IES Abroad London

IES Abroad London- Health Practice and Policy was such a great opportunity. I'll be honest, London was never a place that I was dying to go to. But the program fit with my major and school and had a lot of great aspects of it. The staff at IES, both within the Health Practice and Policy program and outside of the program, were great! They help you to feel accommodated and comfortable with being abroad. Although the orientation at the beginning of the program was a little boring, it was very helpful and helped me to feel more at home in this new city. London itself was amazing. I am not much of a city person, but I really loved living in central London. You live at a residence hall called Kings Cross Student Accommodations. The rooms are SMALL, but everything is in Europe! The building itself is very modern and really nice. There is also a gym in the building that I took advantage of every day. The location is really what is great about Kings Cross. By the name of it, you can probably predict that it is right near Kings Cross Station. Being near such a large station made transportation extremely easy. The IES academic building is only about a 20 minute walk or you can take the tube. The academics were great and the professors were all very experienced and helpful in any way you may need it. Through the health practice and policy program, you will take two HPP classes at the IES center as well as an elective course at the center. The classes are really interesting and the work is very manageable. One thing that I would suggest is to start working on things early! You will have your prompts for your final papers when you start the class. Start working on it as soon as you can (especially before Oxford starts) so that you are not stressed at the end of the semester. The other part of this program is a course at Oxford University. This is an 8 week program, so you will not go for the first month and a half or so, so take advantage of your three day weekends while you can! Oxford was a great opportunity and a cool experience. But I'll be honest, having to travel there and spend the day on Fridays was a little bit of a drag as it makes weekend travel a little bit harder. The course also requires a good amount of work. You will have about a 1500 word paper due each week so make sure you don't procrastinate! The class itself is pretty interesting but it certainly was not my favorite part about the program. Even with Oxford on Friday's, I was still about to travel to 7 different countries! One being Jamaica which you will go to at the end of the program. Jamaica was probably one of my favorite parts of the program. It is a really great opportunity and gives you a chance to really see first hand some of the things you have been learning about and see how the healthcare system works. Overall, I really loved my semester abroad. One thing that I would suggest is to travel around Europe, but also don't forget about London and other parts of England! Take advantage of all the opportunities you have and enjoy the time you have because the semester goes by so fast!

I travelled abroad to London for 8 weeks as a part of IES Abroad's 2015 UK Today program. I had the time of my life, with so many amazing new friends! I had the experience of fully immersing myself in a different culture and meeting people from all over the world. I got to take in an incredible amount of beautiful art, and try new foods that I never would have tried before! I was able to travel outside of the UK and extend my experiential learning in other countries. I came back to New York a changed person with a refreshing new outlook on life, and it's all because of studying abroad. I couldn't be happier to have had this amazing experience.

Spending my summer in one of the best cities in the world is an opportunity I will always be grateful for and always remember. It was without a doubt one of the best summers of my life. I chose to study abroad for several reasons, however two of the most important reasons would have to be to find a sense of myself and to immerse myself into another culture. However, I did find comfort in England because there was no language barrier.

I believe that traveling the world is the best form of education one can receive. IES Abroad gave me so many opportunities to explore England, especially in the summer months. London has so much to offer such as music festivals, activities in Hyde Park, free museums, Wimbledon, and so much more. IES staff also takes several trips with students including Stonehenge, Bath and Brighton.

The academics in London definitely pushed me because it was more informal and discussion based compared to the lectures I receive on my home campus. I liked the challenge though.

Studying abroad through the IES Abroad London and Jamaica programs was one of the best decisions I have done in my life. I chose this program because I am a Public Health major and I am interested in learning about people's behavior and how different cultures deal with public health issues. This program was the right fit for me because the classes further my knowledge in public health, allowed me to take a class at Oxford, gain internship experience through a service learning portion of the program, and a week long hands on experience in Jamaica!

I would recommend this program to ALL public health majors. It is a great program to further your interest and provide different perspectives on what exactly you want to go into in Public Health. I also believe that if your not a bit interested in Public health you should not enroll in this program because it is very public health based. Psychology majors and other majors might not enjoy this program as much since its all public health.

London is a great location to study abroad. It's very a modern city so for those traveling from small towns, this will be a change of atmosphere! It also has a lot of history and culture. Its also very expensive since the currency is the pound sterling. Be sure to have some savings before going on this program as you will need money to enjoy all the city has to offer. Since I was on this program I will share some advice... take advantage of the free museums, free events and festivals held as well. Take advantage that you will also be in Europe, so travel to many places but also leave some room to enjoy London.

This program includes a Service Learning Placement and a course at Oxford University. The Service Learning Placement is another feature to this amazing program. I was at a homeless shelter and it really helped shaped my views of homeless people in London. I met people from all over and I was able to learn about their stories and tell them my story. My advice is to try to get a placement that fits you and your future goals. The course at Oxford has its ups and downs. On the plus side you will be able to say you took a class at the famous Oxford University as well as get a feel of what their teaching styles are. For example, like having a tutor (you'll learn all about this). Taking the course at Oxford was amazing but having class on Friday while everyone was out traveling was not fun. The long commute and waking up really early was also not fun. But again, this program is what you make of it so although Oxford has some negatives overall, it was a really valuable experience.

What I believe is the best cherry on top of this program is the one week ending in Kingston, Jamaica. The program attendees spend one week volunteering at health clinics and learning about the health system in Jamaica and the Caribbean. I must be honest and say that although I was in London for 3 months and Jamaica for only one week, this part was my favorite and what I believe to be the BEST part. The hands on experience and interactions with the culture, people, and the health systems is something I cannot put in words. Ill end with this.. if you want to have a public health adventure that includes taking a course at Oxford University, having hands on experience in London and Jamaica, all while studying abroad in one of Europe's best places, then I say this program is for YOU.

When I arrived back in America after my study abroad experience, I was bombarded with the same question from friends and family: "How was it?" I struggled to come up with an adjective, even a few adjectives, to succinctly describe my experience in Europe. Turns out it's impossible to; I don't think I'll ever be able to put into words how amazing and challenging and transforming my semester in London was.

From the location to the academics to the living situation, everything about the IES program exceeded expectations. London is such a vibrant city, with so much to offer. It was too easy to fall in love with the unique combination of history and growth. The location of the program's residence halls was incredibly ideal considering it was within a five minute walk from the largest Tube station. I consider my academic experience abroad to be extremely beneficial to my education. England does school quite differently than traditional American schooling and it was a pleasure to be a part of such a dynamic interaction for a semester. IES provided engaging courses with equally engaging professors. I truly walked away with much more knowledge than I came with. Further than just an increase in knowledge, my semester in London allowed me to gain a vast appreciation for different cultures and experiences. For that I am beyond grateful.

Studying abroad on IES' Study London program was hands down the best decision I made in my college career. They prepared all of their students for life in London. The staff was genuine and accessible whenever you needed them. I think one of my biggest take aways from the experience is the fact that still talk to the friends that I made nearly every day. If you're studying abroad in London, I can't think of a better program to do it with.

One of my favorite things about this program is that they plan trips for their students that they can sign up for, and at first I didn't want to go on these trips but once I made my friends there, I knew I couldn't miss out. The Scotland trip was probably one of the best traveling experiences I had. It's a time when you can get to know the on-site staff and other students in your program much better- especially through Karaoke in a little town in Scotland. IES does so much to make their program unique and fun for everyone.

London is a place where you can just jump on the tube, get off at a stop you have never heard of before, and explore. That is what I did to get to know the city and it is how I found some of my favorite spots!