An Exciting and Challenging Abroad Experience

I had an amazing time at the University of Oxford and would highly recommend the program to anyone looking for an academically rigorous and exciting abroad experience. I grew a lot as a writer because of the close attention my tutors gave to my papers, and the one-on-one tutorials pushed me to come in each week with ideas and research that I was proud of and ready to discuss. With the many amazing libraries at Oxford, I had access to a wide variety of resources for researching topics. I studied at Mansfield College, and I almost instantly felt fully immersed in the college community because everyone was so friendly, accepting, and welcoming. Oxford was definitely challenging in a number of ways, but the academic system and the independence of living on my own in a new city helped me to grow as a student and learn a lot about myself as a person. Before going abroad, I had never left the United States, so I really appreciated that my IFSA advisor abroad, Andrew, picked me up from Heathrow and took me to my hotel. Throughout the year, Andrew would take the train from London to visit the IFSA students studying in Oxford. I took six English tutorials while at Oxford and went back to my home university, Kenyon College, with more credits than I would have had if I hadn’t studied abroad! For the English major at Kenyon, we are required to take classes in various time periods, and I was able to complete all of these requirements with my tutorials. I also had the opportunity to take fun and niche subjects that had not been offered at my college back in the states, such as Fairytale, Fantasy, & Myth and Classical Reception in the Modern American Novel. The experience was amazing beyond academics, too, and I am so grateful for the friendships I formed with other students at Mansfield College. I would give anything to go back and relive IFSA’s Oxford program over and over again!