Don't get me wrong, there are countless great things about Scotland. But I have to say, their higher education system is not my favorite.
The Linguistics department here is amazing-- tons of people, events, and innovative research. But the structure and expectations of courses in general don't really make sense. Many first-years have never written an academic paper in their life, yet they aren't given clear guidelines as to how. Upper level courses assign as much graded work in a semester as many Pomona classes do in a week or two. And by Week 10- this week- lectures end. Most students have no class between Thanksgiving and Christmas! I basically have a month to write 3 papers and prepare for one final exam-- and absolutely nothing else to do but Christmas shop and go to Paris and Barcelona! This would be totally unheard of in the States. I can't complain, because the free time is great... but I feel bad for the students who, semester after semeseter, might not be getting their money's worth...
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