The opportunity to learn & explore in an amazing city January 12, 2022

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Courses were not as rigorous as I was accustomed to, which was a nice break to focus on life as a whole, not just academics. I did struggle just with the different academic structure, since I am used to much more contact with professors, but I really appreciated the tutorial style that I had for two of my classes.

On-site administration of your program

There wasn't much contact from the University throughout the semester, but I found the welcome modules during orientation week to be helpful. I think that the orientation could be even more helpful in non-pandemic times, because in-person programming would have been helpful, but for being online I found that all of the information was helpful and when I did have questions I was able to get them answered very quickly.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in Warrender Park Crescent, and really enjoyed the building and flat itself! It is not a super new building in a very old city, so we did have visits from a few mice which is the only reason I am not rating this 5 stars, but the facilities and residential staff were easy to access and helpful!

I lived in self-catered accommodations, so I mostly made my own food, and enjoyed that experience of exploring the grocery shops in a different country.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I enjoyed being a directly matriculated visiting student because it felt mostly like I was just a student at Edinburgh! I became a member of several student organizations, so I was able to attend some really cool events and meet full students that way. I also recommend being connected to other visiting students through social media because that allowed me to meet visiting students from different countries right away!

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I honestly don't know of any visiting students who had an easy time getting set up with a GP; I know of students who are in Edinburgh for 4 years who also struggled with this. I definitely recommend reaching out to multiple GP's right when you arrive, but even with this the sense I got is just that the demand is so high that it is really hard to get connected & get appointments. Something that was great in terms of healthcare though was that I was able to get free lateral flow tests for COVID from pharmacies & the university!

I always got home safe at night, and only ever used public transportation or walked, but that was just my individual experience that I know not everyone shares. Particularly due to the cases of spiking that happened throughout the UK in the early fall, many residents, myself included, did not feel safe in all spaces throughout the city.

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

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• Dorm
• Apartment

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• Local Students

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• Local Students
• International Students

• The city
• The ability to be immersed in life as a student at the University
• How nice and welcoming the people were

• More contact from the University for visiting students
• More life class time (this will probably change if the pandemic improves)
• More activities organized by the office for visiting students

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