Another Night with Los Professionales Past Review
By madelinekarp (The College of William and Mary) - abroad from 01/08/2012 to 05/05/2012 with
AIFS: San José - Universidad Veritas and Internship Program
yep
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Classes at Universidad Veritas are not difficult at all if you turn in all your assignments and do your classwork. Homework is not demanding, but most courses do require you to write a 10 page paper at the end of term (these papers are not graded harshly) |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
This is very specific to the program director present. If possible, ask for a complete breakdown of the budget to see where your money is going, as it is not provided otherwise. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Living with a host family was probably my favorite part of living in Costa Rica. |
| * Food: |
As a vegetarian, my options were limited, but Costa Rica has a huge wealth of ethic food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Costa Ricans are a lovely people, but as an American, you do stand out amongst them, and they do notice. So though you do not integrate well, people are still respectful and kind. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had to get stitches after an incident during a trip to Panama, and the entire thing was handled brilliantly by the authority figures on the trip. |
| * Safety: |
San Jose is not a safe city, but as long as you play it safe and take taxis everywhere, you should be fine |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
Food and travel are cheap, everything else is not. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | around $50 because lunch was not included |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | make your own lunch. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| 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 |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | In Spanish? I never had taken one before |
| 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? | dont speak english |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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| 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? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Spanish |
