By Colleen Flanagan, Spring 2012

As far as Arcadia Scotland is run, it's been pretty good! Orientation was wonderful, I really loved it. There are 12 students in my program and they did a fairly good job of trying to orient us within Scotland, St Andrews, and the UK education system. We talked about health and safety and academics, and they had a study abroad representative from St Andrews come and discuss the nitty gritty school details with us. We also discussed the cultural differences between the US and the UK, and the differences between Scotland and the rest of the UK which are really interesting and a big part of living here. They really impressed upon us the history of the Scottish nationality and we even discussed current affairs concerning Scotland's vote for independence coming up. Orientation was in Edinburgh, which I enjoyed because it let us get familiar with the city - and it's rather close to St Andrews, only an hour or so. There was a home stay weekend in between Orientation and St Andrews, which I probably could've done without, but Hamish the director said they're looking into doing the home stays actually in St Andrews next year so that would be much better.

Throughout the course of the semester Arcadia planned events, two of which I went to and had a blast. It was really nice to meet students in the other Arcadia Scotland programs and I've been able to visit some of them at their respective schools. I went on an activity weekend to the central Highlands where we climbed a mountain and went canoeing, and then recently went on a castle trip up the Northeast coast. Arcadia also came last week to send us off with a farewell (free) lunch which was a bonus.

It's interesting though because there are a lot of Junior Semester Abroad students (JSAs) in St Andrews from the US. Some are with different programs, but a lot just came on their own! Most of the people I'm closest with here are JSAs, which is helpful because we're all going through the same experience. However I've met a lot of full-time students too in my residence hall and classes which has been really great. Within St Andrews, there are a lot of international students, including a large majority of them being American. So it's a different abroad experience than most places, where meeting a Scottish student is about the same chance of meeting another American.

There is a big stress on academics here. It's a really good university, and there is a large focus on independent study, even within the lower level classes. There are two options, you can take 3 20-credit modules, or 2 30-credit ones. The lower first and second year modules are generally 20-credits, while the higher, third or fourth honor-level classes are 30-credits. I decided to take 3 20-credit modules because there were better class offerings in the film department, and I wanted a little leeway with getting used to the classes. I took 2 film classes and a Scottish music class. I had tutorials once weekly with each class which were helpful to review the lecture material. My in-class time was about the same as CUA, but if I had taken upper level classes I would have had class about twice a week, with much more time to work on assignments. There was a lot of reading assigned, with a large emphasis on essays due throughout the semester. I didn't mind the essays, and they were a good opportunity to practice research skills. Exams aren't too bad either. I had a week off for revision, which was unnecessary for me to use for studying so I traveled to Glasgow for a time, and then my 3 exams happen over a period of 2 weeks. It's a long exam period, but a good way to end the semester. The exams are essay-based.

I would absolutely recommend this program to other CUA students. I found the transition here to be pretty smooth. It's a small town, which is comforting when trying to find your way. The university itself is very community based, and the social scene and societies and clubs are of a similar caliber to CUA. It has a really good international relations department, which I think would interest a lot of our politics students, especially in the age of Scotland's vote for independence. It also has a good film department for Media Studies students that you don't often find at classical universities. Its other strengths lie in History, Art History, Divinity, and the Sciences. It has a nice two week spring break that I was able to utilize for travel, and is close enough to Edinburgh and Glasgow to make travel easy. The university and Arcadia offer various Scotland travel opportunities which is a must; the Highlands are amazing.

It's an amazing place with a rich culture and genuine people. St. Andrews would be a great choice because of its study abroad accessibility and educational qualities. Scottish schools are so different from London area schools and I hope CUA students will take advantage of it.