Scarlett Rampton was an exchange student from the University of Portsmouth (Portsmouth, England) at K-State during the Fall 2012 semester, majoring in Political Science.
I was selected to come to Kansas State University as an exchange student for the 2012 Fall semester. From the moment I was told about K-State by my professors back in Portsmouth and having researched the university, I knew that I had to come here. Pictures do not even do the university justice to just how beautiful it is. Set in amazing countryside, Manhattan is worlds away from the city of Portsmouth with its campus based university and sense of community which has been embodied into this college town. Game days provide the ultimate example of the sense of community created by K-State, as the hype which surrounds any game is incredible. Everyone wears the university colors in the town and gets behind the team to ensure that the other team and their fans are intimated by the Wildcat spirit. Whether it’s tailgating before a football match or celebrating winning the sports fixtures in Aggieville, there is so much for anyone to immerse themselves within the all-American sporting culture created by K-State.
By choosing to major in Political Science, I was enabled to pick classes that dove tailed with my degree back in the UK and ones which would help me write my dissertation. The huge selection of classes provided by the Political Science department enabled me to specialize in the subjects and topic areas that I was most interested. One of the greatest advantages of studying at K-State was to access a different perspective on how American politics is perceived and taught in the country itself, instead of being taught about it from an outside perspective in Europe. Classes at K-State entailed a lot more contact hours with the professors than in Portsmouth, along with having just lectures instead of lectures and seminars. This change took a bit of getting used to and shows the differences in learning styles between the two universities. The attitude of the students at K-State is somewhat admirable and should be noted by the UK universities. Everyone at K-State actually wants to learn and will put in 100% effort to achieve the best results possible. This is greatly aided by the constant reading quizzes assigned by the professors to ensure that the whole class is keeping up with the work.
There are so many positive things to write about K-State that I can’t possibly write them all in this testimonial. My advice to anyone is that they should definitely come over to K-State to experience everything which makes this place so incredible and immerse yourself in American culture.
Go Wildcats!!!
Scarlett Rampton