Exchange Program at University of Bath Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

More independent study than I am used to (lot of reading and writing); heavily essay based assessment style; final exam/assignment weight a lot (typically 70%, sometimes 100% of course grade); less lecture/class time than I am used to (each course was 2 hours long and met once a week); 24/7 library hours (but ridiculously confusing system, hard to find books on shelves); textbooks and texts applicable for research are all available at the university library (only bought one required text the whole semester)

On-site administration of your program

Not very efficient and timely; litterally went months without reply/confirmation during the application process (both exchange and housing applications); registration and add/drops by e-mailing the office/ turing in a form at the office; turned in hard-copy of assignments at the office; very old school (less technology, poorly staffed in number); in the end you'll get everything you need done but they dont really communicate well with you throughout the process so you will have to be really patient and might get a bit frustrated

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Was not notified of housing decision by the method that I was told (expected email at a certain date, ended up figuring out through a FB group bunch of int'l exchange student created through our own initiatives); Lived in Pulteney Court, not the newest or the nicest dorm but had everything you needed (furnished single rooms, 1 1/2 bath, kitchen); can get free kitchen appliences (pots, pans, etc) and clothes hangers from the housing office in the beginning of semester; lots of maintenence request (they are quick to respond and come to fix the problem, but the same mainenance problem kept occurring throught the semester); the housekeepers and the maintenence guys are really nice :)

Meal plan is not included for city centre accommodations (which exchange students are placed in); cost of living is expensive so can't eat out often; recommended to cook with friends and split the costs; grocery stores are located 10min walk away; wide selections at the grocery store/market on campus; better ready-made meals/microvable meals than the frozen meals in the states (better quality and quantity, and made more frequently on a regular basis); traditional British food is not that great but thats not the only selection available; Bath has lots of cute cafes and eateries

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

speak english there; a lot of similarities to the states; had to adjust to small-town life style (lived in big cities all my life); be prepared for inefficeicent public transportation (buses never run on time, catch the bus to school at the city centre if you want to even get on a bus); get used to a lot of queuing (standing in lines); they do drive on the left, so look the correct ways when crossing streets; they say "cheers!" a lot

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

N/A had no health problems or need to see a healcare specialist

very small town, very safe; after daylight savings, the sun litterly does not fully rise until 8am and it starts setting 4pm, and since it rains/drizzles almost everyday, you don't get much sunlight and there's not much streetlilghts; they do drive on the left so look the correct ways before crossing; felt completely safe walking to the city centre at 3-4am to catch the airport bus for travels, and never encountered any danger

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

cost of living is really expensive in the UK and the exchange rate when I was abroad was 1.6 USD = 1 GBP; Bath is a tourist town so its expensive and its a small town so you dont really get the benefit of economies of scale (really small store and luxury brands, not much in between); my expenses excluding travels were about 400-500 GBP monthly (about

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