Summing Up Goldsmiths…

So my blog kind of dropped off right as finals were starting at Goldsmiths and then I was busy traveling and doing other things! But looking back on this blog, I realize that there is a lot of information I left out about Goldsmiths College and New Cross and the Hampshire study abroad program that might be very helpful to any Hampshire students who are thinking about doing the London exchange program in the future.

I’ll start with my experiences and impressions of Goldsmiths, since you’ll be studying there! Overall, I had a good academic experience although it was different from Hampshire in many ways. During your semester you take four courses in any departments of your choosing. You choose your courses by order of preference before arriving at Goldsmiths and then during orientation you find out which courses you’ve been put into. You can change courses but it’s more of a process than at Hampshire since you have to notify Hampshire about it and then provide proof that your change has been okay-ed. Each course also meets only once a week for two hour-long periods; an hour lecture and an hour seminar (which can be back to back or at different times in the same day). This was a little weird coming from Hampshire’s discussion-based classes, but the lectures were mostly interesting and each professor (or ‘tutors’ as they’re called in England) approached the seminars differently.

It might be hard to find courses that are exactly what you’re studying at Hampshire (after all, Hampshire courses are absurdly specific a lot of the time) but it’s very easy to find courses that relate to what you’re studying– you just need to make the connections yourself. A good way to do this is with the final essay which is the end product of each course. Every course has its own requirements but generally I had little to no coursework aside from weekly readings and the final essays. Goldsmiths didn’t feel as academically rigorous as Hampshire feels, but this turned out to be a good thing since it left me more time to explore London and do some traveling! Between the lack of busy work and courses only meeting once a week, I ended up having quite a few days off each week to do other things.

Loring Hall

As for housing, it was pretty much what I expected. International students are all put in Loring Hall, which is right on campus and is a short walk away from all of the academic buildings. Goldsmiths is also right in the middle of New Cross and right off the main street, which is convenient for eating out, grocery shopping, and going out to pubs 🙂 Loring Hall is a big complex of student housing buildings, which are divided into flats of about eight people. Each flat has a shared kitchen/common space with two stoves, two sinks, and two sets of fridges and freezers (but small British ones), so there was a lot of space to cook. The rest of the flat is just individual rooms (all singles) which are about the size of a single Hampshire room but with a small personal bathroom attached. The bathroom was definitely a plus. I was surprised to find that I was put in a flat with four of the other Hampshire students who came and then two other international students (one of which mysteriously disappeared to some other flat…). I was expecting to be housed with some British students, but it was a great experience living with everyone in my flat and it was great to get to know people from Hampshire that I didn’t know well or at all previously 🙂

My room

 

other side of my room (bathroom on the left)

 

view out my window

 

Mo in our kitchen 🙂

Overall, Goldsmiths has its differences but the general vibe of the students and faculty is very Hampshire-esque. A lot of students that I met and talked to seemed to be both open-minded and politically-minded in a very Hampshire sort of way. There is a lot of student activism going on around campus and there are constantly events and screenings having to do with different issues of awareness.

Since Goldsmiths isn’t an isolated campus and many students live off campus in other parts of London, there isn’t as much of a solid community feeling to the school but you can still find that sense of community if you look. There are many societies (clubs) that you can join even if you’re only going to be there for a semester and there are a lot of student events at the Student Union that run on a weekly basis, so it’s easy to meet other students.

Since I mentioned the Student Union, let me just say that this place is fantastic. The SU is all in one building and the second floor houses the Natura Cafe, which is an all-natural vegetarian cafe that serves up great breakfast and lunch options as well as coffee and tea and it is also full of comfy couches. It’s a good place to get work done and it was a nice option in New Cross where bustling coffee shops with wifi like the ones in Amherst and Northampton are pretty hard to find. On the top floor of the SU there is a bar and two outdoor patios as well as seating and a dancefloor/stage. The bar seems to be open pretty much all of the time, so if you need a drink in between classes that’s the place to go (just kidding, kind of). The SU also hosts student events on weeknights which are a good option for getting out of your room and having a fun night while not traveling too far away. Every Tuesday night is quiz and karaoke night, which we all started going to every week, and every Wednesday night is Club Sandwich, which is just a big dance party with a DJ and deals on drinks. The SU was definitely one type of place that all of us Hampshire students wished we could see at Hampshire as well (and we all agreed that the Tavern could use some more excitement, just saying…).

Overall, studying at Goldsmiths was a good experience. It was a little different that what I had expected when I arrived, but the students and faculty were welcoming and supportive and I came away with a valuable academic experience. It was good to take a little break from Hampshire and experience a different college setting as well.