Semester at Wroxton College - An American Campus in England

The building and grounds are unmatched at Wroxton: you'll live in a facility full of more beauty and history than most museums. The faculty and staff are kind, and the peerless education you'll receive will set you in good stead for your future academic and professional career. Their connections to political and academic expertise will provide you with opportunities you would never get anywhere else. Wroxton's proximity to Stratford, Oxford, and even London mean that you'll be near to world-class experiences.

The title of my review states how I felt about Wroxton from the first time I saw it in the Fall of 1991, and how I still feel about it today. My experience living and studying abroad there changed my life. I found in myself a sense of self-reliance I had not known before and the classes I took there changed my view about the purpose of Education. The physical place of the college is beyond compare, including the building itself, the grounds and the surrounding countryside. I highly recommend taking advantage of Wroxton's beauty, walk in the grounds as often as possible, explore the village and other places nearby. There are some amazing footpaths that run right next to the grounds of the college. Go explore!!
The classes offered at Wroxton make strong connections between information shared in class and the outside world. If you study British politics you will have Members of Parliament as guest speakers and tour the Houses of Parliament. If you take the Shakespeare classes, as I did, you will read the plays in class, discuss all aspects of the plays including variations in meanings of words, as well as staging. You will attend lectures at the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford and see the plays performed on stage at the Royal Shakespeare Theater. These experiences are a far cry from reading excepts of Romeo and Juliet in your high school English class. Take advantage of every opportunity, go on every weekend trip you can and be open to all the new experiences that living abroad provides. Go! You will never regret it. Wroxton had such an impact on my life that I have gone back twice to visit, once with my future husband, and then again with my husband and our children, and I still sy it is the most beautiful place on earth

Academics:
The professors at Wroxton really care that they present the information in lectures in a fun and engaging way. Moreover they actually care that you are retaining the information and that you are enjoying your time at Wroxton, and in the UK in general. I was a STEM major and decided to take a semester off from my major and satisfy some general education requirements my college had. Wroxton is perfect for that, I encourage all STEM students to take a break from math and science and spend a semester here!
Professors I had: Dean Baldwin, Dr. Morris, Dr. Garrity, and Professor Hart

Support:
Whether you need support in America before you get to Wroxton or support in England, it is always there for you. All Wroxton staff including Brian Swanzey, reception, cooks, cleaning staff, John, Ron, Andrew, Dean Baldwin, and all of the other professors are amazing and will stop at nothing to make sure you have all the information you need and are completely comfortable.

Housing:
I can't stress this enough: living in the abbey was a priceless experience that I would give anything to have again! You literally live in a mansion during your time at Wroxton. My room was giant with mahogany furniture and a king size 4-poster bed. The rest of the abbey is equally as stunning with cozy spots to study and watch movies and play games with your friends. The gardens and grounds are breathtaking, offering countless hours of exploration. Don't get attacked by the swans!

Safety:
I never felt unsafe at Wroxton. The campus is kept very secure and you are required to participate in many fire drills to prepare you for if there ever was a fire!

Fun:
Wroxton is FILLED with day and overnight trips typically Friday-Sunday every week (some weeks the trips are Thursday-Sunday). Oh the places you'll go. Scotland, France, London, Cambridge, Oxford, Brighton, Stonehenge, countless other places. I have never travelled so much than when I was at Wroxton. You aren't required to go on these trips, but they are always there if you do want to go, all inclusive too! Or if you prefer to travel on your own, that is easy! I had Friday-Monday off every week so it was easy to travel on the weekends as well as the fall break when you have about 12 days off.

Overall:
You will not regret going here!!

Many of my college classmates studies abroad and attended more urban schools. Wroxton is a very different experience and one that I am so grateful for! It is a magical place and a unique learning environment that combines rigorous academics with a spectacular setting as well as plenty of opportunity for trips to cultural sites and cities. I am not a "city person" so the location and setting were perfect for me. No exciting night life nearby but plenty of fun!

Take advantage of every single day or weekend trip. Soak it in!

I am going to address living at Wroxton Abbey...

Your surroundings will remind you every moment you are within the Abbey walls that you are living in a historical place, but even more importantly, that this house is a fairy tale come true! You will share an experience with students, like myself, who lived in this place more than 50 years ago! Among those of attended Wroxton the most overwhelming memory is that of a magical house in which you are privileged to walk halls, stairs and rooms as have been walked by residents for hundreds of years..... so much so that on my honeymoon I went to visit the Abbey with my new husband (now 48 years ago) to show him this place that shaped so much of my life since then. It is impossible to put into words the special place my time at Wroxton has in my heart....but my heart is singing its praises....I hope you can hear it!

I was among the very early attendees at Wroxton College -- 50 years ago! It was a time when the US was embroiled in war in SE Asia and no one I knew even had a passport! I'd been among the minority when I left my home town in Massachusetts to go to New York (gasp!) to college and there I was as a college junior, going off to England for a semester. I felt like a trailblazer! And, at least for myself, I was! Living in a gorgeous English manor house, visiting with locals in the pub, having classes taught by experts in Shakespeare and British gov't (the director of the Shakespeare Institute at Stratford-upon-Avon and members of Parliament were among our lecturers)....it was all phenomenal! And my classmates: fewer than 50 of us from different colleges and universities, gathered 'round library tables to study, traveling together on weekends...so many of us became friends for life! Fifty years later, my son and daughter-in-law joined me (and some classmates) for a reunion at the Abbey because he said he needed to see this place that had made such a huge difference in his mother's life!

One of the highlights of my college experience was to study abroad during my Junior Year at Wroxton College in England.  Looking back at this time, the Spring of 1969, the choice to study at Wroxton was a life-changing experience that occurred during a critical point in my life.  The courses, the students, the faculty, the history were so unique and are treasured to this day. My time in England certainly has influenced me throughout my life and I am so very thankful that that I had this opportunity.  

I continue to enjoy staying involved with Wroxton and visiting the College whenever I can and returned to celebrate our 50-year reunion this past summer....a very special place indeed.

There was a war in Vietnam going on and we in the United States remained in our shell, not understanding where we stood in the world. Yes, we were defending democracy, but what did the rest of the world think? Well, living in England and traveling around Europe for a semester opened up my eyes about the fact that the US was not the only country to understand.

The School was a real experience for a young student, the education was exceptional and the traveling, both with the School and on my own.