Hey!
As the finale of this three part series I have been doing on my American friends studying abroad in England, I am going to introduce you to Audrey. Her story is particularly interesting because her study abroad resulted in her making a life changing decision. However, before I get ahead of myself let’s hear from Audrey herself!
To give some insight into how her journey began, I asked her about why she decided to do a study abroad and specifically why England.
“To start off with some background I have to mention that I’ve always wanted to go to school in Europe. Growing up I had a ton of friends (and family friends) from different places – Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Australia, South Africa… All over the world. In my mind it would be a very meaningful experience to live somewhere outside the US for a significant amount of time. However it’s not very common to do, so when it came to decide where to go to school I decided to stay in state and attend Western Washington University. When I arrived I wasn’t very happy with my decision and I decided to start to talk with my study abroad department about a school that I was interested in – Richmond University in London. I applied to study abroad there for a semester, as well as the school. I spent my fall Semester of 2015 in London, and I am now Spending my Spring Semester in Rome, Italy.”
Since moving here myself I love hearing about what differences Americans notice about England and if I have noticed these things myself. I get a lot of questions about America from my English friends and enjoy teaching them about my own culture instead of just learning about another. It seems to me that a lot of the information that the English have about America is from TV shows, movies, and stereotypes which makes for some interesting conversations sharing what it is really like. In both instances, England learning about America and America learning about England, I find it fascinating what stands out to different people and how it changes their perspective of their own country. England and America certainly have their similarities which makes moving away from home easier, but there are many aspects that make each country stand out.
With this in mind I wanted to hear about how she felt about living in England and what aspects of society stood out to her.
“I loved my experience in London. It was hard at first to adjust and meet friends, however when I did I had the best experiences. When you live in a different country you will learn about a new culture, however I was surprised at how much I learned about myself. Things move at a slower pace in my opinion in London when it comes to school compared to in America. Not the material itself, but the intensity of test and quizzes. I noticed that tests, especially multiple choice tests aren’t looked as an effective way to determine how much one has learned. There are a lot more essays, and projects – I really had to prove that I knew what I’ve learned. That being said since there weren’t as many tests, I had to hold myself accountable to keep up with everything because in the middle and end of the semester that’s when everything is due.
Society wise I noticed Americans are much louder than Europeans. London is also very orderly, so if you are on an escalator, and you want to stand, please stand on the right. People will get mad at you. Culturally things aren’t too different in my opinion – just little bits and pieces of advice for navigating through London.”
Audrey points out a difference that Paige noticed as well: the teaching format of school. Let me give you a quick breakdown. Specifically at Surrey, I would assume it is similar elsewhere, each semester you have four modules or classes. Each class will have a lecture that are usually two hours long and depending on the module you will either have a lab where practical application of the lecture material is learnt, these are usually two hours long, or a tutorial which move at a slower pace that covers material in the lectures, these are usually one hour long. For some classes you may have all three types of learning each week. Grades in the class are broken down into the final exam which from personal experience can count from 50%-80%. It does vary though, the teacher can make it whatever they want, as some classes don’t have a final exam at all and are purely based on coursework! The rest of the grade is made up through either a mid-term or in coursework. Coursework are big projects that allow you to demonstrate that you can actually do what you are learning. There are often only one or two projects per semester, but take weeks to complete each one. There often isn’t weekly coursework, unlike American universities. This means that each coursework or test is very important to do well in. Finally, grades are all done in percentages and broken into five categories:
1st = 70%-100%
2:1 (pronounced two-one) = 60%-70%
2:2 (pronounced two-two) = 50%-60%
3rd = 40%-50%
Fail = 0%-40%
Generally a 2:1 and above is considered a good mark. I first thought that these percentages were super low and that getting a 1st would be trivial, but it’s not. If you are taking or took AP tests, the grading scale is similar to that. To get a 5, in some classes, all you need is above a 60% or something seemingly low. The same general rule applies to university grades here.
As Audrey has finished her study abroad, I wanted to hear some advice that she would give to other Americans coming to study in England.
“Some advice for people to visit in London would have to be: To take a walk through Hyde Park – If you are really loving it rent a bike (I think it’s a pound, or two). If you are in London during the Holidays you must take a walk around Oxford Circus as well as do a little shopping. Also if you are there during the holidays you have to go to Winter Wonderland – It is grand and will get you into the holiday spirit. Lastly go to Nando’s and get the Chicken Churrasco Thigh Burger with Chips for a fast meal – it’s my favorite. If someone is into going out, the clubbing scene is amazing in London, you could go out every night in London – However I would suggest to study abroad students that they shouldn’t spend all their time going out at night and being hungover in the day just because there is so much to see. There is a reputation for study abroad students to just come, and get really drunk and party all the time and then go home. And there’s so much more to do! The UK is great – I would also suggest going to Bath, Cambridge, Wales… explore as much as you can.
However if I would suggest anything to anyone who wants to study in England would be to save your money. It will be one of the best times of your life – however it will cost you. That conversion rate is no joke.”
To be blunt, England is definitely more expensive than America. Not by a crazy amount, but it is a good thing to be aware of. My general idea is that the number value for things may be similar, but the currency is not. For example, a burger that costs about $10 in America, would cost £10 in England, but converting pounds to dollars it would be about $15 in England. The rate is about 1:1.5. It is feasible, however, to afford everything you want to do and see! I suggest just accepting the price difference and not stress about it too much. Living in England, whether it’s a couple months or a few years, is an experience and you should get the most out of your time while you’re there.
Finally let me tell you why I love Audrey’s experience. As she told you before, she signed up to come to school in England as a temporary study abroad. However, her time in England impacted her so much that she is packing up her life in America and permanently moving to England to finish her studies! She says “I will be returning back to London in the late summer of 2016, and that will be home base while I finish school… and maybe even longer we will see.” I am so excited for her. I love that her time in England was so influential that she is willing to take her studying abroad to the next level. Her story shows the impact that living abroad has. She told me that she doesn’t even “think [she] can live in the US anymore hahaha” and goes on to say “I just love the UK so much and I made two really amazing friends as well as others… I don’t know I just love the lifestyle over there especially when it comes to people around our age.” I hope that through her experiences you can see how much of an impression living in a new country has and that you are willing to make the leap and come experience it yourself. It is something that you will never regret doing and the lessons learnt will follow you wherever your life takes you.
With all three experiences in mind and three different impacts, I hope that these stories have helped you get a greater insight into living in England. I would love to hear from you if you have any questions about their stories or my own and what it is like to be in England.
Until next week,
Holly
