England: Same Lanaguage + Totally Different Culture= Best Experience of My Life! Past Review

By (Elementary Education, Illinois State University) for

University of Brighton - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Absolutely worthwile! I would not change this experience for anything in the world. I had a fantastic time, met wonderful people and had an overall amazing experience!

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload was the perfect amount for a summer program. The quality of instruction was above average! The professors that we had were excellent and really knew what they were talking about!

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

The program was run very smoothly! Everything about it worked beautifully and I would not have changed one thing about my experience!

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

All of the weekend field trips were very fun and exposed us all to the culture and lifestyles of the English. I did enjoy having free time pretty much every night to go do whatever we wanted to do... whether that be hanging out with peers, meeting new people, or exploring the city.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

I never once felt unsafe while abroad. Everywhere that we were taken was very clean, safe and welcoming.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* 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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? Each week I would say I spent about 150-200 pounds on food and souveniers, etc. It's a lot easier to have a debit/credit card that you can pull cash out of an ATM when you need it instead of exchanging cash when you get there- the exchange rate is better too! Most ATM's were free of charge for withdrawls, so I found that to be easiest.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? If you need to buy food, account for quite a bit of money going towards that... it's quite expensive compared to our food. Also, anticipate spending money on transportation (bus pass, train ticket, cab, etc.).

Language

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? None

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

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

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  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

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  • Americans

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? A student going into education would greatly benefit from this program! If you are at all interested, go for it! It was well worth every penny and worry!