London is great, if you work on your own, stop going to class, and explore the city alone Past Review
By mackenzie b (literary studies, Middlebury College) for
University College London (UCL): London - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
yes. see above
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
It was not good |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
its a large school in the middle of the city, meaning youre going to get lost, if you have any problems nobody will return your calls, professors will treat you as subpar because you are an affiliate student, and it will be difficult to meet other people. that said, class registration was fairly easy, and i'm sure you'd have similar problems directly enrolling at any other large, urban university. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
my neighborhood was far from class, close to nightlife. It wasnt a very safe area, but were were in a gated community. It was a 10-15 walk to mass transportation, I had to buy sheets and everything. I happened to be put on a floor of Chinese exchange students, so nobody really spoke to me. It seemed that some people put on floors with regular freshmen made friends, but then they all wanted to replicate the american college experience by getting wasted on solo cups in their room...so I wasnt too jealous. I recommend trying not to live in freshmen dorms, try to live closer to campus, don't apply for ANY meal plan, and just join clubs and meet people in classes. |
| * Food: |
DO NOT EAT THE FOOD IN RESIDENCY, go on a meal plan. I elected to cook my own food, but they gave me residency in the halls with a meal plan anyway. I tried to switch to no avail. the food is terrible. Not doable, but like youre going to end up paying for your own food anyways it is so bad, and so inconvenient. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
this review sounds really negative, but I had a wonderful time in London. I just stopped going to classes and explored around the actual city. London is a hard place to live, but you can find amazing cultural events, and small groups of fascinating people in shoreditch, islington, etc. Check out the literary readings, dub step nigths, the bar Bookclub, the ICA, all the museums, etc. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
There was security guard in my dorm, but i mean, i lived next door to the Carpet Right that was set on fire for a riot three months before...so its not Eden. Just be smart, dont get too drunk alone and walk long distances. Its a city. Obviously. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
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Language
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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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?
Select all that apply |
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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? | don't get discouraged by the classes, check out lectures at the V&A, the ICA, the visiting lecturers, make appointments with the professors who arent your teachers. Go to the pub, read a book, walk on the Thames. Stop trying to get wasted with the bratty british kids, theyre 18. Go meet someone your own age, go find great dub step, curry, travel to the English country side. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
shakespeare |
| Course Department: | n/a |
| Instructor: | Chris Laoutaris |
| Instruction Language: | english |
| Comments: | half the lectures were terrible (summarizing, etc.) and half were great. We did get to see a special collections exhibit that related to one of the texts and Dr. Laoutaris gave a lovely tour. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Romantics |
| Course Department: | n/a |
| Instructor: | Gregory Dart |
| Instruction Language: | english |
| Comments: | the lectures were pretty bad, but on a whole they were better than in my other courses. I really liked the reading and the subject matter so that helped. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Modern Literature II |
| Course Department: | n/a |
| Instructor: | kasia boddy |
| Instruction Language: | english |
| Comments: | this class was awful. Each seminar could choose a different theme for modern literature, i did dystopian ficitons, which meant that one out of ten lectures applied to what i was studying and the rest i was clueless. the lecturers focused on specific things, so it was not a good survey of modern literature. Also the professors seemed younger, more inexperienced. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
