Middlebury College - CMRS Oxford Humanities Program

My time at Middlebury CMRS was really rewarding. Adjusting to a new academic environment and system was definitely intimidating at first, but I grew to really appreciate the change, especially because of how much it pushed me outside of my comfort zone. Until coming to this program, I didn't realize how quickly I could read and write, and that helped me overcome intellectual/academic perfectionism. The tutorial system was definitely difficult and lots of work, but it felt really good to be taken so intellectually seriously by Oxford tutors, and the system also allowed me to create strong relationships with each of my tutors. By the end, I felt very proud of myself for taking on such a difficult course/workload and realizing that I could still keep up and do well. It built my intellectual confidence and also allowed me to meet some really wonderful people and create some really cool experiences and memories.

Participating in this program will forever be one of the best decisions I've ever made. The administration and staff were incredibly responsive to the students' concerns and helped us immerse ourselves into both a new country and intimidating academic environment. The professors they recruited to teach us were also wonderfully knowledgeable and kind; my writing grew significantly under the author Rebecca Gowers and my knowledge of Shakespeare was put into fun twists with Dr. Juliana Dresvina. Apart from the academics, it was invigorating to spend an entire semester with a cohort of students who were just as excited as I was to experience Oxford, learn, and do life together for a little bit (i.e. Thanksgiving dinner, birthday parties, pubbing, shows, traveling). I've come away with a greater understanding of English and history, a group of friends I am so proud to know, and a newfound confidence in my academic and social abilities.

I knew that this program would be academically challenging when I signed up. It definitely lived up to that reputation. However, if you are able to stay on task and complete your assignments (and they don't have to be the best papers you've ever written), then I think anyone (no matter what subject you study) can learn a ton. I think the program certainly made me a better student, and to be completely honest, after completing CMRS, being back at my home university feels much easier. Unfortunately, in terms of cultural exchange and integration, there isn't really a lot. Because of the way the tutorials are structured, you don't get to meet Oxford students. The seminar course is the only course you take with other students (but they are your peers from CMRS). The only way I met Oxford students was through joining clubs. It's awesome to live in Oxford, and St. Michael's Hall is right in city center, so you really do get a feel for the city over the duration of the program. If you want to really feel that "cultural exchange" you have to go out and seek those experiences for yourself - CMRS does not do this for you. I found that most weekends I would go out with friends from CMRS, and we would go to the pub or one of the clubs. That was quite fun. Something to take into consideration is that this program doesn't give you time to travel. So while the program was happening, I was not able to travel very far. I did travel to nearby cities, but even that was time consuming and tiring. Because the program is so demanding, you become very protective of your time, and that makes traveling quite difficult. There was one "break" we had, which turned out to be basically just a long weekend (it was four days or so). During this time I was able to go on a 4-day trip about 4 hours from Oxford with some friends from the program. I wished that break was longer. Apart from that break, you really end up doing all of your traveling after the program ends. Overall, I had a great time. I started some good friendships. I definitely worked hard on academically. In the moment it can feel like "why did I sign up for this," but after you've completed the program you feel so proud of yourself. I think it's a great program for students who want to have a challenging study abroad experience that they'll look back on with pride.