Literally, the MOST amazing experience of a lifetime! Past Review

By (Marketing, Roger Williams University) - abroad from 01/07/2012 to 05/26/2012 with

University of Westminster: London - Study Abroad Semester or Year with an Optional Internship

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Studying abroad literally opened up a whole new world for me. It was definitely the experience of a lifetime. I made some amazing friends, I have seen places I never dreamed of seeing, I experience the culture of living in a new city. Studying abroad has definitely made me more of an independent person. It has allowed me to be thankful for all that I have, I could not have done this without help from my parents. Coming home, I still miss London terribly and wish I could be there right now. It was something completely different than just staying at school, in fact I couldn't even imagine if I stayed at school spring semester. Studying abroad allowed me to do anything I wanted to do, it let me know that there is so much out there in the world to see and explore. When people ask me how was London, I can not even describe it any other way than just saying it was the best time of my life. I knew I always wanted to travel, but now I know 100% that I want to travel around the world when I am older. I think everyone who has the ability to should study abroad, it certainly is a life changing experience that I will never forget.

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: Brand and Branding Distribution and Retail Consumer Behavior Principles of International Marketing
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? None

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The classes I took were fairly simple considering I was getting my electives out of the way and was taking Level 4 and 5 classes which are not as challenging as Level 6 classes are. They involved group projects and one final exam at the end of the course. The work was not as much difficult as it was tedious since they have different expectations over there. If you put the time and effort into doing a good job, then you will not have a hard time at all. Also, the seminars were good because the class size was about 20 people tops so you got more of a learning experience one on one where as the lectures could be up to 200 people and basically the teacher just goes over the material via powerpoint, all of the powerpoints were listed on Blackboard as well so you could always go back and review them.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

They were helpful to the students if they had an issue of concern. There was 24/7 front desk at the dorm as well as at the entrance of the Marylebone campus so if there was ever a problem you could always go to them for help. The teachers I had were helpful and if you had questions they were very nice in trying to explain it to you.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I liked how we each had our own single room with an attached bathroom as well. It definitely gave us our "own" time when we wanted it. I can basically describe the room as being a cruise ship room, just enough space for one person. There was a lot lot lot of construction going around the campus so that was definitely distracting and annoying but they are going to be done this summer so the next students who come will have something new to come to. Everyone on my floor was really nice, they were all American study abroad students except for a British girl who was in her first year.

* Food:

You have no meal plan at Uni, but finding food is definitely not an issue at all. They have minimarts and supermarket style stores, I always went to Tescos which is right down the street from Uni, as well as Waitrose which I definitely reccommend if you want to a big variety of different foods. Over in London, since there are no preservatives in their foods, the food expires fast so what we learned was to only buy food that will last you a couple of days or so, or else it will go bad really fast! If you want to go out to eat, there is SOOO many places all around Uni as well as other parts of London. Basically anything you want to eat you will be able to find which I really loved.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Local culture was not hard to get adjusted to at all. The language as you know is very similiar, here or there there are different word choices such as "chips" for french fries, "toilet" for bathroom, "cheers" for thank you! As time went on, my friends and I would catch ourselves saying those words so naturally.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I never got sick over in London except the usual allergies and common cold. Some of my friends got sick and just made an appointment at a doctors office and got checked out as soon as possible, from what I remember them saying, it was easy to get treated and find a doctor.

* Safety:

Not once when I was walking around London did I feel unsafe. At first being there reminded me of NYC, but after living there for 5 months, London is 100x better than NYC. It is a lot cleaner, not as hustle bustle as New York is with the taxis beeping everywhere. My friends and I always stuck together and if someone wanted to go home there would always be a buddy. We always maintained that level of safety. I never felt unsafe walking around by myself or taking the tube by myself, which was absolutely wonderful. As long as you keep your belongings secure and close to you, there should be no problem.

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)

I saved up for years for this trip, but being over in London it is VERY expensive. Everyday you are spending money whether it is going food shopping, sight seeing, or going out. I was good at keeping a budget in the beginning, allowing myself about l60 dollars a week. As the end of the semester started coming to an end, with all of the traveling we did and sight seeing I started losing money real fast, so be careful about being aware of having enough money till the end!

* 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? 160 which is about 100 pounds
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? A lot of the sight seeing we did was indeed free, but some of it did cost money. We only went out to eat about once or twice a week and the rest of the time we would cook in our kitchens, that definitely saved us a lot of money. I would just say, spend the money on what you really want to do, you only study abroad once so what I learned was that this is a once in a lifetime experience, don't look back on something and say "I couldn't do that because I didn't have the money." START SAVING NOW!! I knew I wanted to go abroad since I was little and worked extremely hard for all of the money I earned, and yes I spent basically everything I earned over the last couple of years but it was ALL worth it and I do not regret doing it at all!

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

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?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
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?
  • The flexibility in your schedule, and the spring break was extremely nice, about 3 weeks allowed us to travel around and see more countries!
  • The diversity of London, meeting so many different people from all around the world.
  • There was never a dull moment, I was always out doing something, whether it was just walking in the Park or exploring a new part of the city.
* What could be improved?
  • Part of me wished we could have been informed about if there was going to be construction, at times it wasn't even fine to be in your room, the noise was absolutely horrendous.
  • More time!
  • I really didn't have any other concerns about the program.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I wish I had more time, 5 months was a long time, but time goes by extremely fast! I also wish I knew how expensive London really is, I heard people say it will drain your money but I never knew till I experienced it that you have to be stable financially to go! Also, never wait to do things till the end, I still had a list of things I wanted to do, and did not get a chance to do some of them because I waited till the end till it got hot out to do them, and then time flew by and it was time to leave!