London is great, the university is not. Past Review
By A student (Brandeis University) - abroad from 01/07/2019 to 06/07/2019 with
Queen Mary University of London Study Abroad programme
Exploring London was great, so that was good. I also learned that the American collegiate education system is much more conducive to actual learning and meaningful engagement with the subject.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Though some of the courses are on interesting subjects, the level of student engagement is incredibly low. Students are expected to regurgitate the opinions of the professors rather than think for themselves. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Though everyone at the Global Opportunities office was very kind, they don't really know anything about the ins and outs of the different academic departments. Each of the academic departments has an entirely separate set of rules (most of which are convoluted and hard to find). The administration is not good. I had countless problems with them. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The housing itself wasn't bad. However, visiting students live with first years rather than people their own age, and the fire alarms kept going off. |
| * Food: |
N/A The flats have their own kitchens (which are regularly cleaned) and students are expected to cook for themselves. There is technically a place to eat on campus, but none of the abroad students used it. There are several grocery stores nearby, so shopping was really easy, and more affordable than you would expect. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Visiting students were not really integrated into the student population in any meaningful way. You do get to know the area off campus pretty well though, so that's nice. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Once you actually got the services they weren't bad, but you had to do a lot to get to that point. |
| * Safety: |
The campus is safe; the surrounding area is a little less so. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
I would choose a different school, same city. |
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 |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
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? | 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 wish that I knew more about how this program was run and how infrequently local students interact with visiting students. |
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. |
