Bountiful opportunists in Budapest Past Review

By Alina Macedo (College of Charleston) - abroad from 08/30/2018 to 12/22/2018 with

AIFS: Budapest - Corvinus University

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I learnt how to be independent and travel alone. I was able to throw myself into a new place that had a completely forgeign language to me. It was incredible and I can't wait to go back!

Review Photos

AIFS: Budapest - Corvinus University Photo

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.	I thought the professors I had were incredible and made me want to learn. The amount of work that was required was manageable and the teachers knew we would be traveling frequently during our time at Corvinus.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	Ms Nemessányi, was incredible. She was easy to get a hold of and very knowledgeable. You could tell that she was excited to have us at Corvinus.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	We stayed in an apartment right next to a major tram stop, Kalvin Ter. I could not ask for a better set up. Our landlord was responsive and helped out whenever we had an issue.
* Food:
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	It was pretty seamless since there was such a large international group. We even got tandem partners that showed us the true Hungarian ways.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	I never felt unsafe here. We used the buddy system, but even so I was perfectly fine with walking alone. This city does have a larger homeless issue, but they keep to themselves.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes I thought AIFS was one of the better programs that included quite a few excursions and the groups were smaller which I liked. Also cost wise it was the cheaper option and all my classes were able to transfer back.

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)	Budapest is a very cheap city since it is not on the Euro. The conversion between the dollar and florent was great! I had a set budget prior and I did not exceed that.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	max $100
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	I would personally only take out a set amount each week instead of using a credit card since they are not always accepted.

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	It was mandatory that we took into to Hungarian.
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?	Intermediate
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?	get dual lingo or a basic dictionary. It really helped me get used to even how the words look.

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	Local Students Americans International Students
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?	The friends I made and met in Budapest and London, since we first started in London for a couple days The course offered The knowledge and history lesson's our advisor Deniz shared
* What could be improved?	The size of the group
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I wish I knew to pack a variety of clothes since the weather fluctuated more than I thought it would.

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:	ART 302: Fields and Scenes: Arts, Culture and Design
Course Department:	Media,Marketing and Design Communications
Instructor:	Julianna Faludi
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The teacher was ill-prepared and had no idea that she would be teaching only English speaking students. The assignments were all over the place and there was NO structure. I tried my best, and while I got a good grade I really had to work for it.
Credit Transfer Issues: