<p>My daughter wants to study abroad in London which is great! But she wants to do it through a university there instead of her own. Apparently it's more enriching because you are housed and take classes with different people instead of just Americans. But my concern is the planning, and if it costs more. Does anyone have experience with going through a London school?</p>
<p>My kid is going to study abroad in London this fall through her American school. Her tuition is going to be 13K instead of 22K, so it is going to be cheaper. She just got assigned a room in their residential college living with other local students. She didn’t have to do any planning other than applying it through her school. </p>
<p>What is the point of going to London? Learn a new language? :))
All jokes aside, you may be able to pay the same rate as your current institution if they are an educational partner. Check with the home institution about that. In all seriousness, make sure that there is a distinct goal behind this study abroad, (wanting to intern at the parliament/tate london/finance company). If it’s just to have some fun, then go if it’s affordable!</p>
<p>When the university is top in the field your kid is interested in, I would hardly say it is just for fun. It is also naive to assume the only reason to study abroad is to learn a language. Both of my kids paid less when they studied abroad because US college tuition is the highest in the world. It is also a waste to study abroad for internship opportunity.</p>
<p>One of my kids did a study abroad in London. It was at an excellent school for his field. His college owned dorms, and they set up the whole program. BUT all of his classes were within the London university. He loved it.</p>
<p>I think if I am not mistaken, British colleges are only 3 years so you save on a 4th year of tuition.</p>
<p>Students generally study abroad for a semester or a year.</p>
<p>D did a semester in London and loved it. Even though she was living with other American students through a US based program, she made the effort to join school activities and meet locals. London may not be as exotic a study abroad locale as some, but it’s still a foreign culture and a great base for travel to Europe during holidays.</p>
<p>Mine will be studying Shakespeare in London this summer. This year it’s 450th year of Shakespeare birth. She is invited to stay near Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom, how cool is that?
<a href=“http://www.folger.edu/Content/Whats-On/Shakespeares-Birthday/”>http://www.folger.edu/Content/Whats-On/Shakespeares-Birthday/</a></p>
<p>The British calendar is different than the US academic calendar. That’s one of the reasons the US university programs in London are so popular. Getting the home institution to give credit for classes taken at a foreign university involves more jumping through hoops than getting credit for classes taken from a US sponsored program. Getting grades- taking exams-- all of these will be harder since the UK system is different than ours.</p>
<p>Getting outside scholarships to cover UK university expenses- sometimes they will, sometimes they won’t. Your D needs to sit down and make a list of all the people at her own university (registrar, bursar, financial aid rep, department chair, etc.) who will need to weigh in on her decision.</p>
<p>I studied in London for my final senior semester back in the 80’s. I lived in dorm-style apartments in South Kensington with other American students and we all had classes at the University of London. We only had school Monday through Thursday. One day excursions were offered for only a few pounds on Fridays where we visited places like Stratford Upon Avon, Stonehenge, and Oxford. Sometimes there were 3 day weekend trips to places like Edinburgh, Scotland, and pony trekking in Wales. I also worked on an independent study on the British Broadcast media where I visited BBC TV and Radio stations, conducted interviews, and attended game shows and then compared those things to the American broadcast media. It was all quite fascinating and the experience of a lifetime. We also took trips through France, Switzerland, and Italy during spring break, and I visited Greece after school let out in the spring before returning to the states for my graduation. </p>
<p>My D studied in london through her college. Worked out to be about the same cost as going to school in the uSa</p>
<p>Studying abroad through your university guarantees they will accept the credits. My daughter went to London through her university but was also enrolled in the host university (Kings College). She lived in their student housing (dorm) and housed with other Kings College students - she was not housed with study abroad students. She was enrolled in Kings College classes which she took with other Kings College students, not the study abroad students only. In addition she had some travel opportunities (may have been requirements) with the study abroad group from her university. </p>
<p>She’s getting married next year to one of the students she met in the dorm who is British. I’d say she was fully integrated. The cost was the same as a semester in her college, including housing. Naturally the travel expenses were more. She also had to buy food as there is no meal plan or dining halls. That was definitely an extra expense. But she was able to get financial aid to help with that. Her grades were translated into US university grades and I seem to remember they were adjusted as well since the British grading system is a bit harsher. She obviously enjoyed her time there very much as she plans to relocate there after she gets married (as opposed to him coming to the US).</p>
<p>My kid’s school does not use other school’s grades for GPA calculation. For study abroad, only pass or fail.</p>
<p>Mine doesn’t care for the credit. I didn’t expect her to study that much, talked her out of it. Just experience life outside the USA on her own. She finally noticed things that she never noticed when she was with us.</p>
<p>We know a lot of students who do a semester or two at Regents College, London. I believe that they are housed in the regular dormitories and take regular classes. I would suggest investigating programs through other US universities, if she doesn’t like the ones that her school offers. My nephew did a year program through Sarah Lawrence so it was easy to register and they took care of many of the logistics. If you don’t go through a US university, the visa process can be very difficult just for a semester or two. </p>
<p>Arcadia University has a solid global studies program that transfers credits to a number of schools. </p>
<p>I’m pretty sure Regents’ College is predominantly for US students doing an overseas experience.</p>