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  • How To Find a British Boyfriend

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    How To Find a British Boyfriend

    First a disclaimer: This is my own experience of dating and falling in love in London, as a straight, white, monogamous, cis gender gal from America. I cannot speak for other identities, nor do I pretend to have a comprehensive grasp of the scene. I can say London is a hugely diverse city, bursting with…

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  • How to Pack for Summer Study Abroad in London

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    How to Pack for Summer Study Abroad in London

    Ever since I started college, I’ve dreamed of studying abroad. With just a couple of semesters left, it was now or never. When I applied and got accepted into the London School of Economics for a summer program, I was overwhelmed with excitement. I had four months to prepare for an experience I would forever…

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  • The Highs and Lows of Oxford University’s Tutorial System

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    The Highs and Lows of Oxford University’s Tutorial System

    Let’s start with some background information about the Oxford academic system, which follows a trimester calendar with eight-week terms.   Students attend tutorials, not classes.    Instead of fixed syllabi and a professor and classmates for each class, Oxford students have weekly and biweekly individual sessions with one tutor.  Tutors can hold tutorials with two or three…

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  • Exploring African-American Identity in London

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    Exploring African-American Identity in London

    During spring semester of my junior year, I travelled beyond American borders for the first time in my life, to London. Living in London both challenged and deepened my understanding of my identity as a black American. In the classroom, black students were still very underrepresented at King’s College, but London itself is one of…

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  • Four Ways to Make Study Abroad Happen on a Budget

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    Four Ways to Make Study Abroad Happen on a Budget

    As a low-income student, I didn’t think study abroad would be an option for me, but with encouragement from my study abroad advisor, I applied to a few programs. When I was accepted to the IFSA London program at King’s College, I was hesitant, knowing I couldn’t afford London prices for five months.   Thankfully, with…

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  • Four Ways American and English University Systems Differ

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    Four Ways American and English University Systems Differ

    As an American at University College London in England, I am learning all over again what it means to be a college student as I adjust to life at uni. In a month, here are the different ways I’ve noticed that English students are taught, treated, and assessed in the UK higher education system.   For starters,…

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  • New Points of View

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    New Points of View

    It wasn’t until I was sitting down in the row of a theater in London, right in between two friends I had made through IFSA, witnessing the one on my right, IK, shamelessly engage with and scream at the actors on stage that I thought to myself “I have never met someone quite like him.”…

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  • Where to Make Friends While Studying Abroad

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    Where to Make Friends While Studying Abroad

    When I went to London in January, I had no one from my home school joining me in the same program. I was worried about how I would make new friends in such a short amount of time while also adjusting to a new environment. Luckily, I was able to step out of my comfort…

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  • British Work Culture vs. American Work Culture

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    British Work Culture vs. American Work Culture

    Interestingly, despite having the opportunity to travel to eight different countries in Europe, one of my largest culture shocks while abroad was the difference in European work culture, specifically in the UK, versus in the United States. During my time in London, I was a 20-minute walk away from London’s financial center, which is the…

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  • Rediscovering Myself Through Studying Abroad

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    Rediscovering Myself Through Studying Abroad

    Studying abroad in London made me reflect on who I was, who I am, and who I want to be. The sound of “studying abroad” connotes a lot of “news” – at least for me. Exploring new cities and cultures, meeting new people, and discovering new passions. All of them were true, but in retrospect,…

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