Program Reviews

I spent the spring of 2015 in Athens, Greece with the Arcadia in Greece program. While there I had the most enriching semester experience through out my entire college career. I would not have traded it for anything and would do anything to be back in Athens.

My favorite memory of studying abroad was getting the opportunity to scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef. It was the most exhilarating thing I have ever done into my life. Being in bright teal water and seeing the different color coral and schools of fish was just an image I will forever have locked in my head. I can never describe that moment of how i felt, what i saw to anyone. Being underwater is like being in another world down there.

Living in a rural area and choosing to go to a small university in the US, has always had me wondering what it would be like to go to a large university in a bustling city. I have always loved to travel and knew that I wanted to try studying abroad, but I didn't know to even begin. The application process through Arcadia's study abroad program was so easy and efficient; they were able to answer any and all my questions, putting my and my parent's doubts to rest. I flew off in February with no doubts about choosing the University of Melbourne. It is a big, city school and gave me exactly what I wanted: a more global perspective, rigorous education and independence. Melbourne is such a great hub for other travel as well. With a little time management, I was able to get good grades and still visit places like the Bay of Fires in Tasmania or the Sydney Opera House, or dive and snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef. Studying in Australia was the best experience of my life, and I am so grateful for having had this opportunity through Arcadia.

The whole entire experience in London was a dream come true. Being able to take the Tube anywhere I wanted in the city to explore was the best way to get to know the city and the boroughs I enjoyed most. While I'm biased to my home borough of Kensington & Chelsea, places like Covent Garden and Westminster became a couple of my favorite spots to discover new pubs and social scenes.

I attended a large University for college, and always craved individual attention, and true academic challenge that could be hard to find. My semester at Oxford provided all that and more. I really grew into my academic interests while working with my professors one-on-one. I even helped to run a research project while I was there. Studying in the libraries was incredibly inspiring, and I'll never forget the feeling of being handed a 2-page reading list each week and being told to read as much as I could. Such a great way to push yourself.

Outside of class, the friends I made are still some of my best. We'd punt on the Thames, go to rowing races, explore the historic bars and coffee shops, and go on day trips whenever we could.

Arcadia was extremely helpful in helping us transition and get comfortable in a new country. They also had many great trip opportunities to exciting places throughout Scotland. The city of Glasgow and the University were beautiful, with an amazing culture, and neverending list of fun things to do. The education system is a little different from what I expected. I was graded pretty much on only one or two exams per class, and it required a lot more independent studying than my US classes. Basically, the teachers don't hold your hand as much. However, the professors were wonderful. The Pre-Medical anatomy class for study abroad students was the best class I've ever taken, incomparable to anything US schools typically offer to undergrads. The social life in the city was great, and I found students to be very welcoming to foreign students. Glasgow University has tons of clubs, and I joined the running club. It was a great way to make new friends in a new place.

I loved my time in London and I truly did enjoy the academics and other opportunities at UCL. However, I felt Arcadia promised much and delivered very little. After our orientation period, we were essentially set free in London without much support. Their "additional programming" sold out quickly. While other programs include costs for travel and special opportunities, Arcadia had travel adventures that sold out online in an hour. I would do it all over again but I would have preferred to go through a different program. UCL was academically and socially a blast and I highly recommend it.

The worst part about this program was leaving when it was over. It was everything you could want and more. Great people, both associated with the program and New Zealanders in general. Truly an amazing country with tons of adventure, unique cultural connections and a laid back life. This program was the best thing to happen to me. They really offer you the chance to get to know the country and become immersed in what it has to offer.

This program was divided into two parts.

The first part was about connecting business practices to the arts world, showing where they would be an important component, showing where they are slightly different from normal business programs, and even getting unique lectures that were all about aspects of the arts world you don't think about such as copyright. it was done in a series of lectures, with weekends off, and a test at the end. We also did a business simulation in this time, allowing us to more directly apply the principles we were working on. This part of the program was much more low key, and more traditionally academic. It also left room for fun trips with both groups that sponsored me: Internship Scotland and Arcadia. Our class did things like tour the highlands, go to the highland games or just go for fun strolls around the old town or new town.

The second half of the program was interning with a company at the famous Scotland Festival Fringe. A giant theater festival, and I got to help a company with it. This was more fulfilling in the content, because we got to see the behind the scenes workings of the company, along with help with marketing, stage management and any other task they were willing to hand off to us. I also got passes to some of the venues I worked at, giving me great perks while I worked to go see the shows as I worked in the evenings or as I went. And at the end of this time, I needed to turn in a paper to the program to talk about something I noticed about the work I was doing with the program and any business trends I noticed.

In between these two parts of the official program, there was still time to make friends, join local groups (a church in my case), and just explore the city if you wanted. This unofficial time was probably my favorite, though I enjoyed the surprises as I went as well, such as joining fellow classmates for things like tea or dinner.

This program did a great job incorporating both tourist and local experiences. Everyone was extremely friendly and created a really great comfortable environment to explore and learn about Australia. I enjoyed this program and country so much that I tried to stay for the entire year!