Comments on: Cultural Exchange http://www.nouse.co.uk/2010/01/26/cultural-exchange/ Award-winning University of York Student Newspaper and Website Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:06:09 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Fionna Tod http://www.nouse.co.uk/2010/01/26/cultural-exchange/#comment-65141 Fionna Tod Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:25:45 +0000 http://www.nouse.co.uk/?p=19021#comment-65141 I'm not sure what your point is with this article. Are you simply warning students that studying abroad might not be academically beneficial or are you commenting on the dangers of 'losing' a year of university life? I studied abroad at UC San Diego last year and I agree with Adrian Choa that it's the best thing I've ever done. It was academically challenging in ways I never could have experienced at York. As a History/Politics student I would have taken at most 6 classes last year at York, but in California I took 13. The terms are 10 weeks long, like York, but in most classes you have midterm exams in weeks 5/6, essays due in week 8 and finals in week 10. Many arts students at York have never and will never experience that sort of academic intensity. It certainly wasn't a 'free holiday'- we got 4 weeks off the whole year (3 weeks at Christmas and 1 for Spring Break), that's half the amount of a York student. Yes, I got to live by the beach. But, despite what you may think as a York student who's used to cold and rain, that doesn't equal slacking off. UCLA, UCSD, UCB, and UCSB are all top 10 universities in the USA, and rank much higher in the world than York ever will. I’m not sure what your point is with this article. Are you simply warning students that studying abroad might not be academically beneficial or are you commenting on the dangers of ‘losing’ a year of university life?

I studied abroad at UC San Diego last year and I agree with Adrian Choa that it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. It was academically challenging in ways I never could have experienced at York. As a History/Politics student I would have taken at most 6 classes last year at York, but in California I took 13. The terms are 10 weeks long, like York, but in most classes you have midterm exams in weeks 5/6, essays due in week 8 and finals in week 10. Many arts students at York have never and will never experience that sort of academic intensity. It certainly wasn’t a ‘free holiday’- we got 4 weeks off the whole year (3 weeks at Christmas and 1 for Spring Break), that’s half the amount of a York student.

Yes, I got to live by the beach. But, despite what you may think as a York student who’s used to cold and rain, that doesn’t equal slacking off. UCLA, UCSD, UCB, and UCSB are all top 10 universities in the USA, and rank much higher in the world than York ever will.

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