Good Internship, Okay Everything Else May 01, 2022
By Sarah B (Economics, International and Global Studies, Brandeis University) - abroad from 01/19/2022 to 04/29/2022 with
Boston University: Dublin - Internship Program
I learned a lot about Ireland and how to navigate a new city. I do think it was a worthwhile study abroad, though I’m not sure I would have the same opinion of I didn’t like my internship.
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. |
The classes were very basic and did not require a lot of effort. While I understand some people may be looking for that, I found the academic rigor underwhelming. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program administrators did their best to address any issues that we had and were easy to contact. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
We had problems with the DCU All Hallows housing, including problems with the hot water. Wile it did improve by the end of the semester it was still a problem for most of it. Other then that the housing was fine. There was a single kitchen shared between 21 participants in the program, but I never had problems with finding a time to cook. Also the kitchen was not well stocked upon arrival and we needed to purchase our own pans/spatulas etc. |
| * Food: |
Food is not provided on campus through the program so be prepared for that. I cooked most of the meal for myself, though I know others agree out. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The way the program is set up is that you do not take classes with local students. I would suggest joining a society/club for more cultural integration. My internship was hybrid so I did see a few of my coworkers twice a week, but the office was often empty, |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had no health issues on the program so I am not fully versed with this. However, those who did need such seemed to get the care quickly. |
| * Safety: |
I felt very safe in Dublin, even walking alone at night. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I felt like the internship I had was beneficial for me in my career goals as well as was interesting. However, the classes through the program were not very interesting. Dublin is a great city and there is a lot of interesting things around. Traveling to other countries is also easy with cheap airlines. |
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) |
I didn’t go out much and tended to only eat out 1/2 a weeks so my food costs weren’t very high. I also didn’t do much shopping. However, travel is very common which brings costs up. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you want to save money I would suggest cooking your food and not to go out very often. International travel could also increase expenses so if you are trying to save their are a lot of relieving cheap places to go in and around Dublin or a train ride away. Make sure to choose student tickets when possible. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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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| 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? | I felt like I was well prepared. I guess I wish I knew that sometimes credi cards will require a authorization code sent to a cellphone which I did not have active in Ireland. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
International Human Rights Law |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Marcus Gatto |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Class was not very challenging, but was very interesting. The professor is well versed in his subject area and tried to make the class both interesting and engaging. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
