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Study Abroad Program Review of Academics Programs International

Submitted by artlover (Theater,female,Salem State College) on July 13th, 2010

Helpful

Not Helpful

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Academics
Language
Housing & Food
Culture & Health
Final Opinion

Personal Information

Start Date:

Mar 1, 2010

End Date:

Jul 3, 2010

If you enrolled at multiple foreign universities, please list them here:

Universidad de Costa Rica

International exposure prior to program?

0-2 weeks

Academics Overall

**Overall educational experience:

**Comment:

The workload was for the most part light. My science class I had three presentations and two papers. For my culture class we just had to write in a journal once a week and then we had a final project. Then for Spanish we had easy homework each night then tests every two weeks.

Language Overall

Foreign language component?

Yes

**Comment:

Practice, Practice, Practice the language you are learning with other students and the people you live with and don't be afraid to do so. It was helpful to know Spanish in Costa Rica but majority of the local Costa Ricans know English and if they find you speak English they will just speak English to you.

Host Country Program Administration Overall

**On-site administration of your program:

**Please explain the program's strengths and weaknesses:

Esteban and Francy our program directors were very very helpful. They were always willing to give us advice and help us in any way we needed it. The one problem I found with API is that they wouldn't allow us to take classes with any of the other foreign exchange students or maybe that is how UCR does it. But because we only had classes with our program our language classes were small and they were only able to break them up into two separate levels. Many of the students felt that they were not in the level they should be in for this reason.

Housing Overall

Living arrangements? (all that apply):

Host Family

Who did you live with?

Host Family

If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

**Housing satisfaction:

**Comment:

I lived in Sabanilla which is a suburb of San Jose and in that suburb I lived in Carmiol which is a residence of Sabanilla.

I always felt very safe in my neighborhood and never felt threatened. My Mama Tica was a single mother and she had two daughters 19 and 14. They were all nice and accommodating. In order to go out at night I had to take a taxi normally or sometimes I could take a bus. I did need to buy a towel but that is it.

Food Overall

**Food satisfaction:

**Comment:

I am a vegetarian and a picker eater. My Mama Tica was very accommodating and always made food that I was able to eat.

Safety and Health Overall

**How well were health issues addressed through your program?

**Safety:

**Comment:

With our program we were able to use the schools doctors or we could go to a private Americanized doctor. I had a throat infection one week and my program director went with me to the doctor which was helpful and comforting.

Money Overall

**How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?

General Assessment Overall

**Words of wisdom:

Don't take any valuables that you might be tempted to carry around and that you don't want to loose. Practice the language before you leave it will help to be able to communicate with your host-family. I think that the student that would most benefit from this type of experience would be a student that is willing to see new things and wants to change, also a student who is outgoing.

**If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same program?

Yes

**Overall satisfaction with your study abroad experience:

**Was your study abroad experience worthwhile?

My experience was totally worth while. I did things there that I would have never done before. For example I went with one other girl traveling around Nicaragua, which could of been very sketchy, but I am proud to say we had no problems. I traveled by myself to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica which some people think is the most dangerous part of Costa Rica and again had no problems.

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Study Abroad Program Review of Academics Programs International

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