I didn't want it to end! Past Review
By A student (Institutions and Policy, William Jewell College) - abroad from 09/29/2011 to 06/13/2012 with
Regent's Park College, University of Oxford - Visiting Student Program
It was absolutely worthwhile! I grew a ton academically. I learned a lot about myself, about being independent and going out of my comfort zone, about living in a place that's pretty different from home. I also gained a lot of perspective on how the rest of the world views Americans and (sounds cliche) what it means to me to be American-- I actually identify with it a lot more now than I did before.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
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 |
They were always able to help with whatever I needed and seemed pretty on top of things. The one exception would be the IT guy, but that wasn't a big deal. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Overall, it's a great situation with the flat. The only downside is that it's a bit out of the way. |
| * Food: |
Maybe not as good as it could be, but no major complaints. Better than Jewell! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
In some ways, I felt like I fit in there every bit as well as I do here. In other ways, I felt like there was no way I would ever mesh with them (most notably when it came to drinking/getting drunk. it is THE central social activity at Regent's, and if you're not into it, too bad). |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I walked to and from college at all hours of the day and night (literally), and through city center at 2-3am a couple times, and never had a single issue. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
I lived in Oxford at minimal cost, but I wouldn't necessarily describe it as very easily done. Some of the food in England is very cheap, some of it isn't. Going out is really expensive and I basically never did it. I also never took the bus and never went shopping for clothes or anything I didn't absolutely need. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 5-10 pounds, usually on the lower end |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | MegaBus whenever possible, don't wait for the last minute to make travel plans, buy a bike from the last round of Jewell kids instead of waiting till you get there, and return your library books on time! |
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? |
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 I had known a little more what the work was going to be like and how little free time I would actually have. But there's no way you can really understand, I suppose, until you have to do it. |
