Unfortunate housing February 06, 2024

By (Computer Science, Middlebury College) - abroad from 08/21/2023 to 12/13/2024 with

DIS Copenhagen: Semester

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I do think it was worthwhile- I've become a more independent person and had a lot of cultural exposure, which is great. Despite the challenges, I'm definitely glad I went abroad this fall.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Professors were generally engaged but the curriculum was very hit-or-miss

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Accessible as a resource but I was frustrated by the lack of any real orientation which provides a very easy way to meet people in a new environment.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

They stuck me 30min outside the city with no other DIS students on my floor other than my roommate. There wasn't a single thing to do nearby other than the grocery store and gym. This might've been alright if, in my housing application, I hadn't explicitly requested to be in the city and with other DIS students... they seemingly did the exact opposite. In combination with the complete lack of orientation and no club organization, this resulted in some difficulty in spending quality time with other students. My only easy point of connection was through my classes... which is unpredictable and very hit-or-miss. It's also frustrating that they wait until the last possible moment to release housing and force you to completely settle in for a few weeks before appealing, which makes it difficult to get a good start if you're placed somewhere you don't want to be. On the positive side, I did like my roommate and many of my (non-American) floormates.

* Food:

I'm rating this as low because I cooked for almost every meal- living outside the city made exploring the local cuisine much more of an effort.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I felt very comfortable in Copenhagen and made some great friends with my Danish (and other international) floormates.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

n/a

* Safety:

Copenhagen is a very safe city, though walking home from a night out can be unnerving if you're not living in the city as the streets are so quiet.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? No

I appreciated the focus on travel, which was probably my highlight, but I found it more difficult than expected to meet and become close with other students as a result of housing, travel, lack of orientation, no clubs, etc. I also would have loved to live in the city itself.

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)

Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Cook for yourself most of the time

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

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? No danish

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
* 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?

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Opportunity to travel
  • Easy academics
  • Danish culture
* What could be improved?
  • Housing
  • Orientation
  • Lack of social organization
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I wish I knew the degree to which DIS Copenhagen was optimized for groups of friends and leaves individuals out to dry. I.e. complete lack of orientation, clubs, social organization, etc. outside of classes and housing.

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:

Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Europe

Course Department: Entrepreneurship
Instructor: Mikael Fuhr
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Really interesting, hands-on course- loved the curriculum. Unfortunately, the course is entirely project-based and you work with the same group for the whole time, so it's somewhat of a lottery for who your teammates will be. I ended up having to do 80% of the work for my group because my teammates just didn't care about it at all.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Psychology of Leadership

Course Department: Psychology
Instructor: Gitte Vonsild
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Gitte is an excruciatingly boring professor. All the real content is assigned in long, extensive readings and classes are pretty much just a waste of time. It's a technology-free classroom and you don't learn much from class time. The course structure gets pretty interesting as we transition to long student-as-teacher and research presentations on Fridays, but in general, the curriculum was very intuitive and not taught engagingly.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Positive Organizational Psychology

Course Department: Psychology
Instructor: Gitte Vonsild
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Gitte is an excruciatingly boring professor. All the real content is assigned in long readings and classes are pretty much just a waste of time. It's a technology-free classroom and you don't learn much from class time. The course structure actually gets pretty interesting as we transition to long student-as-teacher and research presentations on Fridays, but in general, the curriculum was very intuitive and not taught in an engaging manner.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Intro to Danish

Course Department: Danish
Instructor: Nina Honoré Lahav
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Not too difficult, and the professor was engaging and passionate. The class didn't align with my academic interests, but it was well taught.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Artificial Intelligence

Course Department: Computer Science
Instructor: Magnus Sletfjerding and Lorenzo Belgrano
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Not really and AI class, it was just basic search algorithms. Decent amount of work that comes in waves, but nothing too difficult.
Credit Transfer Issues: