Program Reviews

Pennbrook University was amazing! I've never felt so much support from faculty like I did at Pennbrook. I could go for extra help during office hours, or just chat with any of my professors. Topanga was always willing to help me with my lady problems! I would also visit Mr. Feeny all the time just to talk, he has so much wisdom to share!

I would definitely recommend Pennbrook to anyone, but I might try to figure out your own housing if possible. I stayed in the campus dorms and got stuck with this crazy guy named Eric. Funny guy, but kinda weird...

My semester at Hogwarts was a truly MAGICAL experience! Although I had a little trouble getting to the Hogwarts Express (in my excitement I accidentally ran towards Platform 8 3/4, aka a brick wall, what a muggle mistake!) Madame Pomfrey healed my broken arm and black eye in no time!

When we arrived at Hogwarts the exchange students were immediately sorted into our new houses. Proudly representing Ravenclaw! My only complaint about the Ravenclaw common room was that we needed to answer riddles to get inside, which is tough after a few Butterbeers!

The classes were amazing, although I don't know if I'd recommend a full course load with a time-turner your first semester- it might be a little overwhelming for muggle exchange students. I would recommend taking a few courses such as Transfiguration, Charms, Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. If you take a History of Magic Course, be sure to ask the castle ghosts to help you study, as most of the material is about them! Oh, and only sign up for Divination if you can take it with Firenze, he's gorgeous! ;)

Although the classes were super interesting (for a muggle, at least!) not all of the professors were very approachable outside of class. I mean, one day I asked Mad Eye Moody if I could do some extra credit, and he turned me into a ferret!

The social scene was pretty cliquey, as the houses tend to stick together. It makes for some great competition on the Quidditch pitch, though!

I was excited about my time at Shiz but was sorely disappointed. From corrupt city officials and headmistresses, to being placed with a roommate I couldn't stand (nothing like unadulterated loathing to ruin the experience!), and dull academics - I would carefully consider before deciding to study here! The social scene was a blast, especially The Ozdust Ballroom and being close to the Emerald City, but it wasn't enough to make up for everything else.

I'm so lucky to have been able to study in my dream location: Hogwarts! A lot of the castle had to be rebuilt but it's looking better than ever. People were friendly to exchange students and it was easy to make friends. There's still a strong rivalry between houses, but it's all in the name of fun - unless we're talking about Quidditch, of course (go Gryffindor!) ;) Don't be fooled by anyone who says studying abroad is easy - academics were quite the challenge here, especially my potions classes. I learned a lot of magic that could be useful in daily life -- too bad there's no magic allowed outside of school if you're underage.

I went with the year-long program, and while academics were only okay, the extracurriculars and social scene were a lot of fun. There are a lot of sports to play and ways to get involved and meet people, which can be hard for an exchange student (stay away from those Pink Ladies). Rydell has a lot of school spirit, which was a nice change from my home school. The local ice cream parlor has pretty much the best milkshakes EVER, and if you don't have plans on a Friday night, head to the drive-in movie theater. If you're at Rydell in the spring, definitely do not miss the end-of-year graduation carnival which was the best event of the year.

I begin this review with a word of caution. Do not, I repeat DO NOT, enter into this world without a lot of prior research and preparation. Likewise, do not enter into this world while in the thrall of any sort of sin or negative personality trait. You will meet a sticky end (literally).

I thoroughly enjoyed my time here. However, I had to get in good with the Oompa Loompas in order to avoid Willy's capricious moods. It's a great character booster to be able to survive a psycho hopped up on sugar. Don't get me wrong, he is whimsical and fun but he can get a bit loopy.

If you end up on this program, I would completely recommend taking a trip on the chocolate waterfall while semi-comfortably ensconced in a candy boat. Avoid drinking out of this chocolate river, you might get trapped in a tube.

Within the Fantasy Programs Abroad section, this was one of the few programs open to high school students. Since I was limited in my choices but still fond of choir groups, I decided to give it a try.

My one piece of advice is if you choose to attend McKinley High is to never ever allow anyone to throw a frozen slushie at you. It is a truly humiliating (not to mention FREEZING) turn of events. I ended up getting on the bad side of the Cheerios and made a firm effort to never give them reason to look at me again.

I do have a slight confession... Since I knew this was a temporary year long study abroad, I actually engineered revenge against all of the "popular" kids at school who had ever given a slushie facial. I got all of the Glee kids as well as the rest of the disenfranchised students to surprise this group with a gigantic slushie shower. If you decide to go with this program, learn from my antics!

The hardest thing for me to adapt to was the constant breaking into song. It's a bit disconcerting to suddenly feel like you have entered a Disney musical crossed with Lady Gaga. Be warned.

Okay, what you need to understand about this program is that you will learn nothing about banking and finance. You must be accepting of the fact that you will put in as much time (if not more) as a regular intern at any bank, but you will not do any of the regular jobs (except fetch coffee).

Instead, you will learn how to participate in shenanigans. You will also learn how to pick up women (even if you are a woman). I spent hours, if not days, crafting the perfect modes of revenge against Clark Butterfield. Mr. Stinson roped me into this after Marshall bowed out.

Safety was not of high consideration and I risked my life many times over. However, over and above this rather extreme demand, I grew to despise the voice over. If I have to hear, "Kids," one more time, I will lose it.

Ever since I saw the documentary on the animated world of monsters, I was so excited about entering their universe. I am so glad we lived in the enlightened time of realizing that there are multiple worlds of all types piled one on top of the other. I decided on this program for two reasons. I really wanted to try my hand at being terrifying and I wanted to see what it would feel like to be transformed into a cartoon.

The college life was pretty amazing. Monsters sure know how to party hard! They were also very welcoming of me since I didn't look like a human any more. I was even invited to participate in the annual Scare Games! They put me with Oozma Kappa, a fraternity that more than made up for their lack of scariness with their multitude of hidden talents.

While I thoroughly enjoyed my time and everything that I was learning, I will warn you about Dean Hardscrabble. You want to talk about terrifying? She is the definition of nightmare. She did go out of her way to make sure I was settling in comfortably, but she couldn't help sneaking up on my accidentally once in a while. I had to change more than one pair of pants, if you know what I mean.

Keep sharp eyes and ears out for her! The more the merrier, especially if you can get eyes on all sides of your head.

I pulled a Jeff Winger and faked my degree. I claimed to having a teaching certificate and I'm just lucky it took them as long as it did to figure out my deception. Attending a "real" university was cramping my style, so I thought I would take a brief break at Greendale, home of the Greendale Human Beings.

For those who want to engage in unlikely antics while slacking off to the max, this is the program for you. I had the most fun building the longest blanket fort (long live Blanketsburg) and then warring with the dastardly Pillowtown.

While I was cruising through the year, I ended up hearing about Winger's made-up Conspiracy Theory class with the equally made-up Professor Professorson. At that point I went a step further than Winger and faked a legitimate Greendale night school. You are welcome, all who decide to go with this study abroad program.

Now I have most of my credits done and shortened my degree by an entire year. I could not have done this without the bumbling support of Dean Pelton. He really made my year and I will continue to keep in touch with him.