Oh Sussex, I Shall Never Forget Thee, and Never Want To Past Review
By Jordan G (Biology, General., University of California - Riverside) for
University of Sussex: Brighton - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Most definitely. I feel like I grew as a person in more ways than one. Lasting friendships memories and life lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The classes there are very writing based, even in the Sciences.This is different from home but something that you can get used to. Overall I would say the academic rigor was more laid back than at UCR, but that may be just due to my major. Several of my friends were first yr history and english students, and their work load was VERY heavy, at least in my opinion. It seemed like they had a paper a week. In the way of class schedules it is much less than at UCR. While I typically have between 15 to 20 hours of school a week in the US, I only had about 8 overseas, and this is not an atypical load. The classes are a lot more self-study dependent and your grade may solely comprise of exams. No clickers and homework does not count toward you grade. This is not necessarily a bad thing because it gives you a bit more freedom to organize your study time as you see fit. The grading curve is pretty steep, having C's there be wort A's in the US nearly across all courses. Lastly, the teachers really seemed enthused about what they are doing and inspired me to want to learn more about the course. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Many of us were left in the dark about the state of our classes for too long, and it took frequent emailing to get a straight answer. Most everything else was satisfactory, except the speed about how information about classes being finalized and grades being distributed was given. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
either bring bedding or buy it in town or on campus. cookware is a similar situation. The campus area is quite safe and security/safety measures are well in place. Campus isnt too large, so proximity to classes is decent for living in the dorms. Brighton is a nightlife city, there is plenty of it if that is what u are looking for. A short bus ride takes u to the beach and host of clubs, as well as the pier |
| * Food: |
since most of the food was prepared, my satisfaction was only as good as my cooking. If u go to a bar on campus, be warned that they have odd hours and that their waiting system (i.e. buzzers) is flawed and many times the buzzers dont respond at all. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Guy Fawkes Day Dorm Thanksgiving in the UK Stonehenge Trip Bath Halloween School Activities Pub Crawl and the rest of zero week |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
things like free STD tests and warnings about flu's were helpful. |
| * Safety: |
the safety was good, the fire alarms went off on a weekly basis just to check on their functioning. Also, any excessive smoke quickly set off alarms to alert the security staff which was prompt and evacuated the dorms quickly. There was a flu that went around in the first couple weeks, but i powered through it without medication. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
I made a reasonable budget, and I was able to spend less than expected. If you know how to spend money effectively you will have no problem. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I allocated that I would spend no more than 80 pounds a week and I frequently spent less. If u cook your food u can easily spend only 15-30 pounds on food a week. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | be prepared to spend money for the bus on a regular basis. Also, laundry cost 4 pounds a load and you need change to do it so prepare for that. Otherwise all other expenses were expected |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
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? | I think someone who wants to branch out socially would really benefit from this program, especially if u live on campus. Also, if you are a media, film, or history student this school is good for you because most of the people I met were of those majors. |
