Hello, my name is John I am a Finance Major, and I went abroad during my Junior year, in the Fall of 2009. I studied for a semester at the University of St. Andrews in St. Andrews, Scotland.
WHERE –
• United Kingdom; what is it? Made up of England, Scotland, Whales and Northern Ireland.
• Distance from major cities, why St. Andrews is famous
PROGRAM –
• Choosing the country was difficult, I wanted to go everywhere. Looking at pictures, intensive research and history helped narrow it down. I just connected with it.
• IFSA – Butler was one of the only programs to go there, but they also offered a ton of in-country support.
• Upon arrival some of the most immediate differences are: Currency, Traffic (foot traffic), Speech
• Arrival orientation – gathered at a hotel in Edinburgh, met with the three on-site coordinators, 3 days of seminars and the rest was free time. Topics: cultural customs, legal/not legal (mace), host institution run down, academics run down.
ACADEMICS –
• Course structure: lecture and tutorial, classes with residential, international and American students (St. Andrews is very American/International),
• Took courses for major (economics) and GERs (geoscience, philosophy),
• Each class worth 5 credits, no busy work – all papers and exams and reports.
HOUSING –
• Dorm vs. Apartments was only options (I chose dorm) Why? Lots of community, ate meals together, programs (with alcohol!), location.
• Lived with all types of students, roomed with someone from IFSA program. Students in apartments lived with both IFSA and other students.
• Halls = houses, hall shirts, inter-hall sports
FREE TIME –
• Travel! Since Europe is close-knit, I got to travel many places and for cheap.
• Excursions provided by IFSA
• Beach walks, hall programs and balls, sporting matches (rugby), walking the town (ancient history), coffee and tea, pubs pubs pubs!
To travel is to possess the world – To me this really