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CYA - I was incredibly disappointed
College Year in Athens: Athens - CYA
Program Information
College Year in Athens (CYA) is a study abroad program focused upon the history and civilization of Greece and the East Mediterranean region.
Its mission is to offer each student an academically rigorous program of studies combined with the vibrant experience of day-to-day contact with the pe... More
| Provider: | College Year in Athens |
| Location(s): | Athens, Greece |
| Year Founded: | |
| Website | Take me there! |
Review By:
Ashley R. (Classics, Wellesley College) on February 19, 2012
Overall Rating
Personal Information
| * Start Date: | 2011-08-28 |
| * End Date: | 2011-12-17 |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
There was barely any work, especially in the beginning. The teachers did not seem to take anything seriously and then suddenly, with 4 weeks left in the program, we were given many assignments and exams. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administration was very disorganized. It was hard to take them seriously. |
| * Housing: |
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| * Food: |
Food in the cafeteria was surprisingly excellent. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The trips to Crete and the Peloponnese/Delphi were fun. Hiking Mt. Olympus was incredible. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
It is like any city. You have to be aware of which neighborhoods are nice and which are not. |
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* Home Institution Advising:
How well did Wellesley College prepare and support you for your time abroad? |
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Optional and mandatory field trips were very expensive. You were forced to pay for all of your meals (except complimentary breakfast at the hotel) which added up quickly. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
Learning modern Greek was the best part of the program. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same program? | No |
| * What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile? | I grew exponentially and maybe a lot of it has to do with how much I disliked my program, but I would never take back all of the experiences I have gained and all of the things I have seen. Even if CYA was a terrible program, Greece itself was stunning. |