Through CEA and their study abroad program in London, we attend the University of Westminster. Go Dragons! It is a fantastic place full of so many different cultures that seem to add a bit to your culture shock, but also your understanding. After being here for the past semester, I will give you my “expert” advice on the schooling system here in the UK:
Grades: It is a bit confusing at first, but after a while you will get the hang of it. Courses here are graded out of 100% but ore only counted out of 70%, so, if you get a 68 on a paper, don’t freak out because you got an 'A,' if you get below 40, it is time to start worrying because most home universities do not take anything under. There is very little coursework here: Most modules only have one long essay due mid-semester and an exam at the end of the year. You may be asking, what if I am only here for the fall semester? Don’t worry, I’ll get to that.
Classes: There are normally two parts to a module here, you get a lecture with about 100 people and a smaller, 15-person seminar. These both are only held once a week. Please note that I am going off my own modules which are all Marketing and Economics based because I am taking courses that all count for something at my home University. If you are taking electives, you will have a lot more fun. I definitely recommend the cultural classes given to abroad students; all they do is take you to museums.
Year-Longs: If you are a year-long student like me, your courses in the first semester will be taken as the proper students here. You will typically have one coursework due mid semester and one exam at the end of the year exam session. So you will have to study extremely hard for the exams for the classes from the first semester.
Semester-Longs: if you are a fall semester student, you will have the regular coursework due at the normal time mid-semester. You will also have an alternative assignment due at the end of the semester, which is normally another essay. If you are a spring semester student, you will do the same as the students here and turn in your coursework mid-semester and take exams during the exam period.
Campuses and Housing: There are many campuses all over London. Depending on your major, they are all central to the happenings around the city. There are two main living locations for CEA students: Marylebone and Alexander Fleming. Marylebone is in the Marylebone campus and just on the northern part of the Central London district, opposite the Baker Street Tube Station and Madame Tussaud’s. Alexander Fleming is in Shoreditch which is a wonderful area full of street art and night life, however, it is a bit far from any of the campuses and just east Central London.
I hope you will find this informative for your wonderful experience here in London. It truly is the greatest city in the world!
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| Lobby at the Marylebone Campus |
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| Centrally Located on Marylebone Road in London, Marylebone Campus |
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| Everyone has to have card access to be able to enter any campus |
Hanna Neitzke is the Spring 2015 CEA MOJO in London, England. She is currently a Senior at Humboldt State University.