Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Best 4 Months of my Life January 12, 2024

By (Middlebury College) - abroad from 08/19/2023 to 12/16/2023 with

DIS Copenhagen: Semester

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
It was super worthwhile. Learning about other cultures was cool and traveling was super fun.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The classes were great! Not very challenging but still quite interesting. There wasn't a ton of work which was great since I had time to travel. The study tours that were included in the program were also very fun and valuable.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My housing was amazing. The Outdoors LLC provided a great way to meet people and our rooms were super nice.

* Food:

Food wasn't provided outside of a grocery story stipend. So I spent a lot of money eating out which was unfortunate but overall Copenhagen has good food options and the stipend was super helpful.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Since the program was only with American students, I didn't get much exposure to the local culture. Some of the classes, especially Danish, did well to teach us about the culture and gave us opportunities to meet Danish people.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I didn't have any health issues

* Safety:

I never felt unsafe while in Copenhagen. No matter the time of day or whether or not I was alone, I always felt safe.

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

It was genuinely such a good experience. A lot of this had to do with the great friends I made. Exploring Copenhagen and Europe with friends was so much fun and the program gave us tons of free time to do just that.

Finances

* 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)

Almost all of the money I spent was on food and travel. It definitely wasn't cheap but I could have done it a lot cheaper pretty easily by not traveling as much. I worked over the summer so I wasn't too concerned by my budget so I didn't let it hold me back from experiences.

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? Like $300 including food and travel though the travel expenses were not evenly distributed through the weeks.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Cook and don't travel if you want to save money. Eating out is expensive and very tempting thanks to DIS's central location.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

My danish teacher encouraged us to speak danish but since almost everyone in Denmark speaks English there wasn't much of an incentive so I never really spoke danish outside of simple things like "yes", "no", "thank you", etc.

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? None
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? Beginner
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? Zero experience with Danish before the program. Took AP Spanish in High School though
How many hours per day did you use the language?
Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? Use it when out and about in the city if you really want to learn.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? 0

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Lack of academic rigor
  • Built in time for travel
  • Study tours with core course
* What could be improved?
  • nothing comes to mind
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I went in pretty blind and it was awesome

Reasons For Studying Abroad

To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you.
The Outright Urbanite
A social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Globalization and European Economies
Course Department: Economics
Instructor:
Instruction Language: English
Comments: It wasn't very challenging and I didn't learn that much but the study tours were super fun!
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Danish Language and Culture
Course Department:
Instructor:
Instruction Language:
Comments: The professor was super nice but I really don't like the Danish language so it wasn't a very fun class. It wasn't very challenging either.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Environmental Impact of Humans
Course Department:
Instructor: Carlos
Instruction Language:
Comments: This was the worst course I have ever taken. Carlos just ranted to us about his opinions the whole time and I didn't learn anything. Would rate 0 stars if I could.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Sports Economics
Course Department: Economics
Instructor:
Instruction Language:
Comments: Fun class with cool guest lecturers and field studies. It wasn't very difficult but was a good class for someone who is as interested in sports as I am.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Computational Analysis of Big Data
Course Department: Computer Science
Instructor:
Instruction Language:
Comments: Fine class, not very difficult. The topics were interesting but it was taught very theoretically which wasn't great.
Credit Transfer Issues: