Study Abroad in London, England with WorldStrides

Studying abroad was an exhilarating and eye-opening experience. It brought on many trials, but I am proud of overcoming my hesitations and facing them head-on. I benefitted from international travel by learning to become more independent and self-reliant. I’ve commuted to college every year, so it was my first time living away from home. It challenged me to be more decisive and outgoing. Because of this, I made great relationships and became more self-assured. Even navigating public transportation helped me to be more vigilant and mindful. Although I saw significant self-improvement, other aspects caused some difficulties. Before going to London, I had frequent contact with ISA to ensure I would have consistent therapy and someone to administer my allergy shots. I was confident and felt at ease knowing there would be support for my mental health and physical health. However, there were complications with my therapy and shots, which hindered me from receiving treatment until the end of the semester. Ultimately, I advise incoming study abroad students to ensure specific measures are in place before traveling to their designated country. Hence, they are guaranteed support for their mental and physical health. Despite these setbacks, I am thankful for my experience studying abroad and the chance to live in London. The city is full of activities and opportunities, so I encourage students to fully immerse themselves in the culture and meet people from different backgrounds. It broadens your perspective and truly changes your life!

ISA was an amazing program which made my transition easy and smooth! I loved my time in London studying at Kingston University. The program offered so many amazing day trips, and great traveling tips! I will always remember my time with ISA and in London!

Studying abroad was an exhilarating and eye-opening experience. It brought on many trials, but I am proud of overcoming my hesitations and facing them head-on. I benefitted from international travel by learning to become more independent and self-reliant. I’ve commuted to college every year, so it was my first time living away from home. It challenged me to be more decisive and outgoing. Because of this, I made great relationships and became more self-assured. Even navigating public transportation helped me to be more vigilant and mindful. Although I saw significant self-improvement, other aspects caused some difficulties. Before going to London, I had frequent contact with ISA to ensure I would have consistent therapy and someone to administer my allergy shots. I was confident and felt at ease knowing there would be support for my mental health and physical health. However, there were complications with my therapy and shots, which hindered me from receiving treatment until the end of the semester. Ultimately, I advise incoming study abroad students to ensure specific measures are in place before traveling to their designated country. Hence, they are guaranteed support for their mental and physical health. Despite these setbacks, I am thankful for my experience studying abroad and the chance to live in London. The city is full of activities and opportunities, so I encourage students to fully immerse themselves in the culture and meet people from different backgrounds. It broadens your perspective and truly changes your life!

Studying abroad was an exhilarating and eye-opening experience. It brought on many trials, but I am proud of overcoming my hesitations and facing them head-on. I benefitted from international travel by learning to become more independent and self-reliant. I’ve commuted to college every year, so it was my first time living away from home. It challenged me to be more decisive and outgoing. Because of this, I made great relationships and became more self-assured. Even navigating public transportation helped me to be more vigilant and mindful. Although I saw significant self-improvement, other aspects caused some difficulties. Before going to London, I had frequent contact with ISA to ensure I would have consistent therapy and someone to administer my allergy shots. I was confident and felt at ease knowing there would be support for my mental health and physical health. However, there were complications with my therapy and shots, which hindered me from receiving treatment until the end of the semester. Ultimately, I advise incoming study abroad students to ensure specific measures are in place before traveling to their designated country. Hence, they are guaranteed support for their mental and physical health. Despite these setbacks, I am thankful for my experience studying abroad and the chance to live in London. The city is full of activities and opportunities, so I encourage students to fully immerse themselves in the culture and meet people from different backgrounds. It broadens your perspective and truly changes your life!

It was a great study abroad experience for anyone whose interested in going to the UK to pursue their education. Nice weather, good Turkish, chicken shops and convenient stores to buy essentials. Exploring the multiple sites that the UK has to offer and meet a lot of great people and made some connections. Using public transportations like the underground tube, double decker busses, riding Lime bikes around the city and walking around the area. Overall, I really enjoy spending time in the country and hope to explore outside of London, besides Brighton and Windsor Castle.

I loved studying abroad in London. It's a city full of history, experiences, and views that I can't wait to go back and see! I took classes that were associated with my degree and ones that were not, which was nice because I was able to have a varied educational experience and understand how their education system compared to the one I was used to. ISA hosted excursions to places such as Windsor Castle that were a lot of fun. They also held orientation and pre-arrival information sessions which made the transition much easier. I would highly recommend this program to anyone looking to study abroad!

My time abroad was absolutely amazing! I was able to meet so many people of different ethnic backgrounds through my entire time in London. I had such a great experience learning the culture and way of life in a new country. ISA supplied great opportunities to tour the different parts of London and neighboring cities, which was great for those students who didn't get out much. Being a student apart of the ISA program, we were offered the chance to make money while abroad by becoming a social media influencer, as well a becoming blogger. All around, I had a beautiful experience which taught me so much about myself and opened me up to new perspectives and understandings. Forever grateful for beingan alumni of this program x.

Studying abroad in London with ISA truly changed my life. It was an eye opening experience into different cultures and ways of life. With the way the program was set up I had the opportunity to make lifelong friends, explore the city and even other countries. My experience was so good that I studied abroad twice in London and each was a whole new experience of it own. I am now a strong advocate for study abroad as I can already see the benefits it offers

Studying abroad in London was my first time in another country and it was truly everything I could've hoped for and more! I took a Global Shakespeare course and it was surreal to be in the country of Shakespeare and to learn his work while being immersed in the culture. As part of our course, we took a trip and got to see a play at the Globe. I had an ample amount of free time outside of classes to explore London and got to visit landmarks such as Buckingham Palace and the London Eye. I constantly talk about this experience to anyone who will listen! I'm currently in a field working with high school students and always advocate that they should look into studying abroad while they're in college!

In all honesty I was and still am thoroughly disappointed with this program. I was studying abroad in London and was housed in an apartment that did not even compare to what the others students had. Then once Covid hit we were sent home exactly half way through the program. I get that we needed to go home, however; I didn’t get a single penny reimbursed for missing out on the remaining two months of the trip. Not even a promise to go back in the future. I will never use ISA or have a nice thing to say about this program ever again. I keep getting emails so I figured I would respond.

It is cliche to say, but my study abroad experience in London was one of the best few weeks of my life! I had always dreamed of going to London, and ISA was so helpful in assisting me in choosing a program and class that satisfies a degree requirement. London is a melting pot of people, cultures, and languages. Wherever I went, I felt I got out of my comfort zone and learned something new and interesting about our world. I was pleasantly surprised by ISA's involvement in my experience studying abroad. Not only did I know the staff by name and they knew me, but they were all so helpful in making sure I felt comfortable every step of the way before, during, and after my program. One of my favorite parts of the program was the various excursions ISA provided. From visiting Windsor to seeing Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors play; there was a great amount of activities to do with ISA while also taking my own time and getting to experience the city for myself. I 100% recommend ISA and specifically this program! The people and memories that I made while abroad are some that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

My time at Oriel College created some of my favorite memories. I still think about all the fun things my group did and the material we learned. It truly was something I could not recommend enough. If you are looking at studying abroad, ISA was a great resource and would highly recommend.

I thought I didn't like learning about history. However this experience taught me so much and I have learned so many things! I also love the people I met and the experiences I got to have! And the ISA group was so amazing and so helpful!

I absolutely loved this program. They gave us the experience of taking a class at the University of Oxford, as well as lots of planned events for us to explore the culture and city. There were 2 events every day, plus class, so it kept us busy but we also had some down time/free time to do whatever we wanted. Everyone at ISA and Oxford was extremely welcoming and hospitable. I would do this trip again if I could, and I highly recommend anyone who’s able to do it!

My study abroad adventure in London was hands down the best trip ever. From impromptu picnics in Hyde Park to late-night discussions with fellow students over spicy curry in Brick Lane, every day was a new highlight. The experience not only broadened my perspective but also introduced me to a diverse network of friends and professionals. London became more than a city; it became a hub of memories that will forever shape my personal and professional journey.

This past summer I was given the opportunity to study abroad at Queen Mary’s University of London with ISA Worldstrides. This has been an opportunity that has truly changed my life and my perspective of the world. This was my first time ever traveling out the country so I had to go through the process of getting my passport, researching countries, and booking my plane ticket. When I first got to London my coordinator took me to see the Big Ben, London Eye, Thames river, and more of the big tourist attractions which were great to do on the first day and really provided me with a great start to my trip! My summer school program made it very easy to connect with other students studying abroad, I was able to meter and create friends with people from other countries such as Germany, Nigeria, and Italy. It was really cool to talk about the differences in our countries and share our own experience. I even got the opportunity to make some life long friendships with people from the United States and we’re even planning to have a study abroad group meet up one day! A great thing that I enjoyed about being in London was that I was able to travel to different places and it is very easy to get to other countries as well. One weekend I decided to spend 24 hours in Paris and it was amazing. I visited the Eiffel Tower of course and got to see its beautiful glow at night. It was in that moment where everything just felt surreal because I’ve always dreamed of traveling and am very thankful for this chance to do so. I also visited the Louvre and saw the famous Mona Lisa right along with many other great works of art! I finished the day strolling around the city sightseeing and just allowed myself to be present in the moment. I then made my way back to London that evening and the travel process was very smooth and efficient. At Queen Mary’s University I took the Managing Diversity in Business course as I am a marketing major and learning about diversity is essential in that field. My instructor was amazing and made the content very interesting. My class was combined with students from China, Hong Kong, Germany, and more and it was so great to be able to discuss how diversity is seen in our countries and how it is valued and shown. It was a great opportunity to learn more about different cultures and the way people go about their everyday lives in the business field and some of the comparisons were very shocking and made me very aware of how the world is. My class also got to take a field trip to London History Museum which was very informational and also enjoyable. I learned about about the work force and how things have progressed in London to how they are now. Overall this experience has taught me that I am unaware of how things are in different countries and I have learned to be a more open learner to different cultures and would love to travel around the world and keep learning and experiencing new things. This was a great experience that has truly changed my life and I highly recommend students to study abroad even if its just for a short period of time!

I experienced London through the Summer 1 session with ISA, and my experience couldn't have been more positive! This was my first time overseas, so I was a little nervous before departing but once I arrived and met with ISA's staff and the other students in my program, my worries went right away! ISA did a great job introducing us to the city through excursions, and the marketing class I took was academically enriching. By the end of the trip, London felt like a second home. Thank you again, ISA!

I loved my study abroad experience. I felt at home in Kingston. Living in Kingston is a unique experience, as it's about 45 minutes outside of central London, so it is a much slower pace of living. One of my main objectives in going abroad was figuring out if I could live comfortably in another country, and after this experience, it is safe to say that I definitely can. It was very intimidating going abroad to a country where I didn't know anyone, but it also caused me to step outside my comfort zone and helped me gain confidence when facing unfamiliar situations. London is such a unique, huge city, and you'll find that each area is completely different. When it comes to going abroad to London, it definitely is costly. I applied for scholarships through ISA/Tean and my home university, which helped fund my experience abroad. To anyone going abroad, I suggest researching the scholarships offered through your home and host university and scholarships offered by private companies. Going abroad is an experience I will never take for granted, and I cannot wait to go abroad again.

I absolutely loved my study abroad experience, and I am so grateful that I was able to do it following the COVID lockdown. I studied abroad at the University of Westminster located in Central London and stayed in an off-campus flat (but still under the university) in Shoreditch, which is in East London. It was super easy to both adjust to and navigate the city whether it was through the Tube or by bus. I loved both living and exploring in the city. I got to go to Kensington Palace, watch Hamilton live (my first Broadway show), a London basketball game, Buckingham Palace, and more. All of my classes were experiential, so I not only got to learn a lot inside of the classroom through guest speakers, discussions with other study abroad or domestic students, or lectures from professors, but I also got the opportunity to explore London through an academic lens. Through my criminology courses, we had field walks where we learned about the history of criminality and the London underworld. I took Black London: From Tudors to Today where I went to the Museum of London Docklands, Black Cultural Archives, Bank of England, and the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. England, specifically London, has an extensive history of colonization, but is also incredibly diverse racially. Unfortunately, however, there were a lot of strikes by both the train and lecturers, and as a result, I did not have a consistent academic schedule. Socially, I went to a couple of university-sponsored events, mainly through the dance team, but I primarily went to the excursions hosted by ISA. I went on the tour around London, Stonehenge, Brighton, Bath, the Shakespeare World Theatre, and Borough Market--all wonderful experiences that I am very grateful to have taken advantage of given that they are not close to London. I also went on a couple of day trips to both Cambridge and Oxford--both of which were doable because I lived close to train stations that went outside of London; I actually went to Cambridge with a couple of people through the ISA program. Overall, I am very grateful for my study abroad experience and would recommend it to everyone.

My experience with ISA was a memorable one, to say the least. The program itself was very trustworthy and reliable. The excursions that were included in the entire program were also extremely fun and exciting. I would not have picked a better program to go to London with. The Kingston University ISA program staff were also extremely helpful and kind to me while I was there for the semester of Fall, 2015. I enjoyed every last minute of my time in Kingston Upon Thames, London, England and I cannot express in words how much I miss it and long to go back as soon as I can. When I arrived back home to the states after a semester abroad, I decided to apply to become a Global Ambassador for ISA at my home university. From the semester I arrived home until I graduated this past December 2017, I worked as a GA on campus and helped younger students with their goals to study abroad, especially ones who were interested in the ISA programs. Without a doubt, studying in London with ISA was one of the best decisions I've made in my life, hands down, and I would not have had it any other way.