Anonymous wrote:Where does it state that this particular programme’s graduates are eligible for any UK work visa? Don’t see it on W&M site and one would think that would be emphasised as a bonus for participating in the programme.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:this sounds a very expensive proposition with no AP credit allowed, travel costs, visa fees etc wow

Study abroad programs inherently require extra costs, and joint programs like these that are 2 and 2 are like study abroad on steroids. So yeah. Not for everyone.

Plus if you live in VA, you have to pay OOS tuition. That was a deal killer for us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:this sounds a very expensive proposition with no AP credit allowed, travel costs, visa fees etc wow

Study abroad programs inherently require extra costs, and joint programs like these that are 2 and 2 are like study abroad on steroids. So yeah. Not for everyone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with this program? I have a kid who is intrigued by it and would love to hear more.

What's the student's social experience like? Do they get to join clubs, activities at each place? Do they feel part of each commjnity>
How many kids are in it each year? Do they stick together - is this their friend group?
How does housing work at St A's? Is it provided or do they have to find off campus flats?
Can they double major or minor in something else?

Have a kid in the program so will answer questions asked and try to anticipate some:

They have friends that are part of the program and at both schools. Since you have a group going back and forth, you are not going abroad alone. That said, it is in some ways like having two freshman years when you go to the other school sophomore (2nd) year. Over time they feel part of each community, W&M, St Andrews and the JDP. Housing is guaranteed at St. Andrews but some choose to move into rental flats. You cannot double major but you can minor. DC joined clubs at both schools and has had a good social experience maintaining friends at both schools. The number of students in the program varies from year to year and students do drop out of the program for a variety of reasons.

The program has been great for my DC, but it is not for everyone. Two vary distinct learning and grading styles at each school. Kids at university in the UK are adults and treated as such. St, Andrews offers no hand holding or coddling, they have rules and you need to follow them. Very few graded items, usually only two or three per semester per class and you will take 2 or 3 classes per semester depending on major. Not into reading on your own and not into or good at writing papers, then it is going to be a struggle. Grades only count in honors classes (3rd & 4th) years, but do count on W&M GPA, so don't expect to graduate with 3.8 and above.

Kids usually only come home during semester break when at St. Andrews but travel around Europe on fall and spring breaks. It can be rough getting out of class at 3:00PM and having it be dark. Often rainy as well. Like everything in life there are plusses and minuses. DC has gotten a great education, become more independent and resilient and is capable of traveling the world on her own.

If your kid is interested in working in the UK, they get an automatic 2 year work visa as a graduate of a distinguished UK university.

Hope that helps.

^^ can you link to where the HPI visa applies to the WM/StA programme? Can’t seem to find the information, thank you

Anonymous wrote:this sounds a very expensive proposition with no AP credit allowed, travel costs, visa fees etc wow

Anonymous wrote:this sounds a very expensive proposition with no AP credit allowed, travel costs, visa fees etc wow

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with this program? I have a kid who is intrigued by it and would love to hear more.

What's the student's social experience like? Do they get to join clubs, activities at each place? Do they feel part of each commjnity>
How many kids are in it each year? Do they stick together - is this their friend group?
How does housing work at St A's? Is it provided or do they have to find off campus flats?
Can they double major or minor in something else?

Have a kid in the program so will answer questions asked and try to anticipate some:

They have friends that are part of the program and at both schools. Since you have a group going back and forth, you are not going abroad alone. That said, it is in some ways like having two freshman years when you go to the other school sophomore (2nd) year. Over time they feel part of each community, W&M, St Andrews and the JDP. Housing is guaranteed at St. Andrews but some choose to move into rental flats. You cannot double major but you can minor. DC joined clubs at both schools and has had a good social experience maintaining friends at both schools. The number of students in the program varies from year to year and students do drop out of the program for a variety of reasons.

The program has been great for my DC, but it is not for everyone. Two vary distinct learning and grading styles at each school. Kids at university in the UK are adults and treated as such. St, Andrews offers no hand holding or coddling, they have rules and you need to follow them. Very few graded items, usually only two or three per semester per class and you will take 2 or 3 classes per semester depending on major. Not into reading on your own and not into or good at writing papers, then it is going to be a struggle. Grades only count in honors classes (3rd & 4th) years, but do count on W&M GPA, so don't expect to graduate with 3.8 and above.

Kids usually only come home during semester break when at St. Andrews but travel around Europe on fall and spring breaks. It can be rough getting out of class at 3:00PM and having it be dark. Often rainy as well. Like everything in life there are plusses and minuses. DC has gotten a great education, become more independent and resilient and is capable of traveling the world on her own.

If your kid is interested in working in the UK, they get an automatic 2 year work visa as a graduate of a distinguished UK university.

Hope that helps.

Anonymous wrote:My kid is an IR major at WM and has friends in the program. It has a higher than I would expect drop out rate. I don’t remember the exact percent, but it was decent. Some kids love it and thrive. Some kids get settled on one campus or the other and don’t want to miss two years on that campus, or end up feeling like the just got settled in one place and then it’s time to start over. I think your kid’s personality plays a big role here and they should think carefully about what they want their college experience to be.

My IR major didn’t apply because she wanted a second major in a foreign language, which was not possible. I believe is was also OOS tuition (?) which was a factor, esp since since we are VA prepaid 529. And the program is structured was such that study abroad at not St. Andrews for language immersion wouldn’t be possible, even if she could get the second language.

Academically, it’s apparently a great program with great outcomes. Your kids personality plays just needs to really think about whether going back and forth between the two schools is the college experience they want.