Arcadia Abroad in England & Wales

In my sophomore year of college I studied abroad in London through one of Arcadia's programs. This experience was extremely eye-opening as well as fun. Many people, including myself, were hesitant to study abroad however, Arcadia did a great job at making this transition straightforward as well as welcoming. The staff at Arcadia is very helpful in making this transition and they do everything they can to make this a positive and impactful experience. The professors at Arcadia take you on lots of interactive field trips so that the learning is always engaging and impactful. Arcadia also sponsors lots of trips that are filled with activities and very affordable. Overall, my experience was extremely positive with little critiques or bad experiences.

When I think about a time I was the happiest, I think about studying abroad in London at City University through Arcadia and all of the traveling that I was able to do while I was there. I made friends from across the US and the world as we became like a family abroad. I had an incredible academic experience that not only expanded my knowledge and understanding of the topics I was studying, but also influenced my academic and career path. I left City University of London having learned a great deal and through a different perspective than I would have in the US, which is crucial. City has top-tier International Politics modules and lecturers, with many interesting topics, which played a role in why I chose City to begin with. The Forced Migration module that I completed at City is still my favorite class that I have ever taken and it prompted me to pursue the topic of forced migration even further and more in-depth once I returned to my home school. I thoroughly enjoyed the UK style of teaching and the focus on building students' knowledge base and understanding of the topics being studied. Having my grade rely heavily on two key assessments in an entire semester was daunting at first, but not having constant assignments allowed me to spend more time reading the recommended literature and to truly absorb what I was learning and understand the topics I was studying. I retained what I learned in a way that I often did not with the US style of teaching. Additionally, Arcadia provided incredible support from arrival and orientation until departure from the program. I also knew that they were always a resource for me to reach out to if I ever needed it. I loved that they planned different excursions and meet-ups for us. The Arcadia London staff truly provides a community for students studying abroad in England through Arcadia Abroad. Arcadia also provided our housing just a short walk from campus at the Thoresby House in Islington with the rest of the program participants. We had kitchens fully-stocked with all of the utensils we needed to cook in, laundry machines, bedding provided, and so much more. Thoresby House provided me a tight-knit community while I was overseas and also helped me form lifelong friendships. Another bonus about Thoresby House is that because of its location, there is lots to do, many places to shop and eat, and public transportation readily available nearby. Lastly, I fell in love with being abroad, and with London more specifically, making moving to London at some point a life goal of mine. London has it all: an incredible food scene (including Camden Market and some of the best gluten-free food I have ever had), many green space, lively/unique/robust neighborhoods, amazing public transportation, and so much more. London is also a travel hub, which allowed me to partake in many travel adventures outside of London, as well. It was the most worthwhile experience. From the Arcadia housing (location, format, living with the other Arcadia students, etc.), to the academics at City University of London, to the Arcadia London staff, to all of the experiences I had because of this program, I can say without a doubt that I would choose Arcadia Abroad - City University of London again. I only have positive things to say about the program.

London is the perfect city to go to if you are looking for a home base from which you can explore all of Europe. I traveled to 17 countries in 5 months and loved every second of it. Arcadia also has a great support system in helping everything from the application process until you are ready to leave your program. In addition, Arcadia encourages you to acquaint yourself with the city you chose and thus holds a lot of free events.

I was very happy with Arcadia but my time at Queen Mary felt unsuccessful. The staff in the Global Opportunities office were very kind, friendly and easy to talk to. I felt as though there was no connections between students and professors, which is very different from my home institution. Meeting once a week for class made that connection harder to achieve. In addition, I feel as though the staff let me down with the strike and their lack of teaching. I wanted to study abroad to learn about and immerse myself in the London academic culture and I was unable to do that this term. The location of some of my courses were not on the campus where I was living and I was unaware that I would have to travel to a different location. Lastly, I felt as though the housing accommodations were not appropriate. There were a lot of issues with cleanliness of the common spaces and the age difference between us showed that the maturity level is different. We had a lot of issues when it people would be coming over at 3am screaming on a weekday. Also, The facilities staff was unresponsive to when something broke in my roommate's room when she called a few times. I enjoyed my time more abroad and traveling than the study part. I wanted to have a mutual balance between the two.

My experience overall was lots of fun and exciting. I enjoyed Queen Mary University and thought that the classes were not any more difficult than my university in the States and that the assessments were fair. One of the reasons I chose this university over the actual Arcadia campus in London was to be more immersed with and be able to meet more local students rather than just being with Americans and associate students. I was able to meet many local students, mostly through my living arrangement and the clubs I joined. It was lots of fun to meet them because I was able to learn more about British culture firsthand. However, I wish I did meet more associate students because the local students do not want to travel around the country every weekend like we do (since we are leaving in a few months). Therefore, if I were to do it again, I would have participated more in the associate student orientation activities at Queen Mary to be able to have met more associate students, and then would have had a better balance of British and associate student friends.
The opportunities given to me were great - from Arcadia trips and events to activities for associate students at Queen Mary, and I wish I had taken advantage of them better to have been more involved.

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.

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.