Rehearsed scams in housing and academics; don't fall prey Past Review
By MR (University of California - San Diego / UCSD) - abroad from 09/23/2019 to 12/15/2019 with
Oxford Study Abroad Programme (OSAP): Oxford - Study Abroad at Oxford University
Academics and college life were great but I had to force my way into college community--OSAP doesn't help. My semester had a lot of loner American students that hung out only with themselves.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Housing scams abound, be wary. This diminished the quality of the overall experience |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Juds*n is really hard to deal with and made my Oxford experience terrible. OSAP/WISC's office is really bad about remediating and fixing housing concerns; they lease from a notorious landlord company in Oxford with dilapidated housing. They have a strict no refund policy, and only assign housing when you land so they basically scam you. They do it semester after semester, and are experts at this point |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
There is huge variation in quality of housing directly associated with whether you come from one of their feeder schools (like all those Wellesly reviewers lmao). If you come from a school that doesnt send many students to them per year, expect the worst. The trend is clear when you arrive, trust me. |
| * Food: |
Food in college is great and you have to pay for it out of pocket. Good options in town |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Really well! Even as an associate student (which means OSAP basically has you audit, and the actual college doesn't recognise you as a student--again, huge scam they downplay before you arrive). |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
you go to a NHS office which is free healthcare for everyone. Appointments need to be scheduled well in advance. |
| * Safety: |
It's good! loads of students. Just stay in the main streets. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
See other responses; they cheat you out of your money |
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?
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? | That it's a literal scam |
