My time in Scotland was amazing! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I really did not enjoy the educational portion of my time at Stirling. Because the school would only allow international students to take 2nd level courses, I was put into classes which according to my host school's criteria I had qualified for, but in truth, the students in my classes had already taken at least one full semester of classes specifically on that topic beforehand. For instance, I was in an Environmental Science class that I qualified for because I had taken a biology class at home. The class was almost exclusively majors whereas my biology class had covered absolutely nothing that I could build upon for this class. Also, two of my classes had finals which required two essays which could have covered anything discussed over the entire semester. I felt like this was too difficult a task especially for international students because our methods of writing are very different. To expect us to be able to write an essay in one hour that not only we weren't prepared for specifically but also try to focus simultaneously on writing in their style rather than our own was upsetting and frustrating. Furthermore, their overall grading system is something that international students and current students complain about. It is widely agreed that the grading is incredibly too harsh, difficult to understand, and in the end, it is very unlikely that you'll be able to understand why you received your particular grade or what you can do to improve.

On-site administration of your program

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I felt that accommodations could have been improved. They were loud and impossible to study in 75% of the time and the temperatures of the room were unable to be controlled. On a sunny day, the temperature of the rooms could easily be warm enough to make it hard to breathe and we were not allowed to prop our doors open. There was also a big problem with the tidiness of the communal kitchen which was not properly regulated. Because no punishments were ever given, only warnings, students felt free to leave their dirty dishes and food spilled everywhere, taking up the counters and leaving it impossible for cooking to take place.

There was no dining plan available which would have been really beneficial, but there were several places to dine in the atrium as well as a store.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I felt completely safe here! When visiting other countries and cities, Stirling was a place that I longed to get back to because of the ability to feel completely safe, even as a female at night in the city.

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

If you budget well and primarily stick to groceries rather than eating out, you can get by on a decently low budget.

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• Dorm

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• I liked that we were able to live in dorms with local students, but also have our own rooms.
• I liked that our location was safe and the country was easy to travel around and from country to country.
• I liked that within reason we could choose our own classes.

• I did not like that most of the classes we had to take were second level courses, yet many of the classes that qualified us for the classes at Stirling were completely unrelated. It made the experience incredibly difficult and impossible in some cases to do as well as I wanted. I would recommend trying to work with Stirling either to allow more 1st level courses to be taken or to research the classes more to make sure that students will be prepared for the courses.
• I did not like that there were no trips for international students planned and provided by the program at Stirling as other programs had. Due to the lack of time to travel because of the month long exam period, it would have been beneficial for some trips to be provided throughout the semester which would have allowed for meeting other international students as well.
• I did not like that ISU was difficult to get straight answers from and many times difficult to reach. It not only caused me stress, but my family as well.

The Academic or Linguist