directions. Church was definitely another source of social integration were I met alot of people who lived and studied at St. Andrews. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
Because of the size of St. Andrews, the town was pretty safe. I would spend the afternoons exploring the town before dinner (if there was no activity) and nothing ever happened to me or anyone else. They did advice that after dinner (even though it wasn't dark as the sun sets until like 11 at night) we should go out exploring in groups, just to be extra safe. |
| 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) |
This depends on how good you are at administrating your own money. Mom and dad were not going to do it for me when I was half way across the world. Therefore, it became my responsibility. There were some restaurants that were more expensive than others and then there were other restarants that you could get a substantial meal for like 2 to 3 pounds. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | About 30 to 50 pounds (not counting souvenirs) |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | A good balance between where you eat and how much you spend on souvenirs as well as having a preestablished budget helped me keep my cost low. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 10+ |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Dear pre- St. Andrews self, Jump out there and embrace the people, the culture, and every single moment you have with your new friends because one day you will be wishing you were there. Don't be afraid to participate in the sports or the art activities even when you are very bad in both because many will be activities that you will probably will not have the opportunity or time to engage in them. Take risks, be bold, and enjoy every moment of it since the very start to the very end. And do not forget to pack many, many sweaters as it is cold even during the summer! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Anatomy |
| Course Department: | Medical Science |
| Instructor: | Dr. Predrag Bjelogrlic |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Anatomy could be a hard topic to study in a month. However, I am more than positive that I learned more about anatomy in that month than I did with my six month anatomy class in my highscool. The class was challenging as we went through the body in an organized way an learned about the major nerves, arteries, veins, and organs of each part as well as their function. We used a very technologically advanced program that let us visualize better what we were learning, but better than that was seeing it live! St. Andrews University is known for being one of the few universities whose medical students still perorm whole body dissections which means they have an amazing dissection room. We got to enter this dissection room a couple of times (obviously following all protocol that medicine students also follow) and we got to see and touch the structures (already dissected) that we were learning. The dissection room definitely made the course alot more interesting! |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I had no problems receiving my transcript. |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Medicine |
| Course Department: | Medical Science |
| Instructor: | Dr.Predrag Bjelogrlic |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This course blew my mind! It was not the usual class where you are expected to listen to a long explanation and then just watch other people take blood pressure or perform sutures. No, this course had plenty of guided explanations, but more than that it was a hands-on course. Meaning, we got to take the blood pressure, do neurological examinations on each other, and become surgeons for a day by practicing sutures on a pig's heart, lung, and esophagus. We definitely made use of St. Andrews' medical resources and sometimes it even felt like we were already St. Andrews students. We learned through analyzing study cases, doing presentations and through having hands on activities of almost everything we learned! On top of that, our teacher was more than we could have asked for. His passion for medicine was seen throughout the course and even created or affirmed our own passion for medicine. In other words, it was an amazing course! |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I had absolutely no issue with getting my transcript. In fact, the transcript was far more detailed than I had expected. |
