A review on IES Abroad London - Direct Enrollment Semester/Year Program

Reviewed by Gabriel Perreaultstudent on March 08, 2010

IES London Direct Enrollment at University College

IES London Direct Enrollment was an outstanding experience for me. The IES London Direct Enrollment program is great for independent students who want an immersive experience in the British education system. In this program you apply to study at a university in London (options include University College London, Queen Mary College, School of Oriental and African Studies, Slade School of Fine Arts, and more) and you become a normal student at this university, taking classes and living alongside the local students. My classes were excellent at University College London (UCL), however choose your university wisely as the British universities tend expect a bit more work outside of lecture than the universities in many other study abroad locations.

In contrast with many other people's experiences, my housing was very nice in London (spacious single room, my own bathroom, shared kitchen with great flatmates, ideal location in safe, central London). Important to note is that I lived in UCL housing just a 15 minute walk away from the campus. IES did a great job receiving us in London, having us arrive a day before we were expected to arrive at our host universities to get adjusted and even hired a coach bus to drive us to our university residence halls. In addition, I had no problems with paperwork between IES and UCL as IES took care of all of my arrangements effectively. With the Direct Enrollment programs you do not come into contact with the IES center very frequently, but I will say the few of us at UCL had lunch or dinner with our program director a few times throughout the semester and she constantly checked in to make sure we were adjusting well. Furthermore, one of the other students on the program got sick and ended up in the hospital for over a week and IES was there to make sure this other student was comfortable, taken care of, and that she was not having an problems with her insurance.

Finally, London is amazing. I genuinely refer to London as the capital of the world as the people are literally from every corner of the globe. For example, in my flat in the UCL residence halls my roommates were from the U.S., India, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, and Greece and the rest of London is just as fascinating. There are an unlimited number of cultural and entertainment events everyday, far more than anyone can experience in semester or year-long program.

All in all, my experience in London was excellent and I am glad I chose to do the IES Direct Enrollment program at University College London because it gave me the freedom to explore my own interests and to feel fully immersed in my location. In addition, having done the program with IES, I felt much more comfortable upon arrival and did not have to worry about any problems with paperwork or finances because they had taken care of all this before I left home.