Helpful but challenging Past Review
By A student (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg) - abroad from 09/02/2019 to 12/20/2019 with
University of the Highlands and Islands: Inverness - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Yeah, I met so many friendly and helpful Scottish people, got introduced to the idea of VC-classes, enjoyed the personal style of teaching, travelled around Scottland and experienced the great landscape and nature, experienced different approaches and values of different nationalities
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Far more exhausting and time-intensive as back in Germany, smaller classes and teacher-student relationship on a quite personal level very positive, lack of organisation |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Very good placement, we got along very well, however very expensive and quite far away from the university without any bus connection |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Quite difficult to meet the Scottish students, they mostly keep to themselves what also didn't help is that induction was done with first year students and not with the actual people you will have classes with |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Had to get my toenail removed, just phoned a podiatrist, wasn't really introduced into how the healthcare system worked |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
This style of studying is just not for me, nothing that I enjoy but rather sth that stresses me out. I just prefer simple exams in the end |
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) |
Erasmus doesn't even cover all my costs of living and half-board with the host family. I have to use plenty of expenses for trips, coffee, lunch, etc. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 70 pound |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I think the cheapest option is to do the home stay programme without catering, buy at Asda or Tesco their own brands |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
Use of English during the classes and in the host family, my friends all weren't from my home country so I had to communicate with them in English as well |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Fluent |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | C1/C2 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Host family is definitely the easiest way to actually have to use English all the time, stay away from other Erasmus students of your home country as there is a high possibility that you won't speak English when you are together |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
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? | - |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Understanding Visitor Behavior |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Gemma McKenzie |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Although this course was a VC course, that was not the problem. Gemma seems to lack competence, the description of the first assignment was completely confusing with noone knowing what actually to do, she is never prepared for her lectures, just reading from the slides without providing any additional information |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
